And The Highest-Paid Authors Are…
Filed under: Harry Potter > Twilight
Surprise, surprise!
Twilight's Stephenie Meyer and Harry Potter's J.K. Rowling made it on the Forbes' top 10 list of highest-paid authors, including Stephen King, Danielle Steel, and Nicholas Sparks.
Even though publishers and book sellers are seeing a decline in hard cover sells, e-books show a promising increase in the world of authors as well as highly popular franchises like Twilight and Harry Potter.
The top ten money-maker$ are:
1. James Patterson ($70M)
2. Stephenie Meyer ($40M)
3. Stephen King ($34M)
4. Danielle Steel ($32M)
5. Ken Follett ($20M)
6. Dean Koontz ($18M)
7. Janet Evanovich ($16M)
8. John Grisham ($15M)
9. Nicholas Sparks ($14M)
10. J. K. Rowling ($10M)
[Image via WENN.]
Tags: authors, forbes, highest paid
Pretty On The Eyes and Ears!
Aquaman Movie Dropped!
THE MOVIES STILL SUCK.
J.K Rowling still gets 10 million from Harry Potter books? Wow that's great considering they've been out for a while. I guess a whole new generation is reading them.
Aw, how sad Stephanie- JK Rowling hasn't released a HP book since 2007, and she's STILL on the list- let's see if Meyer will still be on the list in 3 years.
The only authors on this list whose books I haven't read are Stephanie Meyer & Danielle Steele. My favorites are Stephen King and Dean Koontz. The Dark Tower series by King and the Odd Thomas series by Koontz are AWESOME. If I were to recommend either of those…it would have to be SK's Dark Tower books. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll get so bloody angry you'l want to scream…they are AWESOME. Can't say enough about them! Read them if you haven't already…you won't regret it!
Well, of course James Patterson is #1. He puts out a kazillion books every year.
That was just for the period june 2009-june 1-2010. This is not lifetime earnings. You, Mario, have to really read articles better, I know that is asking a lot, and clarify things. Patterson has been around for YEARS. He must be worth a fortune. Good to see writers raking it in. Oh, let me clarify that-writers that make the top 10 sellers list.
i'd love to know how King gets so much money and/or who reads his books…..they're just terribly hard to read……and what a slap in the face to real authors like Koontz and Grisham that Meyer came in #2. I enjoy the whole twilight sagas but we all know Meyer's writing skill's got blown out of proportion.
Had this poll been done 3 years and more ago, JK Rowling would be #1 on the list-and be there for many years. How does a crappy author like Stephenie Meyer make so much money? Well, get it while it lasts, because anything else she does will never be popular-she can't freaking write, she writes like a 15 year old girl.
Re: April 20th – why do you say they are hard to read?? unless you don't speak/understand English, they're pretty easy to figure out…?
Re: April 20th – Stephen King makes as much as he does because he is a great author. He wrote The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, The Green Mile, just to name a few…in case you didn't know that and the Dark Tower is his best work ever! King rules!
this is complete BS
Re: Kiliana Nightwolf –
… which he doesn't write by himself.
Re: April 20th – yeah…never mind…I just noticed your avatar is a pic of Robert Pattinson…you are a Twi-Hard and so that is why you don't get Stephen King…he writes like a grown up! sorry…my bad.
its a shame that JK Rowling is making less then that fat bitch Stephanie …..twilight saga is shit!but still harry potter ended more than 3 years ago so i guess JK gets the last laugh
I'm actually ashamed of my generation that Stephenie Meyer is so high on the list, peddling the crap she spits out. But time will tell if Twilight actually means anything in a few years if Meyer, like Rowling, still makes the list without publishing a books in ages. I don't really read too much by the other authors, but I do love Stephen King.
Re: April 20th –
Stephen King is one of the best writer there is. A gread stylist and storyteller. He won the most prestigious litterary awards. He doesn't write rubbish just to make money.
