Oct 23 2008
The Novel Writing Secret Formula - Free!
Don’t tell anyone, but there is actually a secret formula you can use to write a basic novel that has a lot more chance of being published than most… and I’m going to give it to you. And it’s dead easy. Believe me.
And technically, it’s not even a secret–but it’s used by many published authors and in screenplays of the biggest blockbuster movies. So why do I call it a secret? You can find information about this formula scattered here and there, but 99% of the writers I’ve known over the years are unpublished. I call it a secret because it’s the secret that could quite possibly save their writing careers and make them money.
Skeptical? Well, let’s take a simple category romance novel. You’d probably agree with me that the average category romance plot isn’t incredibly complicated. (And I write romance, so I am not attacking the genre. This is just an example. Many horror novels and mysteries aren’t that complicated.) But did you know that if you write one of those and you get it published, you can make about $12,000-$15,000 U.S. from it? A Harlequin Presents or a Silhouette Desire is only 50,000-55,000 words long. That’s a very nice rate of return. Some of those writers make a very good living writing those novels, and they can write so many of them because they’ve cracked the code. Now, you don’t have to write a romance to follow this secret formula, but I’m going to use a romance novel as an example because we all know what it is.
I went to the store and walked up to the category romance rack. I flipped through each book until I found one that had 12 chapters. Bingo. Show me a genre novel with 12 chapters and I can almost guarantee that the writer is using the formula. I read the book. She was following the steps one after the other, and she made money from it. You can, too.
So, have you:
-Been writing for a while?
-Written a couple of manuscripts that are languishing in drawer, somewhere?
-Or, you want to write The Great American Novel (or Australian, or Canadian, or New Zealand, etc.)?
The problem is that you can’t quite seem to make the thing work. The storyline goes off track, or you get stuck and can’t get un-stuck.
Well, today, I want you to start with one simple thing:
1. Pick a genre. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, here. You’re going to write something enjoyable that you can sell to make some money and get your confidence up. It can be mystery, western, fantasy, science fiction, romance, a thriller, or any one of the subgenres you like. You might choose to write a police procedural, a paranormal romance, or any other type of story that is already on the shelves. Choose something that you like to read so you already know the elements of that sort of plot. Trust me when I tell you that you won’t write something that isn’t “yours”. Your book will be creative because it’s going to come from you.
Check back tomorrow because I’m going to tell you the next step. And, if you want to, let me know what you choose. You know, National Novel Writing Month is November. You could use this formula as a template.
