James Patterson Learns His Fate: Chained to a Typewriter
All James Patterson wants for Christmas this year is an IBM Selectric, several drums of teletype paper, and maybe an espresso machine.
The Hachette Book Group announced today that it has finalized terms with the bestselling novelist and children’s book author on a deal that will see Patterson pounding out 17 books ... in three years.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Hachette reported that 11 of the titles will be aimed at the adult market and will be released by Little, Brown and Company.
Seventeen books ready for delivery between now and the end of 2012 comes down to six books a year. A colleague who delivered the news this morning summed it up best: “Patterson is just going to be giving his audiences first drafts.”
Comments
James Patterson long ago stopped being a good author. He releases a new book every two or three months (usually with the assistance of a co-writer), and I gave up on him years ago. Books like “Along Came a Spider” and “Kiss the Girls” were great, but for the last eight years or so, he’s stopped writing novels and instead releases product. He’s a brand name who sacrificed his initial talent for money.
Comment by Tommy Marx from Greensboro NC — September 14, 2009 @ 4:42 pm
That was my initial thought here, Tommy; in order to fulfill that kind of quota for new books in such a limited period of time, Patterson’s style must be easily copied by now to the point that they can hire ghost writers to meet the quota.
Comment by Rodger Jacobs from Las Vegas, NV — September 14, 2009 @ 10:28 pm