# James Patterson reveals his secrets to success



## thewitt (Dec 5, 2014)

I have not taken this course yet, but a writer friend of mine - who has yet to publish, but has written three full-length novels that I think are very good - recommended this video course.

It's $90, but I thought some people might be interested. I have no vested interest in this, just sharing. There are 22 online lessons in the series it appears.

James Patterson, author of 19 consecutive #1 New York Times best-sellers, reveals his tricks of the trade. 
Learn more: http://mstr.cl/1J82m72


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## Scatterdown (May 3, 2015)

If Step One is not: Get intern at publishing house to write your books and collect the cash, your friend is getting rolled, big time. I couldn't see any value in a course  by James Patterson to indies, honestly. #funpolice


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Excuse me while I crawl under the desk to find my eyeballs.


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## Scatterdown (May 3, 2015)

Oh, I don't want to make fun of Thewitt, as he did post these links in good faith, and you know, we do want to see people have success and learn about the craft.

But then there are good writing links and scams, and unfortunately, having a guy whose output has been ghost-written since the invention of the printing press giving "writing advice" is really taking advantage of folks who do want to learn how to be successful businesspeople/writers.

"James Patterson" is a marketing brand like "Ronald McDonald". I think if the videos were retrospectives on high-level branding in traditional publishing and global print distribution networks, yeah, there could be value in that. But writing? Some MFA straight out of University wrote those books.


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## A Woman&#039;s Place Is In The Rebellion (Apr 28, 2011)

There was another thread on this course recently and a few kboarders intended to sign up. Maybe they can weigh in on whether they learned anything.


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## thewitt (Dec 5, 2014)

Love what he did or hate it, he has to have something to teach...

You don't make millions selling books simply by hiring English majors to ghost-write for you.

I'm sorry that I posted this now...  Maybe I can delete the thread.


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## Abderian (Apr 5, 2012)

If all it took was to get ghostwriters to write books for you, there would be many more billionaire writers. I'm not going to sign up for the course, but I don't doubt that Patterson does have some worthy advice to share on the kinds of books that predictably sell well, how to write page turners and so on. I read that his ghostwriters must follow precise structural outlines. Don't delete the thread, thewitt. It isn't a stupid post.


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

thewitt said:


> Love what he did or hate it, he has to have something to teach...
> 
> You don't make millions selling books simply by hiring English majors to ghost-write for you.
> 
> I'm sorry that I posted this now... Maybe I can delete the thread.





Perry Constantine said:


> Step 1: Get a publishing deal.
> Step 2: Have your books ghost-written.
> Step 3: ?
> Step 4: Profit!


Don't worry about it, I found the link interesting. A lot of snarkiness towards very successful authors tonight. There is another thread were E.L. James is getting blasted. Soon someone will start up on Dan Brown, again. 

And James Patterson's co-authors are credited on the books, ghostwriters receive no credit. Russell Blake co-authored a book with Clive Cussler and he has mentioned that Clive Cussler was very much involved during that project. I wouldn't consider Russell to be Clive Cussler's ghostwriter!


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

Alan Petersen said:


> Soon someone will start up on Dan Brown, again.


Oh God! Don't get me started on Dan Brown!!! UGH!


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## Elidibus (May 13, 2015)

Tuesday Chase said:


> If Step One is not: Get intern at publishing house to write your books and collect the cash, your friend is getting rolled, big time. I couldn't see any value in a course by James Patterson to indies, honestly. #funpolice


Took the words right out of my mouth 

While I am appreciative of the link, and I'm sure Mr. Patterson does have useful advice, I'm not sure the advice he could offer is worth 90 bucks. Having only read a small portion of his books, I have to say I find his work average at best, and at worst, one of the worst books I've ever read. (I'm looking at you, Witch and Wizard series) But five books should be enough to give one an idea about a writer, right? Maybe I'm just not reading the right books.

Though I do have to admit, if the chance ever came up by some miracle, I'd write a book for him and let him put his name on it in a heartbeat,


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## Joe Trent (Jul 13, 2014)

"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance—that principle is contempt prior to investigation."  Best $90 I've spent on training in awhile.


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## Scatterdown (May 3, 2015)

His publishers are the ones who marketed those ordinary books into the stratosphere, remember? I hope as indies we're all aware of that !!


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## Scatterdown (May 3, 2015)

Joe Trent said:


> "There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance--that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Best $90 I've spent on training in awhile.


"A fool and his money are easily parted."


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## eleanorberesford (Dec 22, 2014)

Joe Trent said:


> "There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance--that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Best $90 I've spent on training in awhile.


What did it cover?


Joe Trent said:


> "There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance--that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Best $90 I've spent on training in awhile.


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## Jane Killick (Aug 29, 2014)

Tuesday Chase said:


> His publishers are the ones who marketed those ordinary books into the stratosphere, remember? I hope as indies we're all aware of that !!


Not really in Patterson's case. He went into novel writing from a background of advertising and marketing and pretty much took the lead in getting his books out there. If he'd left it to his publisher, it's unlikely he would have been so successful.

