Highest-Paid Authors in US

A tribute of sorts to Harry Potter: JK Rowling isn't putting out new Potter books, but sales of existing ones still put her in the top 10 of the year's highest-paid authors. (She came in 10th with $10 million.) Read the full Forbes list here, but here's the top 5:

1. James Patterson, $70 million: He'll put out 17 more books by the end of 2012.
2. Stephenie Meyer, $40 million: Vampires pay.
3. Stephen King, $34 million: He's even got a musical in the works with John Mellencamp.
4. Danielle Steel, $32 million: Four new hardcovers this year alone.
5. Ken Follett, $20 million: His Pillars of the Earth thriller has been adapted to a TV series with Donald Sutherland.

(Read more James Patterson stories.)