I looked up at the librarian with a pleading glance, trying to get her attention. I had failed, again, in my attempt to check out books at a self-serve kiosk. My difficulty was holding my card at precisely the correct angle for the scanner to read it. I could type the number in, but the touch keyboard on the screen was not working either. Everything the library had done to automate the checkout experience was now putting me in the mood to commit a misdemeanor—walking out with two unchecked out books under my coat.

Instead of glancing my way, she turned to a co-worker and confided, “Patterson and Cussler are definitely the biggest repeat offenders.” Worse offenders than me? I wondered how many library books they had stolen. However, as the conversation continued I realized this duo was James Patterson and Clive Cussler, two popular authors in the thriller genre. Immediately, I stopped fiddling with my card. I wanted to hear more, but she offered nothing in the rest of her conversation to enlighten me. What was their offense that kept happening? Perhaps, I should have been blunt and asked. But, this event happened shortly after the peak of Covid-19. We were all wearing masks. So, I kept my 6-foot distance and my silence. At one point I gave up and laid my card down, but in doing so I evidently performed whatever magic feat was required to get the scanner to recognize it.

Later at home, rather than diving into one of my books, I googled the similarity between James Patterson, Clive Cussler, and the world of librarians. Evidently both of these authors openly admit that they hired others to write many of their books. James Patterson sketches out plots, which he hands over to ghost writers to be completed. Then, he reviews them and revises the text to maintain some modicum of a similar style.

After Clive Cussler rose to fame he started writing series with other authors. People wonder how much Cussler was actually writing. He even managed to complete five novels after he died. Now, that’s a real ghost writer. Although according to the grapevine his son Dirk is just continuing to write books under his father’s name as he did when Clive was alive.

But, I found another curious connection. Books by these two may be subject to secretive editing by unknown library clients. A Reddit/Librarians article described techniques to catch the person who kept checking out Patterson books to correct awkward grammar and repeated words with white out. Perhaps it was a copycat offender that my local librarian had mentioned. Rarely, do I look at Reddit for information due to the numerous rants. However, the article both informed and amused me.

Is this kind of guerilla feedback a way for average people to get back at famous authors who seem to sell works under their own names no matter who writes them?