I've read comments from people who have taken this course and said it is worthwhile. He is a very successful author and lots of people read the "Patterson" brand. He must be doing something right. For people who wish to learn and are happy to pay $90 (there are more expensive courses out there) then I say good for them.


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## Joe Trent (Jul 13, 2014)

eleanorberesford said:


> What did it cover?


PASSION + HABIT
Getting into the proper mindset is an essential first step to writing a best-seller. This lesson explores James's secrets for staying focused, productive, and motivated.
03
RAW IDEAS
How do you recognize a great idea? How do you figure out if it's worthy of your effort? James spells out the techniques he uses to generate his ideas and then separate the good ones from the less compelling ones.
04
PLOT
With the right plot, your reader won't be able to stop turning the pages. In this lesson, James measures out his unique approach to developing plot lines that keep readers wanting more.
05
RESEARCH
For James, conducting in-depth research not only makes his writing better, it also boosts his credibility with his readers. Find out when and how James conducts his research and how he incorporates it into his writing in a thoughtful way.
06
OUTLINES PART 1
James's secret weapon is a comprehensive outline. Learn how he sets himself up for a fast and successful first draft. No matter what, don't skip this lesson!
07
OUTLINES PART 2
James has never shown the outline for his best-seller Honeymoon to anyone (not even his publisher) until now. Follow along with the outline provided in your Class Workbook as James further explains his process.
08
WRITER'S BLOCK
Even when you've written as many books as James has (76 best sellers and counting), there's still nothing scarier than staring at the blank page. Here's how to conquer those fears.
09
CREATING CHARACTERS
From Alex Cross to Michael Bennett, James has mastered the art of creating complex and memorable characters. Hero to villain, learn how to make your character stay with your reader well beyond the last page.
10
FIRST LINES
Grab your readers attention quickly, and make them hold on for dear life. James shares his tips for getting your reader hooked from the very first line.
11
WRITING DIALOGUE
Dialogue should always push the story forward. Listen to James explain a few common dialogue pitfalls and easy ways to avoid them.
12
BUILDING A CHAPTER
James is well known for his numerous short and snappy chapters. Learn how he propels the reader through the book with an outline as his roadmap.
13
WRITING SUSPENSE
The secret to suspense is...
14
ENDING THE BOOK
We've all read great books with terrible endings. Of the infinite possible endings, learn how James chooses the right one.
15
EDITING
James is liberal with a red pen; his editing is key to keeping the reader engaged. Learn how to trim the fat with our interactive editing assignment.
16
WORKING WITH A CO-AUTHOR
When does James decide to use a co-author and is it a true collaboration? In this lesson, we meet two of his most trusted co-authors who share their process for making a collaboration truly successful.
17
GETTING PUBLISHED
Author of 76 best-sellers and holder of the Guinness World Record for the first person to sell over 1 million eBooks, James knows a thing or two about getting published. In this lesson he shares what he's learned.
18
BOOK TITLES AND COVERS
Readers do judge books by their covers. What should they think about yours?
19
MARKETING THE PATTERSON WAY
Before publishing his first book, James was an executive at a top ad agency in New York. Find out what James learned from his time in advertising, and how he used it to change the book marketing game.
20
HOLLYWOOD
What happens when Hollywood takes an interest in your story? Sit back and listen as James shares the best and worst moments from his time on the set.
21
PERSONAL STORY
Every master begins as a student. James shares his long, winding path to becoming the world's best-selling author.
22


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## Nick Marsden (Jan 28, 2015)

That sounds like a decent syllabus for 90 buckaroonies.

<flip the switch>
AGH! You mean he OUTLINES??!! HERETIC!!!
</flipped switch>


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## Scatterdown (May 3, 2015)

Nick Marsden said:


> That sounds like a decent syllabus for 90 buckaroonies.


Especially if you don't have access to Google


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

I took it. It was a lot of basic stuff that anyone who has taken a lot of writing courses will know, but listening to Patterson talk about it and talk through how he does things was really interesting.

He doesn't have ghost writers. He has co-writers, who he gives outlines of 50-100 pages to. He does rewrites with them as well, working through multiple drafts of the books. Of course, that's not the fun narrative about him, so people don't bother to use google to actually see what he does instead of just spouting off the party line of he doesn't write his own books.
Here are a couple links for the lazy. I find his co-writing process fascinating and I imagine his co-writers learn a lot from him. http://blog.karenwoodward.org/2014/05/how-james-patterson-works-with-his-co-authors.html and http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/soapbox/article/55152-what-i-learned-from-james-patterson.html

Any book with only Patterson's name on it (ie all the Alex Cross books, for example) are solely written by him. So hate him if you want, but nobody can deny his success. He built it, paying for his own advertising even when his publishers didn't think it was a good plan. He's a super smart guy and I felt this video set was a steal and well worth listening to.


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## eleanorberesford (Dec 22, 2014)

Thanks, Joe and Annie!


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## Anna Drake (Sep 22, 2014)

Well said Joe. When I saw an opportunity to sign up for a Patterson class, I jumped at it. No matter what you think of his books, millions of readers feel exactly the opposite way. I sometimes sit there thinking of how sick he would be to know there's an indie author sucking up whatever knowledge he cares to impart. 

