Question of the day: My husband self-published a book -- and it is his first novel.  It is selling extremely well and has gotten excellent reviews on Amazon and from other readers.  We live in a small Connecticut town so his outlets locally are limited to advance this writing, but I am absolutely certain it would make an outstanding TV movie . . . better than most I have seen lately.  I have encouraged him to send a copy to a producer but wonder if an agent would be the best route?  

In my opinion, a film agent is always a better, smarter choice than not - just as a literary agent is always a better choice then winging it on your own. So, if he has the option, of course I would recommend going with a film agent. That said, landing a film agent is very, very, very, very, very difficult - harder than landing a literary agent, if you can believe that, as film agents are even pickier about the projects they take on than lit agents are. And then, of course, even if a film agent does take it one, the odds of selling it aren't 100%, and then, once sold, the odds of it getting made are slimmer - probably about 5-10%.

I'll also add - not to be discouraging but because it's honest - that I suspect it will be very tough to snag the interest of a film agent with a self-pubbed novel. Which isn't a crack at self-pubbling, rather an frank assessment of the marketplace: film agents are SWAMPED with submissions from some seriously big-time books, many of which they say no to or can't sell to producers/Hollywood. The odds of one of them plucking up a smaller, self-pubbed book, well, they're just not high. And again, I'm being honest - and hope that doesn't sound unkind - because that's not at all how I mean it. From your email, it sounds like you may have a producer connection, and if that's the case, then I say you work it for all you can. THAT's the smart route to take here. 

Look, every writer (or nearly every writer) dreams of having his or her book adapted to the big screen. It is the big KAHUNA. And I promise you that each of those writers thinks his or her book is also perfect for the movies/TV. And maybe they are. But Hollywood is soooooooo tough to crack and soooooo strange and difficult to understand, I'm truly just trying to save you some heartache here. Pursue the leads you can - I think that's the most viable option you have.

I'd love to hear from others: has anyone has success selling a project to a reputable studio and/or producer without a film agent? Am I being too pessimistic here?

So good news in the little world of the Time of My Life movie: I heard this week that The Weinstein Company has re-upped their option to Time of My Life! Whoohoo! So what exactly does that mean? I thought this might be a good time to break down movie lingo and how (on the rare chance) an adaptation actually gets made.

So, first of all, you have your book and you have your literary agent. In most cases, your literary agent will connect you with a film agent, and this film agent may or may not agree to take on your book/work. Many times, he or she doesn't. Getting a film agent is, believe it or not, even harder than landing a lit agent, and they pass on many more projects than they say yes to.

But if you do manage to land a film agent, your agent will then (at a certain point - timing may matter, revisions may matter, publication date may matter), take your manuscript or book out to studios, production companies, directors, actresses, etc. Much in the same way that your agent will take your book out to publishing houses. Many, many of them will pass for a variety of reasons: they're developing a similar project, they think that transgendered vampires are all the rage and exclusively looking for scripts with that angle, they think your writing just plain sucks, etc, etc, etc. Hopefully, however, one or more will think, "aha! This is just what we're looking for to really bolster our chances at the Oscars," or "Gee, this book will bring us in boat loads of money and fund our children's college tuition plans for life!"

If this fortuitous turn of events should happen, your agent will negotiate an option deal, and what this means is that the studio/producer/whomever, retains the right to make your book for a designated period of time for a lump sum: I believe the standard period is 18 months, but I've heard of 12-month deals, so there may be some flexibility...not sure. After that period of time has expired, the same studio/producer has the right to renew that deal (and pay the author another lump sum) to give them another 18 months to get the movie made. This is where we currently are with Time Of My Life. That the option has been renewed is very positive news because the studio has had quite some time to digest the book and their hopes for it, and often times, options are NOT renewed because the studio realizes that the project (for them) isn't going anywhere. They're not going to write you another check if they have zero expectations for it.

If nothing happens after this second period of time, you and your agent then have the right to shop the book around to new buyers. In fact, if the option isn't renewed the first time around, you can, of course, do that as well. And on the very fortuitous chance that the movie gets made, you then get paid a much bigger lump sum than the option money. A win-win for all involved.

So that's how it breaks down. (More or less: I'm sure that there are a lot of other variables that I haven't covered, and I'm not an expert, so don't sue if you've heard of differing experiences!) Right now, it feels like Time of My Life has cleared a lot of hurdles, and my fingers (and toes) will remain crossed that things keep moving in that upward direction!

So, yesterday morning, I'm grocery shopping when my iPhone pulls up an email from a Facebook friend who happened to see my name ON THE HOME PAGE OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY! I totally, totally flipped, right there in the grocery store, sort of akin to when I was shopping and flipped through People and just happened to see my face/book in the review section, and just about tackled the cashier.

Anyhoo, I ran home, and yes, because I am such a nerd, I took a screen cap of the blessed event. :) You see, EW is my bible, my FAVORITE, and if there were ever a job I wanted outside of what I currently do, it would be to work for the mag.

What was the buzz about? Well, I announced this here a while ago, but it's officially official: Nicole Eastman, who wrote the recent hit, The Ugly Truth, is adapting Time of My Life for the big screen, and in fact, is almost done the script. I'm sooooo excited!

Here's the Variety article about it.

Also, I also have an interview up on Lisa Romeo's fabulous blog, which is a must-stop for all writers, so if you haven't clicked over there or added her to your blog roll, do so now!

Question of the day: I have often thought that my story/book would make a great movie (especially for Lifetime!), and my question to you is when it comes to books that are made into movies does that come about from your agent shopping the book around to film agents or you wait and see if interest comes to you?

Question of the day: Why didn't you try to be the screenwriter for Time of My Life? Do you care that someone else is writing it?

I get asked this question a lot, and to begin with, I didn't even entertain the idea of adapting TOML. For a few reasons: 1) I had no idea how to write a screenplay. I'm sure I could have learned, but at the time, it felt like selling the book was enough. 2) The various producers who were looking into acquiring the project weren't interested in using me, or so I assume. Producers like to vet their own "talent," work with people who have reputations or experience they're aware of, and I totally respect and understand that. And 3) the stakes were just too high. Selling this project and getting it made mattered to me personally but also, let's be honest, mattered (and matters) to my career. I didn't want to mess around by either not landing the producers we wanted or producing a screenplay that wasn't up to par. It was just too important that everything came together seamlessly, more important (to me) than writing the script.

So I guess, to answer the latter question, I don't care AT ALL that someone else is drafting it. To begin with, I totally trust the producers - I met with them several times, and my vision is very cohesive with their vision. But, that said, even if it weren't, it's a win for me to get this made, period. Even if the movie were total crap (which I don't expect it to be), that's no reflection on the original book. The book stands as it is. THAT was my work. The rest is gravy. A bad movie still sells more copies, a bad movie still raises awareness of the book. Beyond that...I don't feel any real ownership. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love this book, and I love the characters, but whether or not they're perfectly translated on screen...well, I have other things to worry about. (Really, I do!) I mean, sure, are there some actors who I might not want playing these roles? Well, yeah! But the fact that ANY actors are playing them is enough for me.

For now.

For the next book, if we're lucky enough to sell it, yeah, I might be interested in tackling that script. But I'm at a different point in my career than I was when we sold TOML, and I feel more confident with that challenge. And if they opt for someone else? That will likely be okay with me too. The good news is, is that by then, I'll hopefully have moved on to my next book, and with that one, there's always more possibility for another movie and another challenge and another option to write a screenplay...not to mention new characters who promptly make me forget the old ones.

Would you guys be okay letting your work fall into someone else's hands or do you think you'd be concerned over the implications?