The Top 5 Richest Authors In The World!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011, 16:37

Who are the top authors of today? By top we mean those who earn some bucks not literary geniuses because being unsuccessful used to be the mark of a great writer in another generation. While there is no reason why the best selling authors are necessarily the best writers today there is no denying the fact that they have changed the way we perceive writing as a profession. We no see longer writers as people who die of tuberculosis or starvation or both.

Now that writing is just as much of a well paying profession as any, let us see who the top earning authors of today are.

5 Top Earning Authors In The World:

1. James Patterson: He is famous for his thrillers and horror fiction. Especially the psychological thrillers around Alex Cross have earned him lots and lots of laurels (and of course cash). He is also famous for 'Women Murder Club'. He tops the list by sheer force of numbers. You must be wondering why J K Rowling is not on the list of top writers. She has written 7 books and this man has written a whopping 71 books in the last 30 years!
Annual Earnings: Above $80 million

2. Stephenie Meyer: The new star on the horizon and she gets there in just a matter of 7 years. The first Twilight series book came in 2003 and the rest is history. Meyer was the best selling author for 2 consecutive years (2008 and 2009) for her intense vampire romance that mysteriously includes werewolves too! That has helped and so has the fact that her books were converted into multi-million dollar films.
Annual Earnings: Above $50 million

3. Danielle Steel: This enchanting lady has made a fortune out of writing enchantingly mushy love stories. She is again a master of numbers as she publishes 2 to 3 books per years. She is the only rich author whose books have featured on the best sellers list for 381 consecutive weeks! 'Going Home', 'Perfect Strangers' etc are some of her best works.
Annual Earnings: Above 35 million

4. Stephen King: The Father of macabre literature and the man who changed the face of spooky horror friction is on the list of best selling authors because even decades after their publishing his books are still best sellers! Known for a foul temper (called James Patterson 'an awful writer') he has contributed the scripts to some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters; 'The Shinning', 'The Mist' and 'Shawshank Redemption' to name a few.
Annual Earnings: Above $30 million

5. Ken Follet: You know him for his historic novels, meaning novels inspired by history. Some the finest fiction about the 2 World Wars has come from this man's pen. 'Jackdraws', 'Eye Of the Needle' and 'Triple' are some of his most sold works.
Annual Income: Above $20 million.

These were the five top authors of our time who wrote well and got paid for it.