Guest blog: Why I'm not sure I like the "co-author" concept
The blockbuster success of James Patterson鈥檚 books is so immense that one out of every 17 hardcover novels bought in the United States since 2006 has been written by him, according to a Sunday cover story in the The New York Times Magazine.
鈥淧atterson may lack the name recognition of a Stephen King, a John Grisham or a Dan Brown, but he outsells them all. Really, it鈥檚 not even close,鈥� the article said.
What drew my attention, even more than the staggering numbers, was being reminded that there鈥檚 an asterisk next to the 鈥渨ritten by him.鈥� At this point, the article said, Patterson uses co-authors on nearly all his books. Collaborators draft most chapters from a lengthy Patterson outline, with Patterson revising and rewriting when needed. (That鈥檚 how he managed to publish nine hardcovers in 2009, the article noted.)
From the gut, the idea of co-writers feels wrong. We like to think we are fans of an author, rather than a style of plotting. But I wonder if the rules are different for genre books and series books, so formulaic by nature.
I鈥檓 almost surprised we don鈥檛 hear more about co-writers on adult fiction, because it doesn鈥檛 seem uncommon when writing for children. Just a few weeks ago, with my 7-year-old son tearing through 鈥淲arriors,鈥� an adventure fantasy series about feral cats, I looked online and discovered that 鈥渁uthor鈥� Erin Hunter was actually the pen name behind the three people writing the books. The official Warriors website announces the fact frankly, saying the single name was used to avoid having books by different authors shelved in different places (though I must say, in the bookstores I frequent, series books are all shelved together).
My childhood memories never felt particularly betrayed by learning that Nancy Drew author 鈥淐arolyn Keene鈥� and Trixie Belden鈥檚 鈥�Kathryn Kenny鈥� were only pen names used by syndicates. So my gut gives Patterson a pass鈥� as long as he doesn鈥檛 follow the model of 鈥�V.C. Andrews,鈥� whose soft-core, gothic horror books were the guilty pleasure of my teenage years. Series books are still being published under her name鈥� more than two decades after her death.
Rebekah Denn blogs at eatallaboutit.com.
