Big Books, Big Bucks

7.7  

$70 million

One out of every 17 novels bought in the U.S. are authored by Patterson. Over the past two years he has made some $500 million for Hachette, his publisher.

The_Dash08's rating:

6.3  

$40 million

Last fall Meyer's novels were fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh on USA Today's bestseller lists.
Her four-book series, Twilight, has sold 40 million copies in the U.S. and 100 million worldwide.

The_Dash08's rating:

8.2  

$34 million

King is currently working on a deal with DC Comics to co-write a comic book series; a musical with John Mellencamp; and a drama series with the SyFy network based on his novella The Colorado Kid.

The_Dash08's rating:

7.5  

$32 million

Steel has four new hardcovers out this year and clinches an average $7 million advance per book.

The_Dash08's rating:

7.3  

$20 million

Follett's The Pillars of the Earth was adapted to a TV series that premiered in July starring Donald Sutherland.
Follett often sets his novels where he lives: the author has homes in Stonehenge, London, Antigua and South Africa.

The_Dash08's rating:

7.8  

$18 million

Forty-four of his novels have been New York Times bestsellers.

The_Dash08's rating:

7.1  

$16 million

Evanovich may rank seventh, but her selling power is comparable to James Patterson (about 20 million of her titles sell annually).

The_Dash08's rating:

7.1  

$15 million

Grisham's new legal thriller, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, is his first aimed at the tween market.

The_Dash08's rating:

7.7  

$14 million

One of the top-selling romance genre writers, Sparks has sold 55 million books.
Movies made from Sparks' books have grossed $300 million.

The_Dash08's rating:

8.1  

$10 million

The Harry Potter series made Rowling the world's first author-billionaire.
Existing book sales are still minting money for Rowling, however with no new Potter book things are slowing down.

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