On Writing : Books to Movies Authors by Chris Harold Stevenson

Yes, I'm developing my World of Dawn fantasy book series into film. I recently finished book one's feature film script.

I'm a mystery author with 5 books in a series (working on the 6th) featuring a former homicide detective who left the police force after the suicide of a fellow detective (his best friend) and the breakup of his marriage. He buys a Freightliner and takes a job as a long-haul trucker, finding the hours of solitude on the road to be therapeutic.

I did have some good feedback from a producer I met at a writers' conference, but that's about it. Just testing the waters on this site. Several readers have suggested it would make a great TV series, so I thought I'd see if I could make some connections here. I'm not interested in doing the screenwriting myself.

Chris, I'm on Stage 32 to figure out how to get people interested in my books for film treatment. You should be talking about this with your agent or manager. The agent can connect with people in the film industry regarding selling film rights or, at least, options.

All of my projects on my profile are books adapted to film and movies. They are my publications so the process is a little different. I don't have obtain certain documents since the books are mine.

Hi Chris - I specialize in novel to screenplay adaptations and just posted in another lounge that I am offering a special rate this month of $1000 flat fee for Stage 32 friends. If interested check out my website - http://www.wickedweirdmedia.com

Yes, please provide the link, if you can. I've looked at those, too, but they seem to hide the actual costs.

See Education Section 32, there is a webinar that covers this topic and an executive that has a session. They cover most of the steps you will need to take to achieve it successfully.

Thanks, Daisy. I'll check them out again.

Hi everyone, figured I'd pop in and share a suggestion. I brought in Jim Young who is a master producer at adapting books to film (The Catcher Was a Spy, The Man Who Knew Infinity, Life is a King) who taught a really comprehensive webinar about the process: https://www.stage32.com/webinars/Adapting-a-Book-Into-a-Film-or-Televisi.... Think you'll find it really helpful.

Thank You and I'm figuring this process out. Help!

Thank you. All of my current projects are books being adapted to film.

I've been at this for over a decade (four novels, none published, so I'm thinking of self-publishing - my latest one has been adapted into a trilogy of screenplays).

I'm so sorry I'm late to this! What wonderful responses! Martin, I do have the support of my agent and manger, with a nice pitch deck that wonderful Jeff Gregory helped me devise. I also got the copyright thing taken care of, legally. My next step, as far as I know, MUST be taken no matter what else I can think of --- I must have a completed shooting script to show producers, scouts and or directors. I cannot get away with that. Which leads to you, Lisa Montalto, I'm coming your way with questions and a possible contract offer. Shockingly, out of the blue, I had an actress and manager approach me about her attachment to my project should I ever sell the option and production becomes a reality. I've had 37 reviews that said in words to the effect "I have never seen anything like this before."

Stefano, have you tried any small press publishers at all?

Amanda, thank you for that link! I'm going to check that out now!

Shawn Gale. A huge congrats if you made the transition to screenplay. Gawd, I envy you.

R.E. Good luck on that series idea. Kudos for tackling the screenplay. I've only published radio horror plays way back in the day.

Julius, hang in there Bud! This is a very difficult area of the craft and we have to learn this from the bones outward. I've been optioned before--but they were little deals. I had John Badham and the Cohen brothers love my novel and consider for production, only to have Jurassic Park come in and beat me to shreds, and my idea. So this take guts and determination, and a lot of help from those who know the biz and have connections.

Daisy, I know of a few of those and they make me jittery. You get slapped in an archive for supposedly the purpose of being found out by a producer or director perusing those projects. I think we should all realize and do know that most movies are produced in-house. HOWEVER, 65% of all movies made are from books. What I'm talking about is in-house, cherry-picked script writers.

How many of you have standalone books as opposed to a series? Curious to know whether one or the other is a better pitch, or if it even matters.

I've tried, Chris, but nobody wants to take them because the stories I write transcend boundaries of conventional genre definitions.

I've just completed an adaptation from a public domain novel. I don't think it's that hard to do. My first screenplay was an adaptation of one of my crime novels.

Stefano, if you stop and think about it, really all books and stories, even movies are multi-genre in texture. I would keep the pursuit on. Think up some real good comparable tag lines that might nail it closer.

Thank you Daisy. There's always hope. Heck, if we don't pursue it's never gonna happen, ok? I couldn't live with myself if I hadn't given it a shot and truly believed in it. Tarrintino (sp?) is a good example of this. I've hit Amazon 100 multiple times but I invariably slip out of the slot before anyone takes notice. I'm in contact negotiations with one of the posters here.

Heidi, that's fab. Blessed be you have the talent to make the adaption. I'm not going to attempt a screenplay, like I know that I should. I'm looking for the best bargain writer who has some pull in the industry. I'm getting mostly really outrageously high offers, and I know I can find more affordable alternatives. Right at this darn virus time, development is up and more available than ever. Shooting and production are non-existent, aside from Youtube stuff. I told my agent and manager that I will try and cut a small trail before I put them through any hell via sending out books to talent scouts or film agents.

