Talk:Stephen King

Trouble with the Lead

"Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Called the "King of Horror", his books have sold more than 350 million copies as of 2006, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. King has published over 65 novels/novellas, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five nonfiction books. He has also written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in book collections."

Well, that's true enough, but "his books have sold more than 350 million copies as of 2006" is 17 years out of date. And isn't the number of books he's sold a little superficial? King would be the first to tell you that there are plenty of great writers (like Thomas Williams and Don Robertson) who are not bestsellers. If we have to mention his popularity, why not mention (as Joyce Carol Oates did) that he's the "world's best-selling author" and leave it at that?

"King has published over 65 novels/novellas." This is kind of confusing, as most of his novellas were published in collections, like Different Seasons. It's not clarified by "including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman"; are the seven Bachman books novels, novellas, or some of each? The "five nonfiction books" is confusing, too; I'm aware of Danse Macabre (1981), Nightmares in the Sky (1988, with photographer f-stop Fitzgerald), Midlife Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America With Three Chords and an Attitude (1994, with Amy Tan, Dave Barry, et. al), On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000), Faithful (2004, with Stewart O'Nan), Guns (2013, as an ebook) and Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band Ever (of Authors) Tells All) (2013, an ebook with Tan, Barry, et. al). Of those, I'd say only Danse Macabre and On Writing are widely known; they're the only ones listed on his British site, And Nightmares in the Sky and Faithful were collaborations, as were the music books. So "five nonfiction books" is potentially misleading. Even if we attribute all of those to King, his nonfiction output is dwarfed by his fiction output. If we feel that Danse Macabre and On Writing, his best-known nonfiction books, deserve special mention, why not mention them specifically? Charlie Faust (talk) 22:37, 12 November 2023 (UTC)

Not only is "five nonfiction books" potentially misleading, it includes works which were co-authored and which aren't widely known. King also wrote a musical, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, with John Mellencamp; it's not mentioned in the header for the excellent reason that it's not a major work (it is mentioned elsewhere in the article.) Nor is his directorial effort, Maximum Overdrive, mentioned in the header, since it's not a major work (it, too is mentioned elsewhere.) I maintain that Danse Macabre and On Writing are King's only nonfiction books which are widely known, and that merit mention in the header. Charlie Faust (talk) 23:53, 13 November 2023 (UTC)

I added that "Among the films adapted from King's novels are Carrie, Christine, The Shining, The Dead Zone, Misery, Dolores Claiborne, The Green Mile and It." Those novels are notable, among other things, for having films made from them. King's legacy may exist as much on the screen as on the page, so those films are worth mentioning. Elmore Leonard's page tells us "Leonard's short story 'Three-Ten to Yuma' was adapted as 3:10 to Yuma, which was remade in 2007. Rum Punch was adapted as the Quentin Tarantino film Jackie Brown (1997)." So King is in good company when it comes to having films made from his work mentioned in his header.

I added that "He has published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman and has co-written works with other authors, notably his friend Peter Straub and sons Joe Hill and Owen King." "Five nonfiction books" is somewhat misleading; Midlife Confidential and Hard Listening were co-written with his fellow Rock Bottom Remainders, and Faithful was co-written with Stewart O'Nan. On Writing is his best known nonfiction book, probably his best, and the one that merits mention in the header. So I added: "He has also written nonfiction, notably On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft." Charlie Faust (talk) 18:25, 14 March 2024 (UTC)