A Closer Look at James Patterson's 17-Book Deal

When a writer signs a deal to publish more than, say, four books, it usually gets some attention in the press. But James Patterson's new deal, which keeps him with longtime publisher Little, Brown until 2012, raised some metaphorical eyeballs among the media, if headlines and ledes are to judge:

"If over the next few months you see smoke coming from the direction of James Patterson’s house, it might be a result of the author’s burning off his fingertips as he types.." -- NYT

"After more than 40 best sellers, James Patterson is just getting started." - AP

"James Patterson's To-Do List: Write 17 Books Really, Really Fast" - NYMag

And then there's Thom Geier at Entertainment Weekly, who rightfully points out that this prolific pace is actually decreased from years past - he's produced 22 books published between 2006 and the end of this year. So what do his fans - and the people who hold the pursestrings at Little Brown's parent company, Hachette Book Group, have to look forward to, by my very rough calculations?

3 Alex Cross novels, co-written by Richard DiLallo
3 Michael Bennett thrillers, co-written by Michael Ledwidge
3 Women's Murder Club thrillers, co-written by Maxine Paetro
2 Maximum Ride books
2 Daniel X books, also co-written by Ledwidge
2 books in the new YA "Witch & Wizard" series, co-written by Gabrielle Charbonnet
Unspecified number of international thrillers co-written by Swedish crime writer Liza Marklund
A non-fiction book, possibly two
A standalone novel, possibly two

Obviously that's a lot of books, but from the standpoint of the co-writer who does much of the legwork, it's basically a book-a-year pace, reporting to the in-house editor/packager that is Patterson.  The bigger story is that Hachette can breathe a sigh of relief that they have Patterson, Inc. for a few more years, and can buy a bit more time until, as a writer speculated to me recently, they have to start planning for what happens when the man with the name is no longer around, but the brand must keep going. Or the darker scenario of whether Patterson might look at the changing winds of publishing and realize he can make more money doing it on his own. That won't happen till 2012 at the earliest - or even later than that - but if it does, those trade winds will be far from calm.

UPDATE: Forbes' Lauren Streib also looks at the new deal - which sources tell her is worth about $150 million - and explains why Hachette had to keep him on and why it's actually "a bargain":

Patterson's not a writer. He's a fiction (and non-fiction) factory. In 2008 he authored or co-authored seven books and in his 33-year career as a published author he's written 57. He sells an average of 20 million books per year. An estimated 170 million copies of his novels are in print worldwide. Most important: During the last two years he's earned Hachette an estimated $500 million. According to Forbes estimates, Patterson took home $60 in the last year million for the effort.

"I've described Jim in the past as the rock we built our business on," says Young.

In other words, they can't afford to lose him. According to Publisher's Weekly, Hachette's revenues rose just 1.4% in 2008 to $2.2 billion, despite the runaway success of the teen series sensation Twilight, which sold nearly 30 million copies last year.

Comments

[Steve Oerkfitz]

Just sickens me that this hack can do so well while so many other good writers can barely get published. His books read more like otlines for a novel rather than a finished product. No characterization, no sense of place.

[Cine Cynic]

I recently read a couple of Alex Cross novels and disliked both of them. I don't get James Patterson's strengths. I am interested in what you, Sarah, think about his books. Have you written about that before?

[Barbara]

I was amazed at the gullibility of the NY Times piece. Duh. And Betty Crocker tests all her recipes in her own kitchen.

[Luise]

I stopped reading Patterson some years ago, when he went to two-page chapters, etc. Somehow he's no longer what books are about, IMHO. He's an industry, as you mention, a factory. I guess he's profitable for Little, Brown, though it seems to be a huge lowering of standards for them. All very depressing. Happily, good writers abound and keep me reading.

[Roddy Reta]

Gee, a lot of James Patterson bashing on a litblog. What a surprise.

I guess this will be good practice for all the Dan Brown bashing that will happen next week.

[LG]

Well, it's not exactly hard to bash a guy who can't possibly be writing much of the stuff that has his name plastered on it in big, bold print. The news of his new book deal only makes it easier.

[R.J. Mangahas]

"I guess this will be good practice for all the Dan Brown bashing that will happen next week."

Yes, but there's a HUGE difference. Though not everyone likes Dan Brown, he at least still writes ALL of his own books.

It may have taken him six years to write the follow up to The DaVinci Code, but he was the one who wrote it.

[David J. Montgomery]

People who supposedly love books railing against James Patterson don't have a clue.

Patterson makes money for his publisher and for bookstores, money that helps them stay in business. His success helps fund the efforts of writers whom these complainers would presumably find more worthy.

If it weren't for writers like Patterson, the publishing industry would be in even worse shape than it already is.

Hell, Patterson and Stephanie Meyer are the only reason Hachette hasn't had to lay off employees. Should we tell the people working there to raise their "standards" and lose their jobs?

[Simon Read]

The money authors like Patterson make for publishers goes back into the multi-million dollar promotional campaigns for authors like Patterson.

Up-and-coming writers do not benefit from this. They get relegated to bookshelves with little promotion, while the likes of Dan Brown and J.P. get top placement in store windows and the backing of a huge publicity machine.

[Margie Tripplette]

James Patterson is a writer that is ahead of his time. I especially like the short chapter format. Most authors are heavy handed with their length of chapters.

Reading Patterson is an education in human nature, and his novels developes your anticipation so that you can pretty much figure out or guess what will follow, and discover that you were wrong (smile). His characters are developed to the extent that you understand why they do certains things. Keep those novels coming James!