James Franco (Reuters file photo)

Actor James Franco is set to release his first novel - and the plot is based on his life in Hollywood.

The star juggled his hectic big screen career with classes at America's prestigious Yale University, obtaining a doctorate in English and landing a place at the University of Houston to study a second PhD in literature and creative writing.

Now he's put his talent for storytelling to good use by writing his first piece of fiction, entitled Actors Anonymous.

The story will be published by online retailer Amazon.com later this year.

Franco released a collection of short stories, Palo Alto, in September 2010.