Commercial Fiction Experiment

I decided to write a novel. Not just any novel. One that can sell. I don't have pie in the sky dreams about it. I only want it to make a few hundred dollars. I also have no intentions of getting an agent and hocking my wares to a publishing company. I want to do this quick and cheap. So I came up with a plan. If it works I could be onto something. If it doesn't I can trash it. So here goes.

I did a little research on this KDP/Indie Author/Self publishing thing. It is doable, but requires the writer to get a lot of things done in an above average manner. I do like lists, so here goes:

Once you have your concept/seed/idea

1. Outline it: you can use storyboarding, the "W" method, or the method you used in high school and college. Commercial fiction lends itself to outlining. It actually thrives on it. Patterson does outlines and then farms them out to other writers.

2. Pace it: This is a cousin of outlining. Find where you want to put action, exposition, and tension. Make a chart, using your outline, and indicate what's what. Color code it, number it, whatever.

3. Timeline: Make a timeline of the story. Days, weeks, hours, months, years, and don't forget the locations. Align this with the pace and outline.

Once you have done all of the above write the story. One and done. Then you have to edit. I'll not delve into this, because I want to keep this short. After reading several novels over the last few weeks I am convinced commercial fiction, at least the stuff that makes some money, is based on this workflow. If it isn't, it sure seems like it.

Don't misunderstand me, commercial stuff is alright. Without it the movie industry would suck balls and ass. Every decent movie is based on it. It is easy to turn into a screenplay, it has all of the elements of good storytelling, and it is entertaining. Some of it is downright good (Cold Mountain was commercial fiction in my book, and who didn't like World War Z?). My problem with literature as an industry is all the crap that wiggles into literary magazines. Pretentious and self-aware dribble from an adult that used to write bad goth poetry. They slap each other on the back and say what illuminated people they are, when they are the only ones saying it (along with the NYT book review and Pulitzer people, but they wrote the same shite so there you go). The rest of us just scratch our heads, while they shake theirs. Were we too dumb to get it? Not at all. Their audience is them. Commercial fiction is written for the reader. Just like art house movies are for film directors (Antichrist? Defoe? Just Google it and you'll see what I mean).

So the next few posts will deal with writing commercial fiction and then attempting to sell it. I'll post my outline, pacing, timeline, and other notes in there so you can follow along. First one to comment gets it as an ebook (free) and a mention as being my reason for writing the book. If I sell it for a movie you can come to the premier.