Prolific Writers (novels, poetry, themes, stephen king)

[jtur88]

Do you mostly read books by prolific writers, such as Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Danielle Steel, James Patterson, people who have written more than 50 novels? Or do you prefer to savor a writer who spends years assembling each novel and publishes only a few during his lifetime?

I think I've read one book by Stephen King and one by Louis L'amour (and none by any other prolific writer), and while they were entertaining, they did not leave me with a sense that I needed to rush back and get some more by them.

[eevee]

I am of the FIRM belief that Patterson uses ghost writers. that man came out w/ 6 or so new books this year, no way he wrote all of these by himself, esp. since the books vary so much. a few of his books admittedly have co-authors, but I think in the cases of those books, they were fully written by the co-authors and credit was mostly given to Patterson to boast sales. at least some of the other authors mentioned like SK and Danielle Steele take time between books. I also think publishers rush authors to put out books w/in a certain time frame, especially books w/in a series, often w/ bad results. I'd much rather authors take their time, even if I have to wait forever for their next book. quality over quantity.

[StilltheSame]

I am not a fan of prolific writers. I find their work begins to feel rushed - even after a few novels. I was a huge fan of Stephen McCauley when I read "the Easy Way Out" but then he began putting out novels every year and his quality became diluted to me. This has happened a number of times. If there are 2 authors i have enjoyed they are Kate White and Ruth Rendell. And, I dont know if i really consider them prolific.

[katzenfreund]

A lot of the authors that are very prolific writers seem to have a certain pattern and after you read a couple of their books they become very predictable, so I prefer to read books by writers that take a few years... definitely quality over quantity.

[Sandhillian]

Most of the authors I like come out with a new book every year or two years. However, one author I really like (Laura Kinsale) has taken so long to come out with her next book that I was getting really annoyed with her (2004 to the expected release this February).

[golfgod]

Katzenfreund hit the nail on the head! I'm not sure if it's ghost writers, "assistants" or a software program but some of these writers are nothing more than "book factories.

By about the 3rd or 4th book about the guy that does the underwater research and drives the Dusenburg (can't think of the author's name) I could see where it was going by page 20 and put it down and haven't picked up one since. I also liked the stories about the lady that was the Medical Examiner in Richmond VA (Scarpetta?), but I can't remember the author's name there either. My wife still reads her stuff because she said they kind of changed a few years ago, but I quit after about 3 or 4.

OTOH, George McDonald Fraser created an entire series of "Flashman" books and they all seem carefully hand crafted. Part of that is because he does a lot of research (Flashman is the 19th century British Army's version of Forest Gump) because he has to put the character into real events and all the books are well foot noted as if they were non-fiction.

Two authors whose books don't seem mass produced are Bill Bryson, although his are non-fiction and often travel related. The interesting thing about them is that you can pick any of them up a few years after reading it and see it with fresh eyes. I like that.

George V. Higgins wrote about 10-15 great books, almost all involving crooks and politicians, which are crooks too, mostly. I've probably read all of them 3 or more times and they're always enjoyable. In his dialog you can almost hear the differences between the Irish toughs and the Boston Brahmins in the way they speak. Most public libraries have at least several of his books, right next to Jack Higgins who is more prolific, but not as interesting.

I generally stick to non-fiction, that way I don't usually get the idea that; "hey, I read this before".

golfgod

[graceC]

Originally Posted by eevee

I am of the FIRM belief that Patterson uses ghost writers.

James Paterson actually admitted openly that he uses ghost writers on one MSNBC interview (I'm sure it's still out there on the internet if you search under 'james paterson ghost writers'). He doesn't write the novels, he only markets them under his name. IIRC, he told the interviewer that he views this as partnership. The unknown writers get their work published and half credit, while Paterson handles the marketing side of it (and gets half of everything along with it). Paterson is a former Marketing Executive who really knows how to market, apparently.

[jtur88]

By the way, the ultimate in prolific writers was Corin Tellado, a Spanish woman who wrote an average of more than a novel a week for almost 60 years. She died last April, leaving behind a legacy of 4,000 novels that sold a total of 400-million copies in Spain and Latin America.

[Bunjee]

I don't. I distrust authors that come out with books very quickly, one or two years on the heels of their previous ones. Even well established literary stars I feel can be tarnished in my mind. Joyce Carol Oates practically writes a book a year. I read them (1969) and have scanned the prose of several of her other novels, and though she's a good storyteller I don't find her actual writing much to get all that excited about. John Updike had quite a gift for language and was similarly prolific (granting that his later output also included essays and poetry) but he actually leaves me cold, though I think that's probably more because I feel distant from his themes. Still, already feeling the way I did, when the practically annual Updike novel was announced I'd think, What, another something important to tell us already? I mean no insult to Updike fans.

[LibertysFate]

I give all writers a chance and sees which one sticks. Once I find an author I really like I tend to stick with them. I don't care how many books they've written.