Writers Who Don't Write

I know my title line sounds a bit wonky but it's something I've been thinking about for a while.  Ever since Pittacus Lore was outed as James Frey and Jobie Hughes.  A writer who I believe is part of the James Frey writing factory.  Now about a year ago, there was a big uprising with James Frey getting all the credit and money for the blood work of young aspiring writers.  But see James Frey isn't the only James who partakes of this.

James Patterson's young adult novel are not exactly written by him.  I believe he outlines the story and then hands it off to another young aspiring author, but yet James Patterson makes the gabillion of dollars and I'm curious as to how much the second-titled author makes off of it.

Now, I'm not a hard hitting journalist so a lot of my information is from hearing other people, reading articles and just my own take of the subject.  I know that these books are huge best sellers on the NY Times, USA Today, Boston Globe, LA Times, etc...  But are they only best sellers because of the name of the author? (authors note: I have not read a Patterson or Frey/Lore book).

From what I've read of various reviews and through just people talking on twitter, they seem to be formulaic, dry and sometimes a bit derivative.  But yet the big name author makes all the money.  Why?

And to you the readers, now knowing that perhaps that big named author maybe hasn't had as big a hand in writing the book, does that make you reconsider reading future books by those authors?

I think there are writers out there who spill their blood, guts and every other gory matter into getting their books out there for us to read.  Who write them late at night while children sleep, or during the day when their children are at school.  I know of one writer who would write during his lunch hour!  Don't these writers deserve our money?  I guess I'm just disenchanted with these co-op book writers and the big-named authors that reap the rewards.