When not engaged in dissing Amazon, endowing lucky bookshops, or otherwise positioning himself front and center before an attentive media, bestselling $350 million-net-worth $90-million-a-year-earning author James Patterson is indulging in business practices that make me wonder whether there is a case for a class action against him. On grounds of consumer fraud. Because, as the Celebrity Net Worth website (the Hello! Magazine of money junkies) outlines, “Patterson works with a variety of ghostwriters and co-authors, such as Maxine Paetro, Andrew Gross, Mark Sullivan, Ashwin Sanghi, Michael Ledwidge, and Peter De Jonge.” When you’re reading James Patterson, how do you actually know you’re reading James Patterson?
I don’t know about you, but as a consumer of mass-produced pap, I’d sure want to know at what point my blueberry yoghurt turned into cream cheese, or my mushroom souffle into slime mould. Or how much alcohol there was in my Bud. So, when I’m reading Patterson, how much Patterson am I actually getting? Are we talking beer percentages? Wines? Spirits? Should James Patterson novels carry a public health notice stating that: “this volume contains 12.5% James Patterson”? I mean, if you can launch class action suits over such issues as sugar content, surely you can launch them over James Patterson content?
Also, does this mean that when Patterson fulminates against Amazon, we’re only supposed to take notice of 12.5 percent of his comments, in line with the percentage he actually contributes to the books that bear his monicker? After all, he’s being cited as a writer, so shouldn’t his contribution to the debate be judged according to how much he personally writes?
To be fair, every one of James Patterson’s co-publications that I’ve been able to track down so far does declare on the cover – in larger or smaller letters – the name of the co-author. All the same, given the packaging, there is no real indication how much of the contents are really … ahem … covered by those big, bold, brassy, block caps bawling James Patterson. For all anyone knows, James Patterson could have given nothing more than the hastiest review and okay for the contents. And if some contain more personal Patterson prose than others, well, I’m sure that classy class action eagle-eyed legals could sort out those that don’t.
Bear in mind, also, that there is precedent for this. In 1996, a class action lawsuit was launched against Penguin Putnam, Inc., over the book Chains of Command, published as the work of William J. Caunitz, but actually completed by Christopher Newman. “When Chains of Command was published in 1999, the front and back cover of the book prominently announced that it had been written by the New York Times bestselling author William J. Caunitz. An acknowledgment that Newman had written approximately one-half of the novel appeared on the inside copyright page,” states the legal documentation on the case. The plaintiff alleged that “that the defendant had engaged in consumer fraud by misleading the public that William J. Caunitz was the sole author of the novel. The plaintiff asserted that he and the members of the proposed class would not have purchased the novel had they known the true facts about its authorship.”
So, would James Patterson’s readers buy his books if they all knew the true facts of their authorship? Are the cover acknowledgments enough to get him off the class action hook? Have his publishers erred by not giving completely detailed accounts of the actual level of Pattersonship in every Patterson title? And above all, was James Patterson’s 2009 Guinness World Record for the “Most Entries on The New York Times Best-Seller List” obtained under false pretenses, on the grounds that those entries were simply not all fully written by James Patterson?
And if a class action can be brought against James Patterson, how much damages should an injured public ask for? A cut of his $350 million net worth equal to all of the book royalties, film rights proceeds, etc., attributable to that portion of the words published under his name that he didn’t actually write? You can make an awful lot of moolah by not writing things published under your name – or if you can’t, sometimes your estate or publishers can. And James Patterson’s net worth is a juicy enough pile for any legal carrion-feeder to chew on.
Readers buy novels by “Richard Castle” although he’s a TV character played by Nathan Fillion on CASTLE. They buy novels by “Jessica Fletcher” although she’s a fictional character from MURDER SHE WROTE.
The real VC Andrews has been dead for many years yet new books continue to come out with her name. Readers buy books “by” celebrities who can barely write a coherent sentence and obviously did not write that book.
Readers DON’T CARE!
So get over yourself, Paul, and your obsessive hate for people who make lots of money at what they do when you don’t.
