That was the question posed in a Forbes (online) article, prompted by James Patterson's $150M, 17-book deal with Hachette Book Group. Mr. Patterson will produce a mix of adult and YA books under this arrangement.

I have a comment: hey Hachette, you could've had me for $50M.

On the other hand, Mr. Patterson has a track record. Speaking of the CEO of Hachette, the Forbes article writer, Lauren Streib, said:

But Young got a bargain. 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.

The article has interesting comments about James Patterson's continuing hand in the design of his books, based on his ad agency background.