Week Seven Prompt - The James Patterson Business

Reading Jeff Zaleski's article, "The James Patterson Business" makes me wonder about all of those co-authors who chose to yield their talents to support the efforts of another. Do they use this role in the hope it will springboard their own literary careers? Or do they do this because they would otherwise never see their words in print? Admittedly I have not read any books that feature co-authors supporting a more well known author, so my opinion is decidedly subjective. I think the commercialization of novels in the vein of James Patterson completely disregards the traditional writing process for the sake of turning higher and higher profits. This negative view is perhaps due to my preference for stories that were written from great passion and labor. I do realize that many people would prefer books that are fast reads and easy to follow, which is apparent from the great number of these books that have been sold. In cases such as these, it's important to understand the appeal of such books in order to provide good reader's advisory to patrons who will still clamor for each new release.