Novel Adaptation Question

Triangulos · Sep 28, 2020

Hi,

I had a book published a couple of years ago (SF thriller / space-based military SF) via a deal that my literary agent was able to get me. At one point during the process she mentioned that the idea of TV/movie adaptation might be worth pursuing, as the story would carry over to that medium pretty well.

However soon after publication she had to shut up shop and leave the agenting business due to personal reasons, which left me unrepresented.

So right now I have a published book, getting good reviews, and which (according to one professional opinion at least) would be a good contender for a screen adaptation.

So as an unrepresented author, what's the next step?

I could approach other literary agents who also handle film/TV rights - would those kind of enquiries be welcome, given that the book is already published? (Not sure if they prefer to cover the whole end-to-end process.)

What about screenwriting agents? Do they only want to see scripts?

Or should I try to adapt it into a script myself (whole different skillset, no guarantee I'd make a good job of it), then try to get that sold or represented?

Thanks for any suggestions - I've been dealing with the book publishing world for years now, but I have no idea who's best to approach in this case.

T.

dpaterso · Oct 6, 2020

Bummer at losing your agent. Are you writing or have you written other novels? Are you still looking for an agent for those? I think I'd be sending said agents a query letter saying exactly what you said here. Ask them for advice if nothing else. Who knows what they might take on?

I've heard stories about people working in the industry pitching their own work via prose stories, but the link there is that they're screenwriters who can turn the stories into scripts. There's a thread here on the Done Deal Pro message board. I dunno if any screenwriting agents would be open to this from non-insiders (I strongly suspect not) but you never know, why not try and see what they say? It would probably help if you could point to good sales, which might mean you have fan readers, which might mean people who'd pay to see the movie when it gets made. But that's all speculation on my part.

-Derek

lizmonster · Oct 6, 2020

This may sound discouraging, so my apologies in advance. IME being told your book is adaptable to film is actually pretty common. (I've been told it repeatedly. Number of books optioned for film: zero, although I did option a short story to a film student. Didn't charge him, though.) Film options are frequently sold and not used, which isn't so bad, since you don't generally get a huge amount of money for them. The cash shows up when production begins.

Your best bets here are either to adapt it for film yourself and try to find representation for the script, or to write another book and get another literary agent, then see if they can help you sell the film rights to the first book. Either way, though, I highly recommend you find yourself another agent. Rights can get complicated quickly, and you want someone with experience to make sure you're protected.

Novel Adaptation Question

Triangulos

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