Profile: James Patterson, Accidental Best-Selling Author

"James Patterson's life was an accident, a clashing of indecisiveness, a lost first love, and an idea that there were rules for ordinary folks like him. But at 59, there's nothing ordinary about the multimillionaire author." writes Brian Skoloff of the Associated Press, and as published on NorthJersey.com.

He adds, "Patterson has published 35 books, 18 of which hit No. 1 on The New York Times list of bestsellers. He's sold 100 million copies, grossing $1 billion in sales. His thrillers Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider have been made into movies starring Morgan Freeman as criminal profiler Alex Cross. More Hollywood deals are in the works."

Patterson initially took a job as a copywriter with J. Walter Thompson in the ad agency's New York office following graduation from Manhattan College in the Bronx. "My rise in advertising was another accident. I had no interest in really going up the corporate ladder at all," Patterson says. "I'd gotten my first book published. It got turned down by 30-some publishers, and then it won an Edgar as the best first mystery." The Thomas Berryman Number won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1977.

Though a prolific author himself, a few years ago, Patterson began working with collaborators to produce even more work. Patterson writes the story outline. The co-author pens a first draft. After a series of back-and-forths, a new book is produced in about half the time. His most recent book, Beach Road, was co-written with Peter de Jonge.

Read the rest of this interesting profile of James Patterson here.

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