Am I glad I've taken the class? Yes. He's a wonderful motivator, and he has a few tricks to he share, too. I think $90 is a very reasonable price to pay for a class from a man with his track record. Do I like his books? No, not really. Would he like my books? Probably not. But can I learn from him? I think I already have.


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## No longer seen (Aug 17, 2013)

Joe Trent said:


> RESEARCH
> For James, conducting in-depth research not only makes his writing better, it also boosts his credibility with his readers. Find out when and how James conducts his research and how he incorporates it into his writing in a thoughtful way.


This triggered my snarkiness. I've read a lot of Alex Cross, and Patterson makes numerous errors. Four Blind Mice is the worst. He's not even internally consistent with his errors.

That said, I have to agree he has a flair for depicting highly unusual and dramatic murders, and for jerking the reader's emotional chain. I'd guess Mama Nana is a huge part of his success. It's like watching a stage magician catch your attention by doing something dazzling with his right hand, while his left pulls off the trick.

It's just some of us prefer thrillers that make sense when we close the book and think about them.

Plus, when he bothers, he can pull a lot of surprise endings.

Still, I sometimes ponder why he's a megaseller while the Canadian team comprising Michael Slade is not. Slade books are about various police in the Royal Mounted Police, including the tragedies of their personal lives, murders with a gruesome and dramatic flair, truly sicko serial killers, plus a lot of twists. And they're fastpaced, and always interesting.

That is, he has Patterson's same strengths, and the police work is credible and well-researched. Slade truly does the research on procedures, forensics, etc.

Maybe it is in the marketing. Patterson was the US head of the world's largest advertising agency. His early books (written only by himself) were not very successful. When he wrote Along Came a Spider, the first Alex Cross, he created and aired TV ads, paying for them himself, over his publisher's strident objections.

When it became a bestseller, they stopped objecting.

And that's when he set up his co-writing system.

In fact, for Patterson, Little Brown is not a publisher, just a distribution system. He chooses his covers, creates the advertising, chooses his co-writers, etc. He must have a proofreader but certainly nobody who's going to question the story or it lack of credibility. They do what he says because he makes most of their profits, really just contributing their ability to print paper books and distribute them to bookstores.

To a large degree, Patterson has been self-published for twenty years.

It's ironic that if he chose to form his own publishing company (which obviously he could easily afford to do), he'd make even more bucks.


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

Alan Petersen said:


> Don't worry about it, I found the link interesting. A lot of snarkiness towards very successful authors tonight. There is another thread were E.L. James is getting blasted. Soon someone will start up on Dan Brown, again.


Strangely enough, this never seems to happen to Stephen King.


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## Annette_g (Nov 27, 2012)

I haven't read any James Patterson books, but I know he's successful. I can't afford the $90 dollars for the course though.

And as for mentions of Dan Brown further up the thread, I have read every one of his books and absolutely loved them. I read the Da Vinci Code in one day, just couldn't put it down. The only other time that has happened was with the Harry Potter books  People like different things. I like Dan Brown's writing and JK Rowling's. Hubby things Dan Brown is passable but doesn't like the way JK Rowling writes at all


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## Anna Drake (Sep 22, 2014)

Richard, the bit about setting up his own publishing firm is ironic. I believe he just did. But it's for children's fiction, which I still can't believe he writes.


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## RBK (Nov 28, 2014)

Thanks so much for letting me know about this. Patterson might sneer at the indie side of things, but I'll take any opportunity I can to learn craft from a guy who knows how to write bestselling fiction (to my taste or not, that's irrelevant).


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## Jena H (Oct 2, 2011)

His background is marketing and advertising?  That explains a lot, and I'm sure came in handy for him, especially at the beginning of his career.  I'm sure his advice can be beneficial for those who think he has something worth emulating (craft-wise, not simply $$$$-wise).  But some of those chapter topics seem very very vague and/or subjective.


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## a_g (Aug 9, 2013)

Jena H said:


> But some of those chapter topics seem very very vague and/or subjective.


Not much different from most writing classes where I've read the syllabus or actually taken. For $90 that's not a bad price, especially considering the star power of his name.

I'm glad some writers who've taken the class chimed in (and with positive reviews). When I have the $90 to spare, I may drop it on this class for myself.


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## Randall Wood (Mar 31, 2014)

How do you write a "page turner"? Simple, don't give the reader a choice.

Borrowed the following from Martin Ortiz, who made an excellent analysis of the bestsellers over the last 50 years

_"James Patterson Has Page Count Envy.

James Patterson is a machine for writing bestsellers. I don't fault him for that: he knows how to give people what they want. However, I am annoyed by the way he writes short novels which are printed out to appear to be long books. From 2005 to 2008 he had these six entries which stayed at least four weeks in the number one position on the bestsellers list*.

Year, Title, Page count, Word count
2005 Honeymoon, 393 pages, 65572 words
2005 4th of July, 392 pages, 68000 words
2005 Lifeguard, 394 pages, 71634 words
2005-06 Mary, Mary, 392 pages, 72436 words
2006 Judge and Jury, 421 pages, 74288 words
2008 Double Cross, 2008, 389 pages, 70753 words
*He had 16 total number one books during this period.

