The Big Screen
This week I’m going to finish up giving serious answers to the questions in my humorous post The Top 10 Things People Say to Writers, and How You Should Respond. So when you’re tired of being snarky this will help you give some constructive–and helpful–answers to your non-writer friends and family.
On to number eight!
[image error]8. When is it getting made into a TV show/movie?
Humorously, a couple years ago, about a year after my novel The Wicked City came out, a short-lived TV show called Wicked City aired on ABC. I got several messages from friends asking if it was a TV show based on my novel. I’m not even joking, and they weren’t either. One of these people is a person I talk to regularly, at least a couple times a week, and it boggled my mind. Did he not think I would mention, at least offhand, that my book was being made into a TV show? Also, why would I still be going to my day job if the television rights to my book had been purchased?
On top of that, I have to scowl at these friends because clearly they never so much as read the description of my book, since the TV show isn’t remotely about the same things as my book.
I suppose in a world where books get made into movies and TV shows all the time, if someone gets a book published it’s a valid question to ask. Unfortunately, your book has to be super popular before that’s even an option, my friends.
My humorous answer on the list: Letting your work be turned into a movie is selling out to THE MAN, and besides, I don’t like money. See #7.
A more constructive answer: Not every book gets made into a TV show or movie, obviously. Those rights are separate from print rights, and they don’t get sold until a later time, IF your book is optioned for a TV show or movie (a side note to authors: a publisher should NOT try to purchase your TV and movie rights at the time of publication–only print rights). Most aren’t and never will be, but we can all dream, can’t we?
How about you? Have you made it to Hollywood yet?
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: books, top 10
