James Patterson on writing

There was a fabulous article about James Patterson in the New York Times last week. It's eye-opening in regards to the publishing industry because Patterson has never played by the rules, and now he sells more books than anyone else. Seriously, you've got to read it.  

It's true I can't do all the things he does (or MOST of them) but the whole thing makes me think. Here's a quote from Patterson:

“If you want to write for yourself, get a diary. If you want to write for a few friends, get a blog. But if you want to write for a lot of people, think about them a little bit. What do they like? What are their needs? A lot of people in this country go through their days numb. They need to be entertained. They need to feel something.”

Comments

[Christina Rodriguez]

I'm not much of a fan of Patterson as a writer, and after reading this article, I'm a little inclined to like him less as a person. The editor who felt he unfairly dominated the publisher's marketing efforts - in effect, acting like a bully - to the detriment of other writers has a very good point.

It is commendable how involved he is in the publishing and marketing of his work, but really, anybody could do that if their publishers had the funds and the inclination to support them. In the end, I feel like Patterson's assembly line-like production of books to be a detriment to the quality of the work.

[Amy Timberlake]

Yeah, I actually agree with you Christina. It IS hard to see this sort of thing happening and I don't like the way he's taken over a publisher. But the interesting thing to me is that he's making A LOT of money in publishing (which everyone says cannot be done). So it gives you an idea of how it COULD be done, which helps me define how publishing works as a business. It doesn't make me want to necessarily engage in what he does (I think it would take all the fun right out of it for me) but it does gives me a way of seeing publishing in another way, another angle.

I don't know if I'm making any sense. But right now with the industry changing so much I think it's good to see publishing in as many ways as possible.

And about that quote: I find it interesting that he doesn't think blogs really work. (I mean, I do think this that it's mostly friends and families reading mine! So he's right on for me.) I also am intrigued that he sees people as "numb." That seems particularly true to me. I DO think people want books that make them feel. And that is something I want to work towards.

Good grief -- totally babbling. But thanks for making me think about it further Christina!