What It Is: This one isn't so much a literary trope as it is a marketing trope, but it's still very interesting nevertheless. Pick up any Stephen King novel you own (or that you see for sale in shops) and you'll notice that King's name far, far eclipses the title of the work itself. What It Means: Stephen King is such a celebrated, popular writer that his name is now more valuable than the vast majority of his individual works. While you might think this is common, a look at works by comparatively prolific, popular writers like James Patterson and Dean Koontz shows this is by far much more exaggerated on King's books. Curiously, this has also created problems for certain film-makers and marketing departments. Over the years, King has had a huge number of his novels and short stories adapted into films or television series. In the case of the likes of Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption, film-makers and film studios have desperately attempted to remove King's name from the marketing, as most people who see King's name immediately associate him with horror.
