Uploaded February 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
The most famous author you never heard of: Richard Bachman.
Bachman had a weird request for his publisher: They were to do minimal marketing of his books. He wasn’t available for interviews, and they were to go straight to bargain-bin paperback.
Still, his books did pretty well. His fourth was optioned for film rights. His fifth sold 28,000 copies.
But Bachman’s books were so good, a bookstore clerk got suspicious. He did some sleuthing and found out: Richard Bachman was Stephen King.
One reason King published under a pen name was to answer the question, “Is it work that takes you to the top or is it all just a lottery?” He had demanded his publisher do minimal marketing for the books, because he wanted to "stack the dice" against Bachman.
King published as Bachman, undetected, for seven years and five books. As Bachman books, they did alright. Once Stephen King’s name was on the cover, they sold millions. #creative
The most famous author you never heard of: Richard Bachman.
Bachman had a weird request for his publisher: They were to do minimal marketing of his books. He wasn’t available for interviews, and they were to go straight to bargain-bin paperback.
Still, his books did pretty well. His fourth was optioned for film rights. His fifth sold 28,000 copies.
But Bachman’s books were so good, a bookstore clerk got suspicious. He did some sleuthing and found out: Richard Bachman was Stephen King.
One reason King published under a pen name was to answer the question, “Is it work that takes you to the top or is it all just a lottery?” He had demanded his publisher do minimal marketing for the books, because he wanted to "stack the dice" against Bachman.
King published as Bachman, undetected, for seven years and five books. As Bachman books, they did alright. Once Stephen King’s name was on the cover, they sold millions. #creative
