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September 15, 2013

Series Sunday: James Patterson Rant


Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.  


My Series Sunday pick is a rant about James Patterson, author of the following series:
  •  Alex Cross
  •  Women's Murder Club
  • Michael Bennett
  • Private
  • Confessions
  • Maximum Ride
  • Daniel X
  • Witch & Wizard
  • NYPD Red
  • Middle School

What happened to James Patterson doing his best to make sure his books are as best as they can be? I see now why Stephen King and other authors have taken shots at him for years. I really wish James Patterson would revamp his writing process. For those unfamiliar, he writes an outline specifying what is to happen in each scene. The co-author submits pages every two weeks or so, then JP re-writes them. I appreciate his willingness to mentor new authors and co-author books to get their names out there. I am sure his process saves lots of time, but is it the best way?

I get the impression that James Patterson is more concerned with quantity over quality. He's admitted to writing four outlines in five weeks. Dude...slow down! I understand writers have streaks but c'mon! Out of all the books published in the last year, only one was a page-turning thriller full of suspense. The others? Not even close. I find myself keeping up with James Patterson's series out of habit, not because I think the books will be worth reading.

Respectfully, sir, this new process of yours is not working. Stop slapping your name largely on book covers when you KNOW it's a flop, JP. Not cool. Not fair. Not considerate. This is not the way to treat your die hard fans. Being the country's top-selling author means nothing if you are publishing 10+ shitty books every year. Stop with the mass publishing of commercial fiction and give us well written thrillers again.
 

6 comments:

  1. When I worked in bookstores it was widely thought that he stopped writing his own books a long time ago. Even the ones only credited to just him. He's a former advertising executive who is really great at building a brand.

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    1. And build a brand he did! I guess the speculation of his writing his own books is worldwide. Thanks for the tidbit, Toni!

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  2. I really hate to hear this about Mr. Patterson. I am in the middle of reading the Alex Cross series. I think I am only at book 4 or 5.

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    1. You're at the peak of the Alex Cross series, Book Snob Wannabe. Enjoy now while they last.

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  3. I used to LOVE James Patterson. He had such a good series with Alex Cross...and then he sold out. I cringe at his commercials because he just....I have no words.

    Even the movie adaptations were pretty good! Once was on Saturday.

    You would think at this point, he could go back to being an real author and taking his time instead of cranking books out every 3 weeks.

    All I know...I refuse to support this mockery of writing.

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    1. Oh my goodness—I cringe at his commercials too. Every new release is "the most thrilling book yet." I am to the point of not supporting this mockery. I stopped purchasing his hardcover new releases and borrow from the library instead.

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