I lost all respect for James Patterson when he started 'co-authoring' so many books with other writers. I hope that Steve doesn't make a habit of it. Of course, if/when he gets that third book in the Talisman series written with Peter Straub I will be a happy camper.
That's actually a good analogy in a sense -- imagine if King co-wrote many novellas and started a Patterson-like book line? It's also in a sense like that line Patterson has now, with the shorter books.
The analogy probably breaks down a little because, in Patterson's case, I honestly don't believe he does much writing...I'm not sure I even buy that he writes 70 page outlines, or however long they are supposed to be. Maybe he does, but I'm skeptical. With King, I think he truly co-wrote this new novella, and I also believe that with the eventual third part of
The Talisman, as you mention, he will be doing actual work on that. Patterson can't possibly write everything attributed to him at this point; it's amazing what he has out there (do you know he has YA books as well?).
However, I'm not knocking Patterson...far from it! I am in awe of what he set up for himself. If King set up a machine like that, it might be a neat experiment...so long as he was the one coming up with the ideas. That way, he can get as many ideas out of his head and to us as he can; the delivery system, though imperfect, would be co-authors. Remember that idea about a world where rain turns people into cannibals? Hand that off to someone in the field that he respects...Vincent, Chizmar, whomever. Or find an up-and-comer. Maybe use it as a charity vehicle...find a poor high-school student who is good at writing, give the person an idea, and then pay for college tuition with the royalties. Help a college student who can write get out of debt with the scheme. King could start a Patterson-like machine and do very charitable things with it. And he could of course still write his own stuff; win...win! </Thought Experiment>