James Patterson made a cool $84 million between May 2010 and April 2011 and signed a 17-book, $150-million contract with Hachette Book Group. The reason Patterson is doing so well while fiction sales across the publishing industry have plummeted? He's cornered the adult and the young adult markets. Adults will be familiar with his Alex Cross series – thrillers about an American psychologist – while kids will know him as the author of the "Maximum Ride" series.