The headquarters of the Patterson blockbuster factory - though he hates the word "factory" - is the enormous colonial-style home he shares with his wife, Susan, and 10-year-old son on a spit of land in Palm Beach, Florida, an enclave of the ultra-rich. "James Patterson has mastered the art (if you can call it that) of writing mindless, page-turning bestsellers that sell millions of copies, then disappear as quickly as last night's fast-food meal," a critic for the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper once wrote - an assessment the author's US publisher still uses in promotional material, albeit in subtly altered form: "Patterson has mastered the art of writing page-turning bestsellers - Chicago Sun-Times."
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A former advertising executive, he has, on occasion, paid for his own TV advertisements and market research. The "by the same author" page of his latest novel lists 48 previous titles, which he produces at an average of three a year, and sometimes far more, often working with collaborators in a back-and-forth process whereby he supplies detailed plot outlines, then edits drafts written by others. He reportedly sells more than £60m-worth of books a year, and last week it was revealed that he is the author most borrowed from British libraries. Despite a relatively low profile compared with authors such as John Grisham and Tom Clancy, and a near-total absence of critical acclaim, Patterson, 60, has had more number-one bestsellers in the past five years than Grisham, Clancy, JK Rowling and Dan Brown combined. And Patterson continues to prove a worthy case-study. These days, Deighton uses Patterson's example to teach his MBA students the secrets of creating a blockbuster product. "It was like listening to a can of Coca-Cola describe how it would like to be marketed." "I'd never actually heard a product speak," said Deighton, recalling the lecture.
He spoke of TV advertising and brand penetration, and about how and where his books were displayed in shops.
Patterson didn't discuss literary technique. By some measures, Patterson is the world's most commercially successful author, and as he listened, Deighton began to see why. The Direct Marketing Association - which represents that maligned segment of society responsible for sending junk mail, unsolicited faxes, and "commercial email" - had invited the thriller writer James Patterson to deliver a lecture. Several years ago, at a gathering of marketing experts in the US, a Harvard Business School professor named John Deighton had a disorienting experience.
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