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Clancy was celebrated for his technically detailed
His net worth today is reported to be around $300 million.
Earlier this summer,
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James, a former television exec, raked in $95 million from sales of her kinky, chick-lit trilogy, which sold more than 70 million copies in 2012. James made $5 million for her seal of approval on a film adaptation, due in theaters August 2014.
Patterson, who made $91 million in the last year, writes one of every 17 hardcovers released in the U.S. every year, according to Forbes.
Here's the full list of the Top-Earning Authors, with some of their best-sellers noted:
1. E.L. James, "50 Shades of Grey" - $95 million
2. James Patterson, "Maximum Ride," "Witch & Wizard" - $91 million
3. Suzanne Collins, "Hunger Games" - $55 million
4. Bill O'Reilly, "Killing Lincoln," "Killing Kennedy" - $28 million
5. Danielle Steel, romance novels - $26 million
6. Jeff Kinney, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," "The Third Wheel" - $24 million
7. Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Plum detective novels - $24 million
8. Nora Roberts, "Thankless in Death," "Dark Witch" - $23 million
9. Dan Brown, "Inferno," "The Da Vinci Code" - $22 million
10. Stephen King, "Under the Dome," "The Shining," - $20 million
11. Dean Koontz, "Odd Thomas," "Odd Hours" - $20 million
12. John Grisham, "The Racketeer," "A Time to Kill" - $18 million
13. David Balducci, "Camel Club," "Simple Genius" - $15 million
14. Rick Riordan, "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" series - $14 million
15. J.K. Rowling, "Harry Potter" series - $13 million
16. George R.R. Martin, "Game of Thrones" series - $12 million