 His work is often compared to the prose of Henry Lawson, particularly the seminal work, "The Drover's Wife", which presented a considerably less romantic view of the harshness of rural existence of the late 19th century.Paterson authored two novels; "An Outback Marriage" (1906) and "The Shearer's Colt" (1936), wrote many short stories; "Three Elephant Power and Other Stories" (1917), and wrote a book based on his experiences as a war reporter, "Happy Dispatches" (1934).He also wrote a book for children, "The Animals Noah Forgot" (1933)

Contemporary recordings of many of Paterson's well known poems have been released by Jack Thompson, who played Clancy in the 1982 film adaptation of "The Man from Snowy River".