James Patterson

Exactly how did James Patterson become such a wildly successful author? The secret’s as much in the marketing as in the writing, and he’s a guru. Following a talk given by Patterson, Harvard Business School professor John Deighton remarked: "I'd never actually heard a product speak…It was like listening to a can of Coca-Cola describe how it would like to be marketed."

Having one hundred and fifty million copies of his books in print worldwide and being the most borrowed author in the library just isn’t enough for James Patterson. He wants bigger numbers, more sales. He wants the children. He wants their mothers. He wants book world domination.

They’re a nation of readers, sure, but you may be surprised to learn that Britain’s favorite reading material is the work of none other than the master of speed writing himself, James Patterson. The world’s most prolific thriller writer is also the writer whose work is most borrowed from British libraries—to the tune of 1.5 million check-outs between July 2006 and June 2007.