pot boiler
Formulaic commercial fiction
A potboiler is a book, film, or other creative work produced quickly and primarily to make money rather than for artistic merit.
The term evokes the image of writing just enough to keep the pot boiling—that is, to pay for basic necessities.
Potboilers are often formulaic genre fiction: thrillers, romances, or mysteries churned out to meet market demand.
He dismissed his early detective novels as potboilers.
The term carries a slightly dismissive tone, suggesting competent but uninspired work.
Overused, unoriginal expression
- tropeRecurring narrative device
- hackneyedOverused and unoriginal
- predictableAble to be foreseen
- conventionalFollowing accepted practices
derivative · stock characters · cookie-cutter · by-the-numbers · overused · stale · paint-by-numbers · boilerplate
High-volume publication
- genre fictionConventional, plot-driven popular books
- marketableFit to be sold
- publishingDistributing written works publicly
- salesRevenue from goods moved
paperback · pulp fiction · mass-market · royalties · blockbuster · franchise · serialized · page-turner
Primary household earner
- incomeRegular monetary receipts
- sustenanceMeans of living
- bread-and-butterPrimary means of support
- paycheckCompensation for labor
cliché
Overused, unoriginal expression
- tropeRecurring narrative device
- hackneyedOverused and unoriginal
- predictableAble to be foreseen
conventional · derivative · stock characters · cookie-cutter · by-the-numbers · overused · stale · paint-by-numbers · boilerplate · melodramatic
bestseller
High-volume publication
- genre fictionConventional, plot-driven popular books
- marketableFit to be sold
- publishingDistributing written works publicly
sales · paperback · pulp fiction · mass-market · royalties · blockbuster · franchise · serialized · page-turner · airport novel
breadwinner
Primary household earner
- incomeRegular monetary receipts
- sustenanceMeans of living
- bread-and-butterPrimary means of support
paycheck · commission · work-for-hire · journeyman · grinding out
pot boilerliterary fiction
Prose emphasizing craft and depth
masterpiece · magnum opus · literature · classic · work of art
pot boilerlabor of love
Work done for fulfillment, not payment
passion project · artistic vision · life's work · artistic integrity · opus