James Patterson - one of my favourite authors. You think at least one of these peeps started out as peanut-paid freelancer? One can only hope. According to Forbes.com , here's the top earners in the literary world to date (figures in USD) :
1. James Patterson ($70m) - I'm not a big thriller-whodunnit fan, but I like his style. 'Kiss the Girls', 'Along Came a Spider', 'Cross' - just some of his good ones.
2. Stephenie Meyer ($40m) - Twilight. Enough said.
3. Stephen King ($34m) - Master of the macabre. Twisted minds DO pay.
4. Danielle Steel ($32m) - Come on, admit it, you've read her stuff. It's the one your mum stashed under her pillow, most likely with a plot involving a damsel not-so-in-distress, a tragedy in the family, an evil mother in law and, you guessed it, a happy ever after.
5. Ken Follett ($20m) - I've never read his work, truthfully.
6. Dean Koontz ($18m) -I'd hate to know who has worse nightmares - him or King.
7. Janet Evanovich ($16m) - Romance. Not quite my genre of choice.
8. John Grisham ($15m) - Ah Grisham. Didja know he was a baseball player (well, college level anyway), accountant and a lawyer (A lawyer? No way! :P) If his name isn't ringing a bell, go rent 'The Client', 'The Firm', 'The Pelican Brief', 'The Chamber'....You see a pattern here?
9. Nicholas Sparks ($14m) - The Notebook! Okay so I'm no romantic-literature fan but how can you not be a schmuck for The Notebook?
10. JK Rowling ($10m) - Happy Potter, I'm sure she is. And now that it's all ending...I wonder what's next for Rowling?
I'd almost sell my soul to be on that list. Imagine a life of raking in the big bucks while sitting on your ass doing what you love most. Damn.
No comments:
Post a Comment