Is It About the Writing, Or the Brand?

by Kayla Perrin

In the upcoming Sunday Times, there's going to be an article about author James Patterson and his incredible success. The article made the rounds on some writing loops this week . . . then led to some interesting discussion about the way Patterson does things.

The article states that Patterson has the Guinness record for the most NYT bestsellers, at 45 a few years ago. I was surprised, because I thought Nora Roberts--who is one of the most prolific authors today--had more NYT bestsellers. I emailed Nora about that fact, didn't get a reply, but I just checked her website and it says that Nora has had 164 NYT bestsellers, including 23 as J.D. Robb, her pseudonym! As of February 2010, she will have 190 full length novels published. So, it would seem Guinness got their facts wrong, unless the number on Nora's site includes reprints that hit the NYT list. Or perhaps Guinness forgot about the uber-successful romance writer (wouldn't be the first time a romance writer doesn't get the respect due!).

Both Nora Roberts and James Patterson are prolific writers. But unlike Roberts, Patterson utilizes "co-writers" to help him be prolific, while Roberts writes every one of her books.

One of my Avon Author friends posted the article link on our loop (a friend had already sent the lengthy article to me), and another friend responded and said that while Patterson's success is undeniable, she finds his use of "co-writers" distasteful. And hence the discussion began, with people weighing in on what we thought of the James Patterson model of publishing.

There is no doubt the man is uber-successful, and kudos to him for that. His section at bookstores rivals Nora Roberts's sections. In fact, I was at one store where the signage read: FICTION A-G, H-O, JAMES PATTERSON, P-R, etc. He had his name on the signage, not simply books in a huge section. But from everything I've read and heard, Patterson isn't really hands-on in the writing of his books anymore. Oh, his name is on every book--but the much smaller name on the cover is the one who really created the work.

I've read more than one article about Patterson where he talked about his desire to create a brand with his work. According to him, he uses co-writers so he can be very prolific and therefore extend his brand. As someone with marketing experience, he has done extremely well at branding his name. But my personal pet-peeve is that he is no longer authoring his books.

One of his co-writers spoke about how Patterson gave him an idea, and then he, the co-writer, wrote the book. This writer jokes about having gotten his break through the "Patterson camp of writing" (btw, Patterson learned of him after he'd had a book rejected and reached out to the author to see if they could work together). For the co-writer, it's huge exposure--and this one in particular has gone on to write books under his own name. For the readers, however, using so many different authors means varied voices from book to book--and I'm the kind of reader who loves an author for his or her voice, so different voices turn me off.

Other writers chimed in to say they've heard from friends who once loved Patterson that they no longer like the books he has written with all these other writers. I've heard the same. After all, they fell in love with him for his voice, for his fantastic stories about Alex Cross. I read one of Patterson's co-written novels last year and while the concept was fabulous, it featured a heroine who truly became a villain by the end of the book. She was not a heroine at all--yet she was supposed to be. There was no character growth. There was character degradation. I was left scratching my head. There was no one for me to root for, and I couldn't help thinking that a newbie writer could never get way with that. But in this case, with Patterson's name on the cover, the book sold.

I'm not judging Patterson on one book. That's not the point. He has obviously written countless fabulous books. But I just don't like the practice of having other people write the books you take credit for. Not only can quality lack because a big name is what's really selling it, but like I mentioned above there is a lack of consistency with the story's voice.

I'm also the kind of writer who likes to take the credit for my words, and give it where it's due. A couple of years ago, I learned that a big name author isn't writing a single one of her books these days. She has a ghost-writer. It's supposed to be top-secret, but the news came out when some of us were sitting around having a few drinks. Hey, these things happen. At least Patterson is giving his co-writers credit on the cover.

Here's my thing. I just don't think I could happily sit at a book signing and have a reader gush over how great my book was if I wasn't really the one who had written it. It would feel like . . . well, it would feel like a lie.

Another author argued that sometimes writers get ideas and plots from editors, and asked how different is that than what Patterson is doing. The difference is that our editors are not claiming authorship of the books just because they collaborated on an idea with us.

Another author said that yes, when she's in deadline hell, the idea of having someone else write her work is tempting. I've had that thought too--also when I'm in deadline hell--but like this other writer would never act on it. If my name is on the book, I want to be the one who's put the blood, sweat and tears into the work. And I'm pretty prolific myself, and I do understand the power of branding. And yes, being very prolific is one way to truly create a brand, much the way Brenda Jackson has--another author I admire because of her dedication to her craft, which includes writing her own books.

Like I said, there is no arguing with Patterson's success. His work allegedly brings in about $500 million a year for his publisher. But for me--and this is simply my opinion--I have much more respect for an author like Nora Roberts who writes all of her own books and brings in mega dollars a year for her publishers. I also love that she talks about her craft and the story and caring about her readers before she talks about branding herself. Yes, Nora is a brand as well . . . but she became that because she worked hard on all of her stories, not because she decided to parcel out her work in order to be prolific.

Again, kudos to Patterson for his enormous success in a crazy business. I just wish he'd do all (or most) of his own writing these days like he did in the beginning.

Just my opinion! I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Before I end, I'll take this moment to promote my upcoming release, ISLAND FANTASY. It comes out in February 1st and is published by Kimani Press. Check out the trailer--which I made myself!