Selling Ideas

I have found a problem in the last four years that is really bothering me. I have literally hundreds of story ideas thought up. Some have gotten outlined and plotted. I will start to work on one and then put it away when a new job comes up or when I think of a new story. Sometimes, the story will get plotted and outlined but I will have no intention of working on it right out of the gates because I have other projects that need to be worked on.

I haven't done much research into this area of writing because, as one of my friends put it, if I can't write them then I am not much of a writer. That really bothered me and I tried to put a lot of time into finishing some of the projects, but I can't just toss aside my paying gigs in order to force myself to work on stuff in my "to do" folder that might not ever make a dime.

Is there a process to go through in which an idea can be pitched for someone else to write? Like a guy comes up with a movie idea and then pitches the idea to a bunch of script writers, but for the writing field rather than film and television.

Any ideas, answers, or help on this topic from you guys?

Right now I have a monthly article in a regionally published magazine, I do freelance work for three local newspapers depending on what they need and when they want it (generally one article for a different one each week with an off week), and I continually work on short stories and children's books that I submit to publishers.

I just find it rather wasteful to have all of these plotted out and not getting anything out of them or not knowing a way to get anything out of them without sacrificing the stuff that pays my bills for the time being. I was hoping that ghostwriters might be on the lookout for ideas to work with and then share publishing rights or things along those lines.

Like I said, I haven't researched much into this because I don't really want to go that route. However, I'd rather SOMETHING be done with all of these rather than them just lay there in my folders collecting dust until I can get around to them.

Ah well, I guess they'll just have to keep collecting dust. I added two others to the pile in the last forty-eight hours. Uggh.

While I've already established that most of you are right and I just need to let the pile grow and move on when I am finished with one project, I think I need to be clear about what I mean by my "ideas." Some of the replies make me think that the term has been miscommunicated in some way.

When I say that I have a pile of ideas, I literally mean that I have a folder that has a ton of papers in it that are clipped together containing everything from plot lines, to character information, to various conclusions and twists; basically I have given a pretty hefty allotment of thought to these ideas. I'm not just saying that I have a jumble of thoughts or one line synopses laying around. When I get an idea, I will sit down and jot down information on it, and have a few pages of detail to work with.

While it makes sense that I should just let them stew and work on one at a time, I did not want anyone to be operating under the misguided impression that I am simply getting a light bulb going off in my head, jotting down a quick note on it, and then wondering how much money I could make off of it.

While a lot of them maybe nothing more than one page details rather than full plot outlines or anything of that nature, I am not someone that shies away from work. If I were to sell an idea I would put a ton of work into the process myself. I have described it to a friend of mine as the equivalent of a carpenter and a brick mason. Before the bricks can be laid, the frame of the house must be in place. That's what I am doing. I frame the "houses" of my stories.

The reason I wanted to look into this idea of finding ghostwriters or someone to work with them is because I would like them all to come to fruition rather than just sitting there in my folder waiting to be plucked out as if patrons at the department of motor vehicles.

Sorry, that was long winded. I just didn't want anyone to believe that I have an idea and then wanted to see if someone could take it and create characters, plot, setting, etc. I do a good portion of that myself when I come up with this stuff.

I thank everyone for their positive feedback, and I like the last few posts that talked about using an idea stockpile as a tool rather than an drawback. I appreciate it. Please keep the conversations going, but also understand that I am not trying to be lazy or anything like that. It is a process of sorting through the projects I have on the table while still trying to keep all of these things from falling through the cracks and becoming lost to my own lack of time.