These average out to be 397 pages and 70447 words, or 177.4 words per page.

In contrast, the seven other novels which stayed for four weeks on the number one list during this period averaged 292.2 words per page. All of the equivalent entries on the lists from 1960 through 2009 averaged 346.7 words per page - although many of these entries are skewed at the other end. Those novels with 800 plus pages tried to limit their page count with an average of 405.3 words per page.

This phenomenon is not limited to Patterson, but out of the 197 books included in my analyses he has 7 out of the top 9 positions for fewest words per page."_

See the whole thread here: http://martinhillortiz.blogspot.com/2015/05/king-of-golden-hill-part-two.html


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## PseudoScribe (May 19, 2015)

I dropped the cash for the class. At first, I almost asked for a refund after seeing how basic the information really was. Then, then I watched a handful of the videos. They certainly are motivating, so I guess I got my money's worth just from those. 

In my opinion, this really isn't a class per se, but an online seminar/lecture from JP himself. Some guy follows along JP's videos and put up a "lesson plan" that is very basic in nature. I don't think JP wrote any of the accompanying material. Again, just my thoughts on it. 

For now, I'll let them keep my money while I finish watching JP talk about the craft.


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

thewitt said:


> Love what he did or hate it, he has to have something to teach...
> 
> You don't make millions selling books simply by hiring English majors to ghost-write for you.


Yeah, like him or not, the guy sells like hotcakes. It's silly to poo-hoo advice from somebody who sells at that level; he's clearly doing something very, very right. Sure, he hires ghostwriters, but that wasn't always the case. And the fact remains, he sells books that readers want to read.

And the man_ is _upfront about his co-writers/ghostwriters.


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## a_g (Aug 9, 2013)

SevenDays said:


> And the man_ is _upfront about his co-writers/ghostwriters.


Yes. And as it's been pointed out a few times already, it's not like he drops his napkin notes in their laps, waves his hands airily and says 'make it happen'. He's very hands-on from start to finish.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

I've taken the class, and definitely felt it was worth my $90. A lot of the information was basic, but I enjoyed the videos and I came away with several actionable tips. I also thought it was interesting to hear how Patterson co-writes books.

Most of the people here seem to hate Patterson for that, but these videos gave you a chance to hear from the co-writers and see exactly how the novels were created. I found that fascinating, and I love the system they've created.

I'd encourage anyone on the fence to take the course if you can afford the $90. If you want to be successful in this business the best thing you can do is invest in yourself, and that means taking courses like this one. You may hate Patterson, but the man was writing books before many of us were born. He knows his craft, and I'm new enough at this to listen when someone who has cranked out novels consistently for decades wants to tell me how they've accomplished what they have.

Study people who have the success you want.


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## J.A. Cipriano (May 27, 2014)

I took the course as well and while the info is basic, just hearing him talk about it was awesome. There are also several useable nuggets too.


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## Deke (May 18, 2013)

I think Patterson has a lot to offer the indie writer. This is, let's face it, a business and we are all trying to balance our creative interests with the idea of selling some books. There was a recent Vanity Fair article on Patterson and he's basically acting as an Executive Producer of a TV Show. The TV-series model is something many indie writers are utilizing. I only wish I had the money to hire a staff of writers to help produce all the stories I'd like to tell.

That said, his books are hit or miss. The major stylistic points are short chapters in which a major event or revelation happens.


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

Andrew Ashling said:


> Strangely enough, this never seems to happen to Stephen King.


Oh, they're turning on him too. I've heard several indie authors complain that Mr. Mercedes must have been ghostwritten since it wasn't up to par to other King novels. The mob is fickle, brother. (Gladiator). 

Thanks to everyone who has actually taken the course and chimed in about it. I appreciate it and I'm plunking down my $90. I need a spark and I'm trying to get better at outlining.


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## C. Michael Wells (Feb 26, 2014)

Hey, you guys, You can find a whole semester's worth of class on writing speculative fiction by Brian Sanderson on youtube for free. I believe their are around 16 lectures or so.  It's his fiction class tought at BYU and it is thorough, informative, and FREE.


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## RBK (Nov 28, 2014)

C. Michael Wells said:


> Hey, you guys, You can find a whole semester's worth of class on writing speculative fiction by Brian Sanderson on youtube for free. I believe their are around 16 lectures or so. It's his fiction class tought at BYU and it is thorough, informative, and FREE.


Saw this one a year or so back too. Very enjoyable and informative.

Here's a link for anyone interested:


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## Someone (Dec 30, 2011)

TY much for sharing that C. Michael Wells. Very appreciated.


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

Also free and amazing:

From Jim Butcher-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiKmP-tL4vo (this is part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQWDZp05leA (this is part 2)


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

I hadn't seen the Butcher ones. Thanks, Annie!


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## meh (Apr 18, 2013)

TOS.


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## John Van Stry (May 25, 2011)

It's all in the advertising. He knows how to advertise his products, and he has the money to pay for it.


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

It's not all in the advertising. A lot of it is also in the writing side. If what Patterson did was all advertising, everyone would just do that and no publisher would ever publish a dud again. Think about it for a minute. 

