EL James, the author of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, is at the top of Forbes’ list of highest-earning authors with her earnings touching $95 million in 2012.
This comes after her earnings surpassed that of James Patterson, who took second place with $91 million, after taking the top spot for almost three years. Her first novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, sold approximately 70 million copies in eight months while the trilogy, at its peak, earned her almost a million a week.
One of the reasons why this book has become a publishing phenomenon, and in particular, selling a large number of copies in the e-book format.
Interestingly, the trilogy began as a piece of fan fiction on Stephanie Meyers’ Twilight series but was rewritten before it was published. Speaking of Meyers, even though she was in 13th place in 2012 could not make it in the Top 15 this year.
Forbes also said that the success of the author of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy is unique in the sense that most of the authors on its list are established and their earnings come from the long list of books they have written in the past.
Stephen King and Danielle Steele remain on this Forbes’ list, who released their first novels, Carrie and Going Home, in 1973.
Apart from this, she earned $5 million for the film rights, which will be directed by Sam-Taylor Johnson and released in August 2014. Universal Pictures has already issued a casting call for the lead roles.
