Author James Patterson: "Money doesn't matter right now"
In the last decade, James Patterson has sold more books than any other author. He was also the only author to make Forbes "Celebrity 100" list, being the seventh-highest earning talent at $89 million dollars.
"The money at this stage -- money doesn't matter right now," Patterson said Tuesday on "CBS This Morning."
What matters now is "doing things well," he said, and "just trying to do the right thing."
One way he's tried to do that is by donating $1.75 million to school libraries; 28,000 libraries applied for the grants that can range from $1,000 to $10,000.
Patterson admitted, however, that making the list can be useful at times.
"Sometimes I get Hollywood producers who go, 'Ok, well this guy, he must know something.' Then they don't listen to me," Patterson said.
Patterson, whose passion is children's books, has had 114 books become New York Times bestsellers, which has helped him sell 305 million copies.
Patterson's 2012 book "Zoo" is now being turned into a summer thriller TV series, premiering Tuesday on CBS. A team including scientists, behaviorists and a journalist race to find out why animals all over the world are suddenly turning against humans.
"We humans are kind of questionable in terms of the way we're dealing with the world right now," Patterson said, explaining his inspiration.
"It's a good series. I think they did a terrific job," Patterson said. "The writers dealt with it in an appropriately serious way, but there's also a lot of nice comedy there."
His latest novels out this month are the adult thriller, "Truth or Die," and "Just My Rotten Luck," part of the middle school kids' series.