Hate him all you want or whatever, but the man knows how to craft books that millions of readers can't put down and want more of when they are done reading.


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## Chinese Writer (Mar 25, 2014)

Annie B said:


> He doesn't have ghost writers. He has co-writers, who he gives outlines of 50-100 pages to. He does rewrites with them as well, working through multiple drafts of the books. Of course, that's not the fun narrative about him, so people don't bother to use google to actually see what he does instead of just spouting off the party line of he doesn't write his own books.


I'm always interested in learning how other writers outline. Do you think the outlining process is worth the $90? Too bad you can't just pick and choose which video of the course to pay for.


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## EG Michaels (Oct 15, 2013)

artan said:


> I'm always interested in learning how other writers outline. Do you think the outlining process is worth the $90? Too bad you can't just pick and choose which video of the course to pay for.


It was to me, especially since he included the outline for one of his best sellers.

I'm only halfway through the videos so far and I've picked up a bunch of ideas and tips which I've been able to put into action right away.


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

judygoodwin said:


> Thanks to everyone who took the class and offered their feedback. I don't plan to take this class, and I'm not a Patterson fan. But he probably knows more about writing successfully than most Creative Writing college programs out there.
> 
> And yeah. I have a BA in Creative Writing, so I know. That program didn't really teach me sh**.


You made me laugh and I agree with you 117%.


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## RBK (Nov 28, 2014)

Annie B said:


> It's not all in the advertising. A lot of it is also in the writing side. If what Patterson did was all advertising, everyone would just do that and no publisher would ever publish a dud again. Think about it for a minute.
> 
> Hate him all you want or whatever, but the man knows how to craft books that millions of readers can't put down and want more of when they are done reading.


Too true.

He gets openings, he gets mission-driven scenes, he gets cliffhangers. Key ingredients of page-turning novels, and love him or loathe him, techniques he has mastered over decades.


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## John Van Stry (May 25, 2011)

Annie B said:


> It's not all in the advertising. A lot of it is also in the writing side. If what Patterson did was all advertising, everyone would just do that and no publisher would ever publish a dud again. Think about it for a minute.
> 
> Hate him all you want or whatever, but the man knows how to craft books that millions of readers can't put down and want more of when they are done reading.


I don't hate him, and I don't think he's a bad writer. But it IS all in the advertising. There are a lot of great writers out there with poor sales because they're not reaching their audience. He -knows- he really -knows- how to reach his audience, he has the means and the experience to reach the people that want to read what he wants to write.

That's not a trite skill, it's a pretty important one, and it's why he is successful as he is, because he knows how to put his books in front of the people who want to read them. His advertising skills are what I want to learn.


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

vanstry said:


> I don't hate him, and I don't think he's a bad writer. But it IS all in the advertising. There are a lot of great writers out there with poor sales because they're not reaching their audience. He -knows- he really -knows- how to reach his audience, he has the means and the experience to reach the people that want to read what he wants to write.
> 
> That's not a trite skill, it's a pretty important one, and it's why he is successful as he is, because he knows how to put his books in front of the people who want to read them. His advertising skills are what I want to learn.


I'm not a Patterson fan. I've read a couple of his Alex Cross books and that's it, but if what you wrote is true, he might get away with it once or twice, maybe a few times, but not to the tune of selling over 300 million copies across 40-50 novels in 20+ years if his (and his co-writers) writing was so awful that only by his mad skills in advertising and deep pockets could he fool so many for so long. Give readers a teensy weeny bit of credit.


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## John Van Stry (May 25, 2011)

Alan Petersen said:


> I'm not a Patterson fan. I've read a couple of his Alex Cross books and that's it, but if what you wrote is true, he might get away with it once or twice, maybe a few times, but not to the tune of selling over 300 million copies across 40-50 novels in 20+ years if his (and his co-writers) writing was so awful that only by his mad skills in advertising and deep pockets could he fool so many for so long. Give readers a teensy weeny bit of credit.


Um, did I say anywhere that he's a bad writer? Did I say anywhere that he can not write? Why are you thinking that I said that, when I did not say that? Obviously he knows how to write, I thought that was a given. 
All I am saying is that he has found a way, by use of his advertising skills, to get his book out there in front of everyone that would want to read it. That can be hard to do.

Getting your book in front of readers, especially as an indy, is difficult. I for one would love to know how to do a better job at that, and he is definitely an expert at it.

I find it strange, that because I'm praising one of his skills, that people think I'm damning all of his other ones.


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## thewitt (Dec 5, 2014)

The mantra that "It's all advertising" just doesn't ring true.

Yes, advertising is important, and some really great authors are out there sitting on the shelves unread because they DON'T advertise, however if it were just about advertising, the Big 5 would only have NYT Best Selling authors - because they clearly have the budget and expertice to advertise.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

I took the Patterson course as well. I found it well worth the time and effort and $90. A pittance for the opportunity to learn something from a writer who's walked way farther down the road than I'm on. I've watched the Sanderson and Butcher videos as well, plus tons of other learning from other writers. Take the learning where you can get it if you're serious about writing for a living. Study the people who are well ahead of you in the craft and the business.


