I need advice - unsold/unrepped novel possibly given small-time movie deal

I am not knowledgeable in this, but ...

If you get paid at a good rate for writing the script, by all means write the script. Make sure you are not doing work-for-hire which will essentially give the movie company rights to all profits which come from the copyright.

You do not want that. You want a fixed sum for producing the script and another fixed sum for when the movie is made. Maybe part of the profit. And the only right you sell to the movie company is the screen rights.

Get the contract looked over to see exactly which rights you are selling. Selling a script for the movie should not affect your rights to sell the manuscript for publication. These are different rights.

Don't stop looking for a literary agent and a sale for the book manuscript while you are doing movie stuff.

I wouldn't put off finding an agent. I think you need one now more than ever. Is this producer going to option film rights to your novel, or is he wanting to act as if the novel doesn't exist? In the film world, if you do a work-for-hire gig, the producer is the legal "author" and owns the copyright. Hell, even if you write an original story, selling a script means selling it: there is a transfer of copyright. The contract could even stipulate that you split any income from a "novelization" 50/50 or 70/30, or whatever.

I've not been in this situation, but it seems like a tricky one where an agent would know how to handle it better than you (or me), and would know better if you're being asked to give up too much. And if you have a contract in hand, finding an agent shouldn't be difficult. You at least need an attorney who handles intellectual property.

Also, even if your producer options the films rights and pays you to write a script, the chances are slim that an actual movie will be made.

I've done one work-for-hire gig and optioned three originals (one twice), and nothing has come of any of it; I have another friend who's been writing scripts for the studios since 1999, has bought a house and cars and put his kids through private school, and has never had a film produced; and there have been others who have built entire careers out of never being produced. It could be produced, of course, but I wouldn't count on it.

Anyway, I don't know a bunch about the ins and outs of rights. I just know a small bit related to my small amount of experience. So I could be wrong somewhere above. Lord knows it's happened before.

But I'll stick by the idea that you need someone who knows something to look over whatever is eventually proposed.

I feel as though someone asked a similar question not too long ago, but couldn't swear to it.

What you do depends on what this producer wants from you. Is he offering to option your novel? An option means he will pay you a specified amount in order to have exclusive rights to adapt your novel for a specific amount of time. Options cost as little as a dollar, and for major novels, anywhere into the millions.

Or is he paying you to adapt the story into a screenplay yourself?

Ryan David Jahn said:

I wouldn't put off finding an agent. I think you need one now more than ever.

I've not been in this situation, but it seems like a tricky one where an agent would know how to handle it better than you (or me),

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Wisdom.

If you can't get an agent, tell this producer you won't do it unagented and ask him what agents he has worked with on other projects. An agent he knows should look at your work on his recommendation. Just be sure to check out the agent yourself to be sure he/she is legit, and not just a friend of the producer.

Maybe part of the profit.

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Get an agent, get paid for your script, and a percent of the gross profit, if any, not the net profit.

The net is what's left after all the costs have been subtracted. Creative bookkeeping can guarantee even the most successful film stays in the red.

Forrest Gump is infamous for not making a profit once the bean counters got finished cooking the books.

A contract lawyer explained that little detail for me back when I was offered a film option. It was part of the company's boilerplate contract. I changed net to gross, then signed. Nothing came of it. Many options go unfulfilled.

UPDATE: A book agent is not the same as having a script agent. I have one agent for my novels, and her agency sends possible script deals to another person in Hollywood who handles that sort of thing specifically.

CrankItTo11 said:

Thanks for the great advice! My understanding of the situation is that he wants me to turn the novel into a script and he will pay a set dollar amount for it.

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I'd be very careful with this. If you aren't familiar with the world of Hollywood script writing, you're likely to be in for a rude surprise just on the creative front. Suffice it to say that film/TV script writers, with a few notable exceptions, are very low on the totem pole and their work is often taken away and rewritten by others so many times that the "finished" product in no way resembles the original.

On the professional/business front, you really, really need advice and guidance from someone familiar with scriptwriting.

I agree with people here. This is the time to start mentioning the producer's interest in your query letters. You might get more interest from agents, and it seems to me you could benefit from their help right now.

Don't go the work-for-hire route. Just sell them the movie rights - it's the only right they need. That way you can still look for an agent and sell the novel. If you give up any other rights, make sure you're adequately compensated for them financially.

try calling some agencies. If you've got a producer biting, that might get you in faster, since that means their work is done for them. Try a few agencies that offer agents for books as well as screenplays.

Agree with the others here - you need to find an agent. Or before you sign any contract at all, at least an experienced entertainment attorney. Hollywood is a tricky, dangerous business and they feed on the inexperienced. (No offense meant to anybody; just stating opinion based on many facts I've read and heard about.) Good luck though, sounds like something good may be coming your way.

Only sell film rights, not work for hire, and don't give them any other rights other than perhaps distribution rights.

DO NOT SELF PUBLISH. All this will do is squander away first print rights and make it that much more difficult to get a publisher. If your aim is for the big to medium publishers keep it there.

Hire an ENTERTAINMENT lawyer. Not a contract lawyer, not a divorce lawyer, not real estate lawyer, an entertainment lawyer, there are many in Hollywood, if you cannot afford one contact your local arts council and they can send you to some pro-bono ones.

Payment needs to be clearly spelled out, how much, when, % and so forth. Also if you don't know anything about writing a script, just sell them the rights, you probably don't want to take the next 3-4 years learning how to write a good one just for this one book.

A good stipulation to have is that if it is not made within the next X years, the rights revert back to you, that way if it goes nowhere you still have a chance of getting it made later.

Hope this helps.