No wonder Gruber found refuge online on The WELL, where for the past ten or so years he's hung out in the "writers" conference, telling us all about his real-life Ghostwriter v. "Fleshwriter" ordeal, discreetly keeping the Tanenbaum name out of the conversation.

This Wednesday, the featured speaker will be Ojai author Paula Spellman, who recently completed "Code to Victory: Coming of Age in World War II," for WWII veteran Arnold C. Franco. If you've ever considered writing about or for someone else, you might want to hear Spellman on "Ghostwriters and Fleshwriters—the Challenges and Rewards of Writing for Others."

I fell into ghostwriting in 1989, during a slump in my journalism career. Established but neither flush nor famous, I was delighted to get this relatively well-paid work helping business stars write books. I interviewed my "fleshwriters" (as we ghosts call them), drafted early versions, and coached them through revisions.