This list is a part of our extensive comparison of the best books and authors in the Kindle Store since the launch of the 1st-generation Kindle.
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In the main post, you will find top 100 Kindle books of all time, Kindle Unlimited bestsellers, top 10 books in fiction and nonfiction, as well as top categories.
Let’s now take a detailed look at the chart putting together most successful authors who published their books in the Kindle Store between November 2007 and November 2017. It is an excellent material for analysis.
James Patterson is the clear winner. In the top 100 ranking of all time, there are ten books he authored or co-authored. The second best authors is David Baldacci, followed by Suzanne Collins.
Five authors (James Patterson, Lee Child, David Baldacci, Nicholas Sparks and Michael Connelly) were present on annual Kindle bestseller lists for ten years. Two authors – David Baldacci and Lee Child – managed to place their books on all lists since 2007.
Other big names in publishing, naming only J.K. Rowling, would easily join the club if they had decided to release their books in Kindle edition soon enough.
The chart also shows authors’ working style and attitude. James Patterson wins thanks to being a prolific writer. As much as 46 of books he had written or co-written landed on annual bestseller lists.
Suzanne Collins is on the opposite side of the landscape. She published three books from the Hunger Games series, plus a bundle collecting them in a single edition. All four publications were ranked very high on annual lists. And 100% of them landed in the main ranking of Top 100 Kindle books of all time.
Details you can compare in the ranking are:
- # – a position of the author, based on the number of points collected,
- Points – a total number of points collected,
- Books in Top 100 – a total number of author’s books in the Top 100 ranking of Kindle books,
- Books on annual lists – a total number of author’s books on annual lists of Kindle bestsellers for years 2007-2017,
- Years on annual lists – how many years author’s books were present on annual lists of Kindle bestsellers for years 2007-2017.
The main rule for creating the rankings of the best Kindle books and authors of all time is based on points collected from annual bestseller lists. The #1 book gets 100 points; the last one receives 1 point. If a book is present on more than one annual list, its points are added.
The same rule is applied to authors. The more books an author managed to place in annual bestseller lists, the more points are counted.
Here are the rules for the ranking of the best Kindle authors of all time:
- if two or more authors get the same number of points, they are ranked at the same position in the Top 100. It means the list includes more than 100 authors,
- books co-written by authors are added to their total score,
- co-authors (naming only writers who work with James Patterson) are listed separately.
Top 100 Kindle authors of all time
| # | Author | Points | Books in Top 100 | Books on annual lists | Years on annual lists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | James Patterson | 2315 | 10 | 46 | 10 |
| 2. | David Baldacci | 1412 | 9 | 20 | 11 |
| 3. | Suzanne Collins | 1244 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| 4. | John Grisham | 1186 | 8 | 11 | 8 |
| 5. | Stephenie Meyer | 1115 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 6. | Nora Roberts | 1050 | 3 | 18 | 9 |
| 7. | Stieg Larsson | 1041 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 8. | Lee Child | 1017 | 6 | 19 | 11 |
| 9. | Nicholas Sparks | 999 | 6 | 10 | 10 |
| 10. | George R. R. Martin | 912 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| 11. | Veronica Roth | 879 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 12. | Liane Moriarty | 774 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| 13. | Michael Connelly | 744 | 5 | 15 | 10 |
| 14. | Stephen King | 602 | 1 | 12 | 9 |
| 15. | Gillian Flynn | 558 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 16. | Ken Follett | 555 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| 17. | Maxine Paetro | 547 | 2 | 10 | 8 |
| 18. | J.K. Rowling | 533 | 2 | 10 | 3 |
| 19. | Janet Evanovich | 531 | 2 | 8 | 7 |
| 20. | Diana Gabaldon | 489 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| 21. | Sylvia Day | 480 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| 22. | E L James | 440 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 23. | Laura Hillenbrand | 429 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 24. | Harlan Coben | 410 | 1 | 7 | 6 |
| 25. | John Sandford | 398 | 11 | 8 | |
| 26. | Kathryn Stockett | 376 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 27. | Dan Brown | 372 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| 28. | Vince Flynn | 361 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| 29. | Rick Riordan | 354 | 11 | 5 | |
| 30. | Daniel Silva | 342 | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| 31. | Khaled Hosseini | 341 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 32. | Jojo Moyes | 338 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 33. | Sara Gruen | 323 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 34. | John Green | 321 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 35. | John Locke | 298 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 36. | James Dashner | 297 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 37. | Jodi Picoult | 283 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 38. | Bella Forrest | 280 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| 39. | Charlaine Harris | 272 | 10 | 6 | |
| 40. | Anthony Doerr | 263 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 41. | Michael Ledwidge | 257 | 1 | 7 | 6 |
