Should you adapt your own IP?
Producers and executives prioritize scripts based on books over everything else. So should you write your idea as a book and *then* turn it into a script? Here's how to decide:
As a literary manager and script consultant, I often come across scripts that are “based on…”
Sometimes an audience is fascinated by a story of true events. Sometimes a modern adaptation of a classic is fresh and compelling. And sometimes the screenwriter is simply adapting their own original work into a new format.
If a screenwriter is adapting IP that they wrote themselves, for all intents and purposes, this is basically an original screenplay.
Especially if the novel is self-published or an unpublished manuscript.
This isn’t to say that there is no value in adapting your own material.
If you have written a book, article, short story, or other IP and you are considering turning it into a screenplay, here is my advice on whether you should.
Yes! 4 Scenarios in which you SHOULD write the adaptation:
Scenario #1: You have credits or experience as a screenwriter.
If you have written screenplays professionally before, you are a safe bet for a studio.
Producers and executives love a writer who has succeeded in doing something previously. That means they’re likely to deliver professional level work again.
If you have accolades in screenwriting, it’s likely that your attempt to adapt will be taken seriously.
Scenario #2: You have a screenplay sample.
If your book is popular and successful, you might be able to convince a producer or financier that you can write the movie version yourself.
But if you’re going to do that, you need to have a sample that shows you know how screenplay structure works. Movie writing is a completely different skillset than novel writing.
Some of the best novelists in American history, like F. Scott Fitzgerald, couldn’t hack it