Two of the most popular modern authors — Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series — don't even exist, Daniel A. Gross writes in a look at a publishing legend: "They’re still here because their creators found a way to minimize cost, maximize output, and standardize creativity. The solution was an assembly line that made millions by turning writers into anonymous freelancers — a business model that is central to the Internet age."
