James Patterson doesn't actually write the majority of his books! You guys probably already knew this, but I didn't.
My 13-year-old daughter recently got into Patterson's books (or should I say "Patterson's" books), both the Maximum Ride young adult series and the books for grownups. I was in a bookstore recently, a wonderful independent bookstore, and I bought a couple of Patterson (or rather "Patterson") books for her as a treat (we usually just borrow from the library). The bookstore manager commented on my purchases, saying "oh, I think my wife wrote one of those."
WHUT?!
He proceeded to inform me that many "James Patterson" books are written by others -- much like the Edward Stratemeyer Nancy Drew syndicate. And that his wife had been paid to ghostwrite at least two Patterson books -- maybe more -- my brain was reeling at that point. But indeed, it turns out it's a known fact that Patterson currently authors only about 20% of his books. The Telegraph reported on the situation in 2014, and the Independent did a piece this year.
This fact might explain why Patterson would think it's okay to blurb his own books -- even if Stephen King makes fun of him for it.
So now perhaps you'd like to know how to get a job writing "Patterson" books. I'm not sure anyone gets hired as a Patterson ghostwriter, but a good first step might be signing up for his classes for a scant $90.
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