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## FlowerShift (May 25, 2015)

Thanks for posting this, thewitt. I've read a few of James Patterson books and knew generally that he's a global bestselling author. What I didn't know was how fascinating he is. The man's got passion and drive, and now I'm curious to know what wisdom he has to impart


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## Goulburn (May 21, 2014)

I am happy with my $90. investment in the Jame's Patterson Masterclass too. 
I began learning to write 65 years ago and I'm happy to acknowledge that I still have a lot to learn. I confidently assumed that an author or brand that has such reader success as James Patterson has would have something to teach me. 

The course is not a one stop how to write course. It focuses on James Patterson's writing. I cannot say if it would represent value to you. I can only say that I agree with Joe that it's the best $90. I have spent on training for awhile. That is because I had a specific reason to want to listen to Jame's Patterson. If you aren't receptive or needing the advice I needed at that time, this may not be the program for you. 

I have no problem in reading coauthored work. I found Jame's Patterson's explanation (one of the lessons) of how the authors work together interesting. 
If you are on a tight budget, there are books under $10. that teach more about writing. You will learn more about marketing for free here. 
What I wanted was to listen to what James Patterson does, direct from the author. I found that worthwhile.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

Alan Petersen said:


> Don't worry about it, I found the link interesting. A lot of snarkiness towards very successful authors tonight. There is another thread were E.L. James is getting blasted. Soon someone will start up on Dan Brown, again.
> 
> And James Patterson's co-authors are credited on the books, ghostwriters receive no credit. Russell Blake co-authored a book with Clive Cussler and he has mentioned that Clive Cussler was very much involved during that project. I wouldn't consider Russell to be Clive Cussler's ghostwriter!


James Patterson is a marketing genius. That's what he should be teaching. How to market your books. That is something he knows how to do. The only novels that he has actually written are those without a secondary name attached. Otherwise, they are written by the "smaller" name who doesn't receive much credit for the Bestsellers List. But, as we Indies know, marketing takes a lot of money, which is something Patterson has that a lot of us do not (yet).


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

LeonardDHilleyII said:


> James Patterson is a marketing genius. That's what he should be teaching. How to market your books. That is something he knows how to do. The only novels that he has actually written are those without a secondary name attached. Otherwise, they are written by the "smaller" name who doesn't receive much credit for the Bestsellers List. But, as we Indies know, marketing takes a lot of money, which is something Patterson has that a lot of us do not (yet).


Perhaps you should look back earlier in the thread where his co-writing process was linked. He co-writes with his co-writers, which is a little different than just putting his name on books other people wrote. He's written 22 Alex Cross novels himself, with no co-writer, as well as quite a few other novels also without cowriters, and co-written dozens more. That's someone who knows his craft.


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## John Ellsworth (Jun 1, 2014)

Ryn Shell said:


> I am happy with my $90. investment in the Jame's Patterson Masterclass too.
> I began learning to write 65 years ago and I'm happy to acknowledge that I still have a lot to learn. I confidently assumed that an author or brand that has such reader success as James Patterson has would have something to teach me.
> 
> The course is not a one stop how to write course. It focuses on James Patterson's writing. I cannot say if it would represent value to you. I can only say that I agree with Joe that it's the best $90. I have spent on training for awhile. That is because I had a specific reason to want to listen to Jame's Patterson. If you aren't receptive or needing the advice I needed at that time, this may not be the program for you.
> ...


Agree totally.

I took it too.


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## Anna Drake (Sep 22, 2014)

artan said:


> I'm always interested in learning how other writers outline. Do you think the outlining process is worth the $90?


Artan, I found his outlining segment very helpful. Plus the course includes the outline he wrote for Honeymoon, which was opened my eyes to a new style of outlining. When I bothered to outline, I'd usually write one sentence per scene, working three or four chapters in advance. But Patterson's outlines in much more depth. I'm hooked on his system. Plus, it was fun reading his outline and then comparing it to the finished novel.


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## Jessie Jasen (May 30, 2015)

Thanks everybody for posting links to writing courses. I'm definitely looking into taking Patterson's masterclass. I think that as a writer you can't do yourself a bigger favor than to constantly learn, educate yourself and get informed on how successful writers write/have written their books. 

When I began writing I did an extensive research on writing techniques of prolific writers. I learned that Barbara Cartland (romance author) narrated her books, which is how she succeeded in writing 26 novels in one year and more than 700 in her lifetime. 

Other authors (like Patterson) make extensive outlines and zillions of notes. You can always learn something new from other writers, and maybe make good use of it in the future. In my experience, writing is a tender balance between having creative ideas and making them work on paper.

Anyway, this is my first post (ever!) and I hope to hang out with you all on kboards in the future!


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

LeonardDHilleyII said:


> James Patterson is a marketing genius. That's what he should be teaching. How to market your books. That is something he knows how to do. The only novels that he has actually written are those without a secondary name attached. Otherwise, they are written by the "smaller" name who doesn't receive much credit for the Bestsellers List. But, as we Indies know, marketing takes a lot of money, which is something Patterson has that a lot of us do not (yet).


