The Case of the Phantom Author

A buddy of mine was once approached by a mutual friend to ghostwrite an author's first novel. Once I got over my offence at not being asked to do this myself, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of novelist would want his or her novel ghostwritten? I can understand a sports star who thinks that a comma is what you slip into after one too many blows to the skull wanting a ghostwriter, but a novelist?

Apparently, this happens more often than I realized.

Again, I understand the impulse for Robert Ludlum to employ a ghostwriter (or a team of them), what with him being dead and all, but James Patterson? What's his excuse? And, more to the point, if he's got a team of writers working for him, why are his books so bad?

(Via Bookninja.)