| 42. | Philip Pullman | 254 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 43. | Charlie Huston | 250 | 4 | 2 | |
| 44. | Bill O’Reilly | 237 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 44. | Martin Dugard | 237 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 45. | Todd Burpo | 232 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 46. | Kerry Lonsdale | 230 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 47. | Paula Hawkins | 229 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 48. | Robert Dugoni | 228 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 49. | Patricia Cornwell | 226 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| 50. | Walter Isaacson | 217 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 51. | Malcolm Gladwell | 212 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 52. | Elizabeth Gilbert | 210 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 53. | Nelson DeMille | 206 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| 54. | Sue Grafton | 205 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 55. | William P. Young | 200 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 56. | Cormac McCarthy | 194 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 57. | Kristin Hannah | 193 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 58. | Emily Bleeker | 190 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 59. | A.G. Riddle | 187 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 60. | Christina Baker Kline | 179 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 61. | Brad Thor | 178 | 5 | 5 | |
| 62. | Donna Tartt | 177 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 63. | Michael Prescott | 175 | 4 | 1 | |
| 64. | Harper Lee | 173 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 64. | M.L. Stedman | 173 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 65. | Emily Giffin | 170 | 4 | 3 | |
| 66. | Abraham Verghese | 167 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 67. | Daniel James Brown | 166 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 67. | Erik Larson | 166 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 67. | Markus Zusak | 166 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 67. | Noel Hynd | 166 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 68. | Cheryl Strayed | 165 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 68. | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle | 165 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 69. | David Ellis | 164 | 2 | 3 | |
| 70. | Gayle Forman | 161 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 71. | Marshall Karp | 154 | 5 | 5 | |
| 72. | William Landay | 153 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 73. | Emma Donoghue | 151 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 74. | Tess Gerritsen | 150 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 75. | Barack Obama | 149 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 76. | Cassandra Clare | 145 | 4 | 2 | |
| 77. | Greg Mortenson | 143 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 78. | Kathryn Croft | 144 | 3 | 2 | |
| 79. | Fredrik Backman | 137 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 79. | J. D. Vance | 137 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 80. | Lisa Gardner | 136 | 3 | 2 | |
| 81. | Christopher Greyson | 134 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 81. | Michael F. Roizen | 134 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 81. | Mehmet C. Oz | 134 | 2 | 1 | |
| 82. | Andy Weir | 132 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 82. | Rebecca Skloot | 132 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 83. | Annie Barrows | 131 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 83. | Mary Ann Shaffer | 131 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 83. | Robert Bryndza | 131 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 84. | Sandra Brown | 129 | 5 | 3 | |
| 85. | Christopher Hitchens | 125 | 2 | 1 | |
| 86. | Douglas E. Richards | 124 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 87. | Howard Roughan | 122 | 2 | 2 | |
| 87. | Kami Garcia | 122 | 3 | 1 | |
| 87. | Margaret Stohl | 122 | 3 | 1 | |
| 88. | Oliver Pötzsch | 117 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 89. | Sue Monk Kidd | 116 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 90. | Ann Patchett | 113 | 3 | 3 | |
| 90. | Robert Galbraith | 113 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 91. | Tatiana de Rosnay | 111 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 92. | Karen McQuestion | 110 | 2 | 2 | |
| 93. | J.S. Scott | 107 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 94. | Chris Kyle | 104 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 94. | Marie Kondo | 104 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 95. | Glenn Beck | 103 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 95. | Kevin Balfe | 103 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 96. | J. S. Cooper | 102 | 4 | 2 | |
| 96. | Helen Cooper | 102 | 4 | 2 | |
| 96. | J.C. Reed | 102 | 2 | 1 | |
| 96. | Paula McLain | 102 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 97. | Margaret Atwood | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 97. | Stephen Windwalker | 100 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 98. | Mark Sullivan | 99 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 99. | Clive Cussler | 98 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 99. | David Wroblewski | 98 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 99. | Jane Austen | 98 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 100. | Steve Martin | 97 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
• • •
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