RSS
Home
The James Patterson business model of writing best sellers
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
James Patterson has written over 50 books - 57 to be exact (as of today), 39 of them New York Times bestsellers. While some authors take ten years to write a book and others can produce them one, maybe two a year, how exactly does Patterson find the time to do 5-7 per year? (Eight are expected to be released in 2009.)
Time Magazine first spilled the beans in 2006, but The New York Times and then NPR recently revisited the question and announced the answer: Team Patterson. In the NPR interview, Patterson explained that he works with other writers who take an outline he provides and flesh it into a novel. Patterson reviews the drafts, makes changes, and approves the final edit. He compared his writing method to producing TV shows, stating that most use teams of writers, but he admits most people might find his method of writing “a little unusual.” He estimates he currently has about 29 books in the works.
The New York Times interviewed Peter de Jonge who spent several years co-writing three of Patterson’s novels, actually writing the original draft of Miracle on the 17th Green per Patterson’s expressly stated ideas of the story line. De Jonge, treated well by Patterson who supported De Jonge’s recent solo career, seems to think nothing of being a co-writer for a famous author’s work and, indeed, why should he object – his name is on the cover of the book. Patterson’s writing teams follow his plot, write in his distinctive style. Does the Patterson modus operandi bother his fans?
James Patterson is a highly successful author who proved his abilities with his first three books. While everyone should know that memoirs of celebrities and presidents (undoubtedly even Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father) are written by ghost writers, as an author of fiction – especially a world famous author of fiction – Patterson is expected to be the sole writer of his novels. He did not start punching out book after best-selling book with assistance because he needed the money – he was a well-off businessman, former chair of one of the largest ad agencies in the world, JWT (J. Walter Thompson, at the time). And therein lies the reasoning behind his writing method. As a man of many ideas, he did not have time to write to all of them himself; therefore, like any good businessman, he delegated duties. It worked, so why mess with a good thing. While companies don’t usually give their employees credited billing for products or ideas, except in the fine print of the television and movie industries, Patterson does. For that, he deserves credit. Shouldn’t all authors, from a moral standpoint, acknowledge co-writers and ghost writers?
Patterson has managed to avoid an outburst by fans at the disclosure of his writing practices and bold move of including his co-writers on his book covers. He does prefer not to draw undue attention to his methods because he is correct: it is odd for writers to farm out their work and make a production line of their books. While Patterson does plot and strategize his novels and guide their creation, surely it is a bit of a disappointment for fans to hear the truth.
It is interesting to note on James Patterson’s website that
"He is the first author ever to be a Harvard Business School case study…Patterson's publishing world successes are being taught in a graduate-level course to the best and the brightest future corporate leaders."
In the future, will we see other writers using the Patterson business style method of delegating writing in order to out publish the competition? It’s not just the brand, it’s the quantity. Fortunately in Patterson's case, he's got good quality, too.
.jpg)
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
