Ivonia
01-30-2005, 08:37 AM
I had a question regarding a screenplay I wrote based on my novel. I'm sure I should post this on the screenwriting forum too, but I wanted to ask people here first (since the atmosphere around here feels much more friendly).
I am currently planning on entering this screenplay in a contest (the Nicholl Fellowship one). I am also currently only planning on using it as a writing sample (I doubt that I'll sell it because I want my novel to come out first so people can see the storyline the way I envisioned it. Of course, it could always change too). I am entering the contest because I want to not only see how my story stacks up against other people's scripts, I also want to eventually enter Hollywood and be a screenwriter (again, I'm writing the novel to establish the storyline for my current story, since I don't want to let it get mangled up just yet by Hollywood, but my ultimate goal right now is to work in Tinseltown. I know, I'm reading up on it, trying to get ready, but a lot of my stories are heavily visually oriented, and I want to create movies someday. Shh, don't destroy my hopes just yet, and yes, I'm a realist too. I know I'm not going to just make it overnight there).
My question is, will entering the screenplay based on my novel in progress affect my being able to submit the novel to publishers/agents in any way? I understand that they're two different formats, but I'm closely following the storyline I had for my novel in my screenplay (I'm trying this approach where my novel mostly focuses on the main hero, and readers will mostly only experience what he goes through, while the screenplay follows a similiar route but also lets people see other characters/important events that are only mentioned in the novel. I know it's risky, but I wanted to try and make the two complement each other rather than telling two different versions of the same story).
I was wondering if entering my screenplay in the Nicholl's was okay and wouldn't affect me in any adverse way with submitting my novel (both are original ideas by me). I also know that screenwriters are often told to copyright their screenplays with WGA (Writers Guild of America) and LOC (Library of Congress). Is doing this going to affect the novel part at all? And just out of sheer curiousity, lets say my screenplay does place very well (like say the top 25). Would it be worth mentioning at all when I'm submitting my novel? I realize that the contest takes a long time, but I imagine I'll probably be looking for a publisher/agent for a while anyway, but I figure that if the screenplay does well, then it must mean that many people like my story. Or should I not bother mentioning it at all, since this is a novel and what the heck do they care that I placed well in a screenplay contest? (And yes, these are all hypothetical questions, I could probably sell the novel and the screenplay doesn't make it far, or certain directors/producers/studios are VERY interested in obtaining my script and the novel doesn't seem to want to get touched with a 10 foot pole).
Any answers you know of would help (and don't worry, I know there aren't many lawyers that surf the web here, so I won't hold it against you if it's wrong, although I hope you at least have an idea of what you're talking about if you do reply).
I am currently planning on entering this screenplay in a contest (the Nicholl Fellowship one). I am also currently only planning on using it as a writing sample (I doubt that I'll sell it because I want my novel to come out first so people can see the storyline the way I envisioned it. Of course, it could always change too). I am entering the contest because I want to not only see how my story stacks up against other people's scripts, I also want to eventually enter Hollywood and be a screenwriter (again, I'm writing the novel to establish the storyline for my current story, since I don't want to let it get mangled up just yet by Hollywood, but my ultimate goal right now is to work in Tinseltown. I know, I'm reading up on it, trying to get ready, but a lot of my stories are heavily visually oriented, and I want to create movies someday. Shh, don't destroy my hopes just yet, and yes, I'm a realist too. I know I'm not going to just make it overnight there).
My question is, will entering the screenplay based on my novel in progress affect my being able to submit the novel to publishers/agents in any way? I understand that they're two different formats, but I'm closely following the storyline I had for my novel in my screenplay (I'm trying this approach where my novel mostly focuses on the main hero, and readers will mostly only experience what he goes through, while the screenplay follows a similiar route but also lets people see other characters/important events that are only mentioned in the novel. I know it's risky, but I wanted to try and make the two complement each other rather than telling two different versions of the same story).
I was wondering if entering my screenplay in the Nicholl's was okay and wouldn't affect me in any adverse way with submitting my novel (both are original ideas by me). I also know that screenwriters are often told to copyright their screenplays with WGA (Writers Guild of America) and LOC (Library of Congress). Is doing this going to affect the novel part at all? And just out of sheer curiousity, lets say my screenplay does place very well (like say the top 25). Would it be worth mentioning at all when I'm submitting my novel? I realize that the contest takes a long time, but I imagine I'll probably be looking for a publisher/agent for a while anyway, but I figure that if the screenplay does well, then it must mean that many people like my story. Or should I not bother mentioning it at all, since this is a novel and what the heck do they care that I placed well in a screenplay contest? (And yes, these are all hypothetical questions, I could probably sell the novel and the screenplay doesn't make it far, or certain directors/producers/studios are VERY interested in obtaining my script and the novel doesn't seem to want to get touched with a 10 foot pole).
Any answers you know of would help (and don't worry, I know there aren't many lawyers that surf the web here, so I won't hold it against you if it's wrong, although I hope you at least have an idea of what you're talking about if you do reply).