So all a person needs is a lot of money to advertize and they too could sell 300+ million books like James Patterson has done regardless of the quality of the book. Sounds like the Internet marketing pipe dreams that you don't need to write well or you can just outsource the writing and make millions because that part doesn't matter. All it takes is marketing genius and money.

Maybe I'll go sell my car or take out a mortgage on my house since that's all it takes to ensure I can have James Pattern type success.


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## Decon (Feb 16, 2011)

Alan Petersen said:


> So all a person needs is a lot of money to advertize and they too could sell 300+ million books like James Patterson has done regardless of the quality of the book. Sounds like the Internet marketing pipe dreams that you don't need to write well or you can just outsource the writing and make millions because that part doesn't matter. All it takes is marketing genius and money.
> 
> Maybe I'll go sell my car or take out a mortgage on my house since that's all it takes to ensure I can have James Pattern type success.


I hoping you're saying this tongue in cheek, so I'm guessing you're not serious saying that's all you have to do.

To emulate him, first of you'd need a trad-publisher to put their money where their mouth is to invest in the story. Then having the paper book distribution in place, you could maybe decide to gamble on taking out a mortgage for TV ads, to add to the publishers marketing budget. But even then you wouldn't be in the know, or have the contacts to call in favors on pricing and slots. It's the same with authors who talk about emulating Konrath. Many forget, because he talks the talk about trad-publishers being effectively slimeballs that he still has the tag of a published author on his CV that has helped him to get to where he's at.


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## Nic Saint (Mar 31, 2014)

Thanks for the heads-up. I've always been a big James Patterson fan and can't wait to take this course.


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## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

JP's first book was an award winning book which sold under 10,000 copies. He then re-thought his writing and marketing and having a very successful marketing background he personally paid for and managed his next title, _Along Came A Spider._ He showed the big publishing houses how to market. TV commercials? They all thought he was crazy. But he went from an award winning unknown author to a brand name in months.


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## Douglas E Wright (Mar 11, 2011)

I h


RKC said:


> Saw this one a year or so back too. Very enjoyable and informative.
> 
> Here's a link for anyone interested:


 Thanks for this. I began watching the videos this morning. There's a lot to cover but it's definitely worth the time.


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## SJ Kelley (Feb 13, 2015)

Based on the comments here, I decided to give this a go. What I found odd though is that I didn't receive an email confirming sign-up, and I can't find any way to get a receipt for tax purposes. To those of you who have taken this course: were you able to get a receipt? Thanks!

EDIT: Never mind, it finally showed up in my email! So strange...


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## SJ Kelley (Feb 13, 2015)

After finishing the course, I don't think it was worth the price. The pieces on structuring the story felt very basic and conversational. I've read more writing books than I care to admit (at least 50+), and I think John Truby's _Anatomy of Story_, James Scott Bell's _Super Structure_, Blake Snyder's _Save the Cat_, and Libbie Hawker's _Take Off Your Pants_ were all more informative on that aspect than this course.

That said, the best part was having access to his beats for _Honeymoon_; seeing how he outlines was nice. The editing lesson was also neat. There was a tool where you could edit his first draft, and when you were done it compared your edits to his. Insightful. But those two things weren't worth the $99 to me. If I could get it for half price? Sure.


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## anicolle (Dec 13, 2014)

Thanks for posting about this. I'm always looking to learn from other writers, even if their writing isn't necessarily my cup of tea. The Sanderson videos are great too, particularly the ones that cover short stories.


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## Chinese Writer (Mar 25, 2014)

SJ Kelley said:


> After finishing the course, I don't think it was worth the price. The pieces on structuring the story felt very basic and conversational. I've read more writing books than I care to admit (at least 50+), and I think John Truby's _Anatomy of Story_, James Scott Bell's _Super Structure_, Blake Snyder's _Save the Cat_, and Libbie Hawker's _Take Off Your Pants_ were all more informative on that aspect than this course.


Thanks for the review. I've been debating whether or not to splurge on this course after reading the initial reviews. I'm a craft book junkie too, so if it's really basic, then I probably wouldn't learn anything new. I've also read all the craft books you mentioned (although I couldn't get into the Anatomy of Story, but I like Libbie's book).


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## rosemaryrey (Jun 11, 2015)

I liked the last half of the program. The segment with his co-writers was very enlightening, explaining the process stated by previous threads on this post. He is a likeable guy so I was motivated to take a lot of the information to assist in my process. Would I spend $90 again? No. I get a lot of great information from books about writing from other authors and take whatever works for me. I really wanted to learn about the Outlining process, which they give you a sample of his outline for a book written with a co-author. I just don't think that is my process. I was also a little miffed at him stating that an author (unless a genius) should write in 3rd Person Limited and never Omniscient. I just felt like my creativity was being limited by his "absolutes." However, I would never discourage an author from taking this course because I did enjoy about 89% of it.


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## AlexisR (Apr 3, 2015)

SJ Kelley said:


> After finishing the course, I don't think it was worth the price. The pieces on structuring the story felt very basic and conversational. I've read more writing books than I care to admit (at least 50+), and I think John Truby's _Anatomy of Story_, James Scott Bell's _Super Structure_, Blake Snyder's _Save the Cat_, and Libbie Hawker's _Take Off Your Pants_ were all more informative on that aspect than this course.


