Dreaming Big

For those of you interested in such publishing matters as income, Forbes has released its list of the top ten highest paid authors. The list certainly contains no surprises (other than perhaps the amount of money these writers actually do make), and goes a long way to explain why everyone seems to want to write the great American novel.

In any event, for those of us about a year away from a published title (read: me), the list stands as evidence that people do indeed make money from books. While we are hoping that Lick Your Plate! does make us at least our advance, we can always dream...

Here's the list:

James Patterson (who has a stable of writers working on his books) $70 million
Stephanie Meyer (Vampire Twilight series) $40 million
Stephen King $34 million
Danielle Steel $32 million
Ken Follet (nice boost from Oprah) $20 million
Dean Koontz $18 million
Janet Evanovich $16 million
John Grisham $15 million
Nicholas Sparks $14 million
J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter fame) $10 million

It is important to note that none of these writers are to be confused with Shakespeare or Hemingway, which goes a long way to explaining why they make so much money. Nothing esoteric--just good stories written in plain language.

All of which sounds like there just might be room for Lick Your Plate! on a popular reading list! We can dream can't we?