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Why Genius Writers Don’t Just Write — They Build Systems

What James Patterson knows (and most writers ignore)

5 min readApr 4, 2025

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Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

The other day I was on an Ask Me Anything call with a bunch of writers from all over the world.

Nothing fancy. Just writers, sharing process, asking questions, and comparing notes.

And someone brought up James Patterson.

You know the guy. The name you see on every other book at the airport. Dozens and dozens of titles. Some written with co-authors. Some solo. All of them following the same blueprint. The guy has built an empire.

But the most interesting part wasn’t how many books he’s published.

It was how he writes them.

Patterson doesn’t just “sit and write.” He uses a system — a repeatable framework that makes it possible for him to produce consistent, compelling content without the chaos or burnout that so many writers face.

And that got me thinking…

Genius Writers Build Systems. The Rest Just Burn Out.

Ryan Deiss — entrepreneur and copywriter — put it perfectly in a tweet:

“Ordinary entrepreneurs optimize for control. Smart entrepreneurs optimize for freedom. Genius…

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Rick Martinez
Rick Martinez

Written by Rick Martinez

💡 Creator: The 7 Day Book Writing Challenge™️ 🏋🏻‍♂️ CrossFitter 📚 Bestselling Author 👊🏼 Helping you write your book WICKED fast www.WriteYourFirstBook.com

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