You just gave me three new books to read.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Take Off Your Pants is the best of the lot, IMO. It's a relatively fast read, but chock full of great info.


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## AlexisR (Apr 3, 2015)

Chris Fox said:


> Take Off Your Pants is the best of the lot, IMO. It's a relatively fast read, but chock full of great info.


It's next up on my list once I finish The Artful Edit.


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## ThePoetJustinB (Jun 8, 2015)

It seems like James Patterson comes out with a new novel every other week or like 3 novels a month. The guy is good I'll give him that but he must write nonstop for a certain amount of time and then rapidly release them at a monthly rate.


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## J.A. Cipriano (May 27, 2014)

Chris Fox said:


> Take Off Your Pants is the best of the lot, IMO. It's a relatively fast read, but chock full of great info.


It's the book I recommend to virtually anyone when they ask me about writing or mention outlining.


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2015)

thewitt said:


> I have not taken this course yet, but a writer friend of mine - who has yet to publish, but has written three full-length novels that I think are very good - recommended this video course.
> 
> It's $90, but I thought some people might be interested. I have no vested interest in this, just sharing. There are 22 online lessons in the series it appears.
> 
> ...


I bookmarked this thread. Thanks for the info.  I may or may not enroll. (I do like his use of short chapters in his books.)

~~~

I've been reading and studying and reading and studying and reading and studying, but at some point, it's time to sh*t or give off the pot.

What I'm currently doing is WRITING, a lot. No amount of reading and studying will get my books out there unless I'm writing and publishing.


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## Douglas E Wright (Mar 11, 2011)

I'm about halfway through the course. It's worth the money, and my sweetie paid in Canadian, so it was over a hundred dollars. It was a late Father's Day gift for me.

It takes awhile to get into because it is setting up the course. But now I'm right into it. The parts on Chapters, Dialogue, Suspense are done well. I'm going to return and follow it over a few weeks instead of doing it all at once like I have been.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Interesting article written by another writer, Joyce Maynard, who took the Patterson course. Nice to see a pro writer who's also interested in continuing to learn and add tools to their craft.


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

Jim Johnson said:


> Interesting article written by another writer, Joyce Maynard, who took the Patterson course. Nice to see a pro writer who's also interested in continuing to learn and add tools to their craft.


That's pretty much any pro writer I've ever met... I can't think of a single well-selling/bestselling author I know, trad/hybrid/indie, who doesn't constantly work on craft and writing better books.


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## Guest (Aug 5, 2015)

Jim Johnson said:


> Interesting article written by another writer, Joyce Maynard, who took the Patterson course. Nice to see a pro writer who's also interested in continuing to learn and add tools to their craft.


Every time I see her name I think about her love affair with JD Salinger. She is also a really great writer in her own right. So very cool to see she doesn't just rest on her laurels and is always trying to get better.

But Annie B. makes a good point as well.


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## Jessie Jasen (May 30, 2015)

I love Patterson's course. I swallowed it in four days, then went on to repeat it.  The parts on outlining, collaboration, Hollywood, building in suspence--and others too--are brilliant. Money well spent.


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## HN Wake (Feb 24, 2015)

Jim Johnson said:


> Interesting article written by another writer, Joyce Maynard, who took the Patterson course. Nice to see a pro writer who's also interested in continuing to learn and add tools to their craft.


This sold me. Thanks Jim!


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## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

I finished the course today. I got a lot out of it. I had a $15 coupon that I found with google.

I don't think I could write anything with only a pencil and a yellow pad, though. Or without a computer.

His discussion of his outlining process was intriguing, and I, a hard-core pantser with fiction titles, might give that a try. (I always outline non-fiction.)

The parts about working with publishers was nothing new to me, though. I did that for dozens of titles and the world he describes and that I worked in no longer exists for authors today.

I was hoping for some insight into self-publishing for the indie, which is where my direction is now, but most of us probably already know more than Patterson knows about that.

But the course had me stopping and going to my WIP, which is with betas now, to change some things because what he says about content in a mystery series makes a lot of sense.

The one lesson I wanted but knew wouldn't be there was the one that tells us how to become James Patterson co-authors.

Patterson is an engaging speaker with a sense of humor. He made me feel he was talking directly to me. That's a rare gift.


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## katrina46 (May 23, 2014)

thewitt said:


> Love what he did or hate it, he has to have something to teach...
> 
> You don't make millions selling books simply by hiring English majors to ghost-write for you.
> 
> I'm sorry that I posted this now... Maybe I can delete the thread.


I don't believe they were all ghostwritten. I was under the impression he'd already made a name for himself before he started that. Trad pubs don't just pick some guy and say you there, we'll use your name and make you famous. You don't have to write a word we just like your name.


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## swolf (Jun 21, 2010)

About a third through the course, and I'm really enjoying it. He's much more personable than I thought he'd be. 

Just trying to absorb it all so far, and I'm glad he included an example of one of his outlines, because while he covered why outlines were important, it was a little short on details.


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