I am merely a reader and librarian so can’t match author Marilyn’s vitriol (and wouldn’t lower myself if I could) but I enjoyed Paul’s humorous take on Patterson’s garbage. I also feel marketing Andrews books as though she still lives is wrong. Since the first “Castle” book was so rotten – I mean really if “Castle” had written a book including a story line from “Becketts” past like that the TV Beckett would have filleted him alive- I never bothered caring one way or another ’cause I didn’t feel the books were going to get any better which is not quite the same as Marilyn’s blanket “Readers DON’T CARE” about who really writes the book. As for good ol’ Jessica at least Bain’s name is on the cover so that one gets a pass. I’m not even going to mention my opinion of the vast majority of “celebrity” drivel the big and small publishers foist upon us. Upshot: I CARE!
Calm down. I checked out some James Patterson novels a few weeks ago. They gave the co-authors. Here’s a list of his most recent:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_15?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=james+patterson+new+releases+2014&sprefix=james+patterson%2Cstripbooks%2C206
I really don’t think most of Patterson’s fans believe he whips them out that quickly. He oversees others, creating a brand but leaving most of the words to them. Expecting otherwise is a bit like going to Disney and getting upset that the long-departed Walt himself isn’t running your ride or selling you a ticket.
Authorship far looser than that is a quite common practice in publishing, including many reputable publishers. Check out:
http://www.amazon.com/Presidential-Scandals-Jeffrey-Schultz/dp/1568024142
I wrote about half that book and my articles were published virtually unaltered. No where on Amazon’s webpage or in the book itself am I given as an author. The closest the book comes to attribution is on page xix:
“Mike Perry and Mark Bearce deserve special mention for their help with various sections of the book. I could not have finished it in a timely manner without their assistance.”
That’s publishing. Demanding otherwise is a bit like complaining that stunt actors handle some of the dangerous scenes and, in some case, stand-ins handle merely distant scenes where the actor’s face isn’t recognizable. I once watched a documentary on Shirley Temple where her stand-in was interviewed. That stand-in meant that a busy little girl had more time for her school work. Yah gonna sue cute and dimpled little Shirley, treating her as a criminal?
No, these are just typical tort lawyers, meaning greedy, lying SOBs. With little else to do with themselves when they’re not torturing small furry creatures, they probably hope the hassle and expense of their lawsuit will earn them some quick money. My hunch is that, as rich as he is, James Patterson will bleed them dry.
Then again, the first judge who sees this may toss it out.
Outside of the lself-publishing world, almost all publishing is a cooperative effort. I was an assistant editor on this:
http://www.amazon.com/C-S-Lewis-Readers-Encyclopedia/dp/0310215382
and rewrote many of the contributions, often cutting them in half. Those articles still had the contributors name on them. Heck, they even got paid for all their wordiness.
That’s just publishing. There’s no deception involved. In fact, by industry standards James Patterson probably gives his co-authors far more visibility than many big-name authors or the big names who pretend to be authors but actually have their autobiographies ghosted.
Here is Patterson describing his writing and his co-authors:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/29/how-i-write-james-patterson.html
–Mike Perry
I stopped reading his novels soon after he started using co-writers. After the first two or three books came out and were so obviously inferior, I just scratched him off my list of must-read “authors.” When I writer provides an outline and then gives it to someone else to flesh out, he’s no longer an author, he’s a hack.
Maybe if the cover just said, “contains artificial Patterson flavoring”
You may not agree with James Patterson on Amazon or traditional publishing. But this is honestly one of the nastier screeds I’ve read in some time. I’m no defender or Amazon OR traditional publishing; I think they both have major issues in terms of how they treat authors.
But to attack James Patterson because he uses fully-credited co-authors on many of his books? All because you disagree with his recent high-profile comments on Amazon?
Completely unnecessary.
Trust me, I can get nastier about James Patterson – who after all can literally afford to ignore my remarks. IMHO he’s a star representative of a highly monied lobby passing off its own self-interest as the defence of cultural and literary values – at the same times as he traduces those values through cynical exploitation of his public. Hachette couldn’t find a more fitting apologist.
I kind of have to agree with the commenters who don’t see the big deal. As I read it, the Caunitz suit was because the co-author’s name was left entirely off the front cover. But the Patterson books all have the co-author credited. So there are no grounds whatsoever for the same type of suit, because those all have that person’s name on the front cover.