Re: hawtmomma – I'm fully aware of what he's written and your comments show your immaturity more-so than my pic showing my "Twi-hardness" (which is non-existent)
Re: curiousred – I'm not knocking King, I just don't "get" him. I'm not sure why I have to think he's one of the best because others do. I enjoyed "The Shining" but couldn't get into "The Green Mile" or his book of short stories "Everything's Eventual". Maybe it's boredom more than not understanding….IDK. Seems I was labeled as an idiot d/t my avatar…….the saying seems appropriate, "don't judge a book by it's cover"……….
WTF? is this list for the year 2010 or something? there's no way stephenie meyer beat JK Rowling…
she might make $40M but remember the majority of that money goes towards her cult (aka the moron church)
40 mil for Stephenie Meyer?!? The retards have truly taken over the world.
Re: bich45 – dont worry this is just for her last book. shes worth $2 billion.
Yes, stephenie may earn more than jk rowling at this point, but jk rowling is the richest author to walk the earth. and she started with nothing. so i really don't care that she doesn't earn as much anymore. because everyone knows she's better.
I am happy for Stephen King, Dean Koontz and John Grisham - I like them very much.
Is anyone still impressed that JKR made 10 million EVEN THOUGH her last book came out 3 years ago?! Of course Stephenie Shitter is making tons, but there will only be 4 movies and 4 books. JKR has EIGHT movies and 7 books! And not to mention, a global fanbase!
there are writers of some pretty awful 'literature' on this list…
How do Mormon's feel about Vampires (even sparkly ones?)
wow…what a sad pathetic list. a true snapshot of the low state of humanity
ya'll know there's real books out there? you know, ones not made into fucking movies?
Re: April 20th – Oh god…please stop responding Twi-tard
Wow! 9 of the 10 most overrated, over-hyped, awful authors.
The fact that the HACK Myer gets more $$ then Stephen King is just sacrilegious
Would love to recieve that kind of money for writing novels!
I am in absolute SHOCK that JK Rowling did not beat Stephanie!
Although the 3 movies are a success, Harry Potter has always been on top of the ratings, the books are a bigger seller than Twilight, and.. I am just in absolute shock!
Hey April 20th… I get what you mean… King usually has a large cast of characters and pacing that is slow and steady (not to mention a billion pages long usually) which makes his books a bit daunting. Give him another try, definitely worth the trip. Just finished Under the Dome last week…a Masterpiece!
Also… Glad to see Evanovich on the list…HIGHLY recommend the Plum series…Lula is one of the funniest characters in print out there today.
I think a good ebook if Ruby Sun at smashwords.com. Perez is right, ebooks are the future.
Twilight was dreadful. I slogged halfway through the book and never wanted to finish it. The movies are plodding and dull, too. Never again.
Re: April 20th – it'ss not your rpatz picture it's your illogical and incongruous comments like "i'd love to know how King gets so much money and/or who reads his books…..they're just terribly hard to read" that make you seem abberent. Maybe you should stick to picture books.
Re: hawtmomma – Re: hawtmomma – he actually wrote "The Body", was adapted as "stand by me" for the movie
Re: April 20th – maybe try The Stand (my personal fav), Needful Things, any of the Castle Rock books really, Under the Dome starts out fast. books are worth reading the first 80 or so pages to get into, especially when they last with you forever
Re: redsonja1313 – agreed. makes you almost want to cry. i did much like the twilight series, quite like I liked sweet valley high and the babysitters club when I was 12. But her longevity is surely in question. in 4 years when the movies are well past their pimping point she'll sink back into obscurity, unless of course she publishes more twilight books. stephen king will live for ever. Even after his death, as you can tell from Lisey's Story, there will be more to come
BULLSHIT.
Rowling deserves a higher spot than Meyer.
how did JK Rowling only get $10 million? stephanie meyer's books are shit next to hers, but meyer got $30 million more than rowling. that's just screwed up.
Re: stephenkingsbitch – hey there, I know it was titled "The Body" which was then adapted to "Stand By Me" for the movie, I just thought the moron that is April 20th, wouldn't know it as "The Body"…figured I would put it in terms they could understand…chances are they wouldn't know a whole hell of alot obout SK's masterpieces….seeing as they "would love to know how he makes as much as he does or who reads his books."
thanks though.
wow i'm supprised nicholas sparks gets more than jk rowling