FX.co ★ Almost $2 million for every shade

Fifty Shades of Grey was initially meant to be another soft-cover book with a frivolous picture on it. Unexpectedly, the publication brought its creator to the top of Forbes's list of the world's top-earning authors. Erika Leonard James was not considered to be a popular narrator. Her short stories along with Fifty Shades of Grey were the variations on a theme of Twilight, and in the first edition of Fifty Shades the plotline and even the protagonists’ names were taken from the famous saga. The main characters were Stephenie Meyer’s Cullen and Bella Swan. Using famed heroes and a wide range of hackneyed phrases, Erika finally became popular in the U.S. Housewives all around the globe were absorbed in a completely new love story of a rich and experienced man and a young student. There is no doubt the plot is extremely ‘groundbreaking’. Such a book was enough to make $95 billion and place the writer on the upper position of the list. The experts consider the book’s success was ensured by the way it was distributed. The possibility to download an electronic version of the book with a frivolous cover and not to catch accusing glances has increased the number of buyers. U.S. author James Patterson, only made $91 million, which puts him in the second place. He is largely known for his novels about fictional psychologist Alex Cross, the protagonist of the Alex Cross series. Suzanne Collins is at number 3 on the list — she made $55 million for her Hunger Games series. The author of Killing Lincoln and Killing Kennedy, Bill O'Reilly was fourth on the list with $28 million. Having written more than 100 women’s novels, Danielle Steel made $26 million.