My Work Goes Express While I'm On Standby

What do all of the following people have in common?

John Steinbeck
David Mamet
Alain Boublil
Junot Diaz
Margaret Wise Brown

Or some more obvious ones:

Stephenie Meyer
JK Rowling

Come on.  Out with it.  What do they all share?

Well, certainly they've all contributed significantly to the literary landscape of our culture.  But there is a less obvious connection.  Here it is:

John Steinbeck: 96,033 "like"-rs.  The Grapes of Wrath: 148,434 "like"-rs.
David Mamet: 4,229 "like"-rs.  Glengarry Glen Ross: 27,135 "like"-rs.
Alain Boublil:  67 "like"-rs.  Les Miserables: 103,001 "like"-rs.
Junot Diaz: 5,525 "like"-rs  The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao: 20,129.
Margaret Wise Brown: 555 "like"-rs.  Goodnight, Moon: 5173 "like"-rs. 

And ready for these?

Stephenie Meyer: 15,377 "like"-rs.  The Twilight Saga: 20,392,908 "like"-rs.
J K Rowling: 29,375 "like"-rs.  Harry Potter: 22,028,308 "like"-rs.

So, what's the connection?  In case you're dumb and can't draw the lines for yourself, let me:

These writers' work is more popular than the writers themselves.^  This, have no doubt, is a sign of greatness. 

Oh, and wait.  I left someone off the list.  As of this posting:

John Michael Manship: 55 "like"-rs.   
T:  An MBTA Musical, written by John Michael Manship and Melissa Carubia: 56 "like"-rs.

Welcome to the club, me.  You may all award me now, artistic powers-that-be.    You may also like me. 

(Maybe you think I should only get half credit, though, because I didn't write the music or lyrics to "T."  Fine.  In that case, we'll revisit this conversation when the T! page reaches 111 "like"-rs.  You can help.)


^As measured by facebook "like"-rs, the only true way to measure something's popularity.  And on a sidenote, let us all give thanks that Harry Potter is still more popular, and therefore more artistically valid, than The Twilight Series . . .