# Hack writer > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hack_writer > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hack_writer.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack_writer > Source revision: 1355757435 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Writer who produces low-quality mass-appeal work}} {{More citations needed|date=November 2019}} '''''Hack writer''''' is a [pejorative](/source/pejorative) term for a [writer](/source/writer) who is paid to write low-quality, rushed articles or books "to order", often with a short deadline. In [fiction](/source/fiction) writing, a hack writer is paid to quickly write sensational, [pulp fiction](/source/Pulp_magazine) such as "[true crime](/source/true_crime)" novels or "[bodice ripping](/source/bodice_ripping)" [paperbacks](/source/paperbacks). In [journalism](/source/journalism), a hack writer is deemed to operate as a "[mercenary](/source/mercenary)" or "pen for hire", expressing their client's political opinions in [pamphlet](/source/pamphlet)s or [newspaper](/source/newspaper) articles. Hack writers are usually paid by the number of words in their book or article; as a result, hack writing has a reputation for quantity taking precedence over quality. ==History== The term "hack writer" was first used in the 18th century, "when publishing was establishing itself as a business employing writers who could produce to order."{{cite web|author=Robert Fulford|title=When hacks attract: Serious artists are drawn to tales of mercenary scribes|work=The National Post|date=19 August 2003|url=http://www.robertfulford.com/2003-08-19-hacks.html|access-date=2007-03-22|archive-date=2023-06-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625121044/http://www.robertfulford.com/2003-08-19-hacks.html|url-status=live}} The derivation of the term "hack" was a "shortening of [hackney](/source/Hackney_(horse)), which described a horse that was easy to ride and available for hire." In 1728, [Alexander Pope](/source/Alexander_Pope) wrote ''[The Dunciad](/source/The_Dunciad)'', which was a satire of "the Grub-street Race" of commercial writers who worked in [Grub Street](/source/Grub_Street), a London district that was home to a [bohemian](/source/bohemianism) counterculture of impoverished writers and poets. In the late 19th century, [Anthony Trollope](/source/Anthony_Trollope)'s novel ''[The Way We Live Now](/source/The_Way_We_Live_Now)'' (1875) depicts a female hack writer whose career was built on social connections rather than writing skill. Many [author](/source/author)s who would later become famous worked as low-paid hack writers early in their careers, or during a downturn in their fortunes. As a young man, [Anton Chekhov](/source/Anton_Chekhov) had to support his family by writing short newspaper articles; [Arthur Koestler](/source/Arthur_Koestler) penned a dubious ''Dictionary of Sexuality'' for the popular press; [Samuel Beckett](/source/Samuel_Beckett) translated for the French ''[Reader's Digest](/source/Reader's_Digest)''; and [William Faulkner](/source/William_Faulkner) churned out [Hollywood](/source/Cinema_of_the_United_States) scripts. A number of films have depicted hack writers, perhaps because the way these authors are "prostituting" their creative talents makes them an interesting character study. In the film adaptation of [Carol Reed](/source/Carol_Reed)'s ''[The Third Man](/source/The_Third_Man)'' (1949), author [Graham Greene](/source/Graham_Greene) added a hard-drinking hack writer named Holly Martins. In [Jean-Luc Godard](/source/Jean-Luc_Godard)'s film ''[Contempt](/source/Contempt_(film))'' (1963), a hack screenwriter is paid to doctor a script. In the film ''[Adaptation](/source/Adaptation_(film))'' (2002), [Nicolas Cage](/source/Nicolas_Cage) depicts an ill-educated character named Donald Kaufman who finds he has a knack for churning out cliché-filled film scripts. ==Use as a pejorative== In the US, the term "hack" is used as a pejorative description among writers, journalists, bloggers, and comedians. It is especially used for journalists who are perceived to take partisan sides. The term "hack" has been used by some UK [journalist](/source/journalist)s as a form of humorous, self-deprecating self-description. The term was popularized in the UK by ''[Private Eye](/source/Private_Eye)'' magazine, which refers to male journalists as "hacks" and female journalists as "hackettes." ==See also== * [Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra (Mozart)](/source/Concerto_for_Flute%2C_Harp%2C_and_Orchestra_(Mozart)) -- the term as used by the critic [Charles Rosen](/source/Charles_Rosen) to describe what he perceived as a sharply inferior work by [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](/source/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart) * [Accreditation mill](/source/Accreditation_mill) * [Author mill](/source/Author_mill) * [Brian Griffin](/source/Brian_Griffin) * [Churnalism](/source/Churnalism) * [Content farm](/source/Content_farm) * [Essay mill](/source/Essay_mill), a ghostwriting service that provides university students with essays and term papers for a fee * [Ghostwriter](/source/Ghostwriter), a writer who is paid to write books or articles that are credited to another person * [Vanity publishing](/source/Vanity_publishing) ==References== {{DEFAULTSORT:Hack Writer}} Category:18th-century neologisms Category:Writing occupations Category:Pejorative terms for people Category:Journalism terminology --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hack writer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack_writer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack_writer?action=history)). 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