I would also point out that it’s a fairly common and well-known practice for big name authors to give neophyte authors a hand up by giving them a novel to co-write, lending them their big-name recognition so readers might buy a book written by them alone later on. Anne McCaffrey was particularly prolific in this regard, helping boost the early careers of many authors including Elizabeth Moon, Jody Lynn Nye, and Mercedes Lackey, who have paid the same favor forward to other writers themselves. David Weber’s done the same thing for John Ringo, and others.
Might that not be, at least in part, what Patterson is doing here?
Oh, this was very much tongue in cheek, but it never hurts, nor is it hard, to underline how ridiculous the Authors United claque are. And everything I write is tongue in cheek and not to be taken seriously. Including this statement 😉
Richard Deant Starr: ” But to attack James Patterson because he uses fully-credited co-authors on many of his books? All because you disagree with his recent high-profile comments on Amazon?”
My comment has nothing to do with his war on Amazon. I couldn’t care less what he does in his “free time.” He became a hack years before this, and I call ’em ans I see ’em.
What a crock. So many naysayers who demonstrate petty, envious attitudes towards someone who created an empire and wealth beyond imagjnation by being a great and prolific storyteller combined with advertising savvy. What’s he worth again:350,000,000?????. That’s right. That means he’s a success. McDonald’s became a household name by creating a brand, Then Franchising it out. He does the same with fiction, though, according to him all the story ideas are his and he submits an 80 page outline to his co- writers, reviews the rough draft and makes changes to it. That sounds like a 50/50 deal to me. Where’s the problem. Everyone wants to be haters when someone is a STAR. Some idiot talking about a ” class action lawsuit”. What balderdash !!!!!
Did you really point to a lawsuit whose decision was to dismiss the case and a clear statement that the plaintiff’s claim never warranted a trial as a proof (or even a mere suggestion) that a case could be made? Seriously?
Come on. This has been going on since before Alexandre Dumas. Ghostwriters, co-writers, re-writers, writer factories… Your scorn and disdain when it’s done far more transparently than others is fairly laughable.
Dude, I applaud the fact that Patterson sticks up for the author, not Amazon. So should you.
Oh, boo hoo. If you bought a book and enjoyed it, what does it matter to you who wrote it? Sounds like you are just looking for a piece of the James Patterson pie. Money grubber. But, YOU are worse. He may stick his name on the books so they sell and he gets money. YOU want a cut of his money and YOU did NOTHING. According to Mr. Patterson himself, he does the story outline of ALL the books, then the other person writes it. Big woo. Also, he does write all of the Alex Cross series. You’re just a part of the money hungry litigious mass that wants to horn in on someone’s success when you have never done anything successful yourself. YOU ARE A PARASITE, in other words. I will continue to purchase any book that appeals to me based on previous books in the series or not. It’s up to me. If you don’t like James Patterson, I encourage you to refrain from purchasing his books. I’m sure he would, too.
Each book that is co-authored has the co-author listed. Who cares how much is written by each one. All I care about is if the book is good. Get a life, James Patterson is brilliant, jealous much!
I am not fan of Mr. Patterson.
I do not like his books – I started to read his Alex Cross series several times and I never got far into the first book.
I also dislike things he is saying.
But your article is way too overboard.
He co-writes his books with other people. Big deal.
When I was a kid we read “The Three Investigators” series by Alfred Hitchcock. Yes, I am *that* old 😉
Guess what … The series wasn’t written by Alfred Hitchcock. The first books were penned by Robert Arthur, the real creator of the books. Further installments were written by other authors. So what?
Look how well romances published by Harlequin and other publishers sell. Do you have any idea how those books are written? And yet, they sell large quantities of them.
I guess we should start a class action suit against Steven Spielberg too? I mean come on… How much of E.T. is really Steven Spielberg? How many dinosaurs in Jurassic Park are Steven’s? Should he get credit for the front half or the back half of Jaws?
I’m thinking his next blockbuster should clearly be labeled “12.5% Berg”, what do you think?!?
Really, I now understand “dumbing down” started in1 1935.