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It's certainly one of my dreams to walk down the red carpet at the premiere of a film made from one of my books. It seems to be relatively common for books to get optioned for movie deals but rare to see the studios exercise the option and produce the movie. But today guest blogger Grant McDuling shares how one of his books was picked up by a movie director. Grant has been writing since 1978 and is the author of 39 books.
When I set out to write a novel about a young boy who loved horses, I never for a moment dreamt that it would one day appear on the big screen. But ten years down the track, it looks like this may just become a reality.
This is how it all happened.
Write a good book
I had just completed my book The Fields of Hope and uploaded it to Amazon.com when I started looking for my next writing project. I wasn’t thinking of another book but rather something shorter to complete, like a magazine article, when I came across an ad in the paper for a scriptwriter for an upcoming TV series on boxing. Having an interest in the sport, I sat down and typed out an application for the job and emailed it off.
Then I forgot all about it.
A few weeks later I received a phone call and was invited to attend an interview as I had been short listed for the job. I was amazed as I hadn’t written a screenplay before. Being a full time writer I was in the habit of taking my chances.
Anyway, in the end I wasn’t offered the job, mainly I think because the TV series never got picked up by a major TV network. What I did score, though, was some good contacts within the industry. The producer, I learnt during pre-interview small talk, was interested in horses and filming movies that feature horses. My marketing instinct kicked in and I began promoting The Fields of Hope to him for all I was worth.
Take marketing opportunities where you find them
Well, you know how it is when you get talking about your own book! I couldn’t help myself. After all, I figured it wasn’t everyday that I got to sit in the same room with a movie producer.
“Shoot me a copy sometime, will you?” he asked. “Sounds interesting.”
Well, I could hardly believe my ears. On arriving home after the interview I arranged for a copy of the book to be sent to him (I ordered a hard copy version) and got on with life.
About a month later, I received an email from the producer saying that he liked the story so much he’d like to offer me a movie deal. Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather.
I couldn’t answer in the affirmative fast enough.
The contract arrives
When the contract arrived, it was like reading a story, not a legal document. I was being offered 4% of the total profit should the movie ever be screened and sold. I would have no input into the production of the script nor the casting of actors.
Are you kidding? I couldn’t care what they did with it, I was just so delighted in getting this far.
About a year later I received a copy of the script and was surprised to discover that the only thing they wanted to change was the ending: not to alter the story, but rather to go a bit further than the book by concluding with a horse race. I readily agreed.
So, where are things at present?
I am told they plan to start shooting early in the new year. Part funding has already been secured from South Africa and things are on track.
The moral of this story is never to lose faith in your abilities and to treat your writing as a business. You need to market your work just as any business markets its products.
Oh, and don’t ever be too shy about talking up your work and your abilities.
Are you interested in a movie deal, and so you have any stories to tell about it?
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1 2 Next »Given the number of people who tell me my books would make great movies, and given my own love of film, it would be a real high point in my life to score a movie deal one day. One of my short stories is being made into a short film by a film student, and the short story features the protagonist from my novels, so you never know!
There's definitely something around relationships as well. I've been checking out Marcus Sakey, whose books are good but not in another league. Yet he has multiple movie deals with big name actors (Ben Affleck, Tobey Maguire) http://marcussakey.com/
He does work in television though so already has the connections.
I've also heard that it's good to try and at least do the first draft of the screenplay if you get optioned, because that adds to the income. There have been some authors who had movies made of their books but they had sold the rights for practically nothing and didn't make anything from it. A whole other industry to investigate :)
Grant: Good to see you moving on to the big screen. Also good to see another writer who is also into amateur radio and electronics! 73 de WA5PSA.
Yes, amateur radio is as fascinating as writing. Perhaps we can have a qso sometime?
Congrats Grant
After writing 39 books you deserve this big break. I think every authors wants a to experience their book become a movie because when we write them, well at least when I write my books, we see it playing out as a movie inside our heads.
Thanks for post joanna
Congrats! That's super exciting news.
Yes, congrats! And I'm sure you positive attitude had a little something to do with it . . . ;-) May this be the continuation of a fantastic and fulfilling career for you!
That's absolutely amazing! It just shows that being positive and giving things a try, even if you feel like you won't succeed, is something that you should do. Regardless of what you think, try whatever you can and you'll be surprised at the results.
Such a great feel-good story. Thanks Joanna for your continued inspirational posts.
Unfortunately films never make a profit. Percentages of these non-existent profits are called monkey points in the film industry because they are worthless. Either get a percentage of the gross or be paid up front, otherwise you will never see a dime. I am truly sorry that you got such a bad deal. But at least if the film is made and distributed you can add it to your resume. Any authors interested in breaking into films should read extensively about the industry first to discover the pitfalls to avoid. That industry is rife with scam artists and greedy people who steal whatever they can. How do I know? I'm a southern CA native who grew up immersed in it. Now I happily live in Arizona.
There's definitely something for marketing in it regardless of the income (although as per my previous comment it's best to try and write the first draft of the screenplay too). I heard Lee Child speak at Thrillerfest and he talked about how the Tom Cruise movie 'Jack Reacher' is basically spending $150million to market his brand. Whether he makes income is probably secondary from book sales as a result of the film.
Hi Roberta, Yes I understand but one has to start somewhere. And when I think of how much I have made for my 'authors' who I ghosted books for .... better not go there. One has saled approaching 2 million books, and at $30 each ...
Oh well, it's the writing I enjoy most.
Yes. I worked for some years in development for several movie entities, and I feel a bit queasy whenever I hear of a writer getting involved with the movie business. If I knew how, I'd make these words large, bold, italic and bright purple: get an attorney, one with experience in the film industry.
Accounting in the film industry is like accounting in no other industry--at least I hope so!
Still, it would be lovely to have a good movie made of your novel. Another volume for your bookshelves, and something for the grandkids to enjoy.
And who knows? You might have happened across a producer with recognizable ethics. Best wishes!
Very encouraging. It seems that hard work and a good story get you 80% of the way there. The rest is luck/fate/devine intervention. :)
Thanks for sharing, Grant. And thank you, Joanna (J.F), for passing it along.
There's a lot of luck in this, but luck favors the prepared :)
Justin, I have found that the more I try, the luckier I seem to get!
Nice to see the good guys win one, Congrats, Edward Smith.