Don't know about the rest of you, but I can easily say that the cost production of what I have will top 120,000, 000 easy because of CGI and location. That IS the part that scares me. I'm no Avatar, but I sure am close to it with this story.

How many of you believe you have a fairly affordable independent idea? Something that would cost an arm and a leg in production costs?

Feels like you hit a holy grail and kept it rolling, cheers to that. I am at the beginning of this all and it all might crash and burn....or not. idk...yet

Hi Chris. I did a work for hire screenplay based on a nonfiction book four years ago. Lots of challenges and lots of rewards. It is an interesting process working with the author and navigating the requests of producers for changes.

I've been promoting original scripts and was thinking about ways of promoting scripts based on books I've written and this had a lot of things I've been looking for. Thanks to everyone for giving me some ideas.

WL, I don't know if I've hit the holy grail or not. This is a fickle business. I've only had great feedback and encouragement so far. I'm ready to go screenplay now and I think I have that person for the job. The obstacles are enormous. You've just got to have that faith and belief.

Heck, Joey, you got a bit further than I am now. I'm taking the big plunge. Non-fic has got to be a whole different animal entirely. I sold two non-fic books in 1988 and 1990 which did very, very well without an agent. Have you thought about scripting fiction?

I'm getting good feedback here too, Bill. This is a tremendous nut to crack for us novelists who are trying to bust in. The screenwriters have got half the problem solved and can at least mail their scripts out there to potential buyers. We book-to-movie people have to claw our way up from the beginning. That's why I so desperately wanted to create this thread and gather us together. We are certainly the minority in Stage 32. We have to band together and pool our resources. This is a good place to do it.

Chris: I have yet to write a full length screenplay in fiction. All three of my screenplays were work for hire based on true stories, which is one of my specialties. But I have written 3 novels and working on two more. I may do some adaptations at some point.

Jeff, every article and video I've seen on the subject said the exact same thing you mentioned. It's because, I guess, the producer is the core foundation and he/she must jibe with the exact writer for the job, and only he/she knows who that special person should be.It's a taste and genre thing too. The producer also hand-picks the crew and director, I'm assuming.

Joey, if you know the format, you should really give fiction a shot with a script. I'll bet you could knock it out with some success. I was great with horror radio plays, but that was my extent of it.

Anybody hear of the Black List, and what that entails? It's a service right? I already tossed my book into Book Office just for feces and giggles. I expect little or nothing there. But It doesn't hurt to spread the word.

I don't get if you just want to learn how to adapt a novel to a script or even think you just do it and your agent will sell. The last will never happen. But, you can of course learn doing it. How.

1. Learn from the writer the producer/s will find for the project and

2. Try it with one of your shorter books. It isn't easy as the author of the original book because you value every word very high and important and now have to reduce the whole thing to it's essence with intelligent dialogues in which each word counts and is important for the film.

3. Just do it. :)

What's book office?

I just went there and it looks like a place to list your book with all the details. I signed up for the free listing, and I think they have a feature listing opportunity for around $30.00

Anyone here ever heard of a group called RightsCenter.com? I have a new thriller coming out next month and they emailed me asking if I still owned the film and TV rights. I responded that I did and asked why they were interested, but I never heard back.

Hi, Daisy. I finally heard back from them. They maintain a subscription database of literary rights for film and TV producers in search of books to turn into flicks. They saw that Publishers Weekly gave my forthcoming novel, The Fourth Rising, a good review and wanted to add it to their database. (I didn't even know PW had reviewed TFR.) It was then I remembered RightsCenter had contacted me years earlier about another of my books PW reviewed.

Hey Chris- I'm new to Stage 32 and also an author of 5 books with my first one going into film production early 2021. I'll be on a lookout for your work.

Congrats Alex! I would love to pick your brain and learn. Does anyone know of a good coach/professional service to evaluate my treatment? I'm writing a treatment of my novel and need to get it right before pitching it to a producer or finding an agent. First time doing this. I'm not going to write the script, having learned that if it's optioned, the production company would prefer to hire it out themselves.

I think as a novelist it would difficult for me to produce a screenplay treatment let alone an actually screenplay. I'm too rooted in thinking in words, being in love with the written word. It seems to me you need to think more visually for a screenplay. I wrote a one-act play once; it never got any traction so I rewrote it as a short-story with more success. I would simply like to get one of my books optioned and let someone with more experience and talent in writing screenplays develop the movie. That's why I'm thinking of approaching one of the companies Daisy mentioned earlier.

Hi Chris Good to read you. I'm an author who's written two books. I have the same plan.

Hello Chris, good for you! I'm currently planning the sixth book in my memoir series and would love to follow the same process. Honestly, though, I don't know where to start.