Laura Streib, of Forbes.com, writes today about the literary empire of James Patterson, best-selling author of the DC-based Alex Cross mysteries.

Streib explains,

Patterson’s not a writer. He’s a fiction (and non-fiction) factory. In 2008 he authored or co-authored seven books and in his 33-year career as a published author he’s written 57. He sells an average of 20 million books per year. An estimated 170 million copies of his novels are in print worldwide. Most important: During the last two years he’s earned Hachette an estimated $500 million.

I hope he knows how much Hachette appreciates his role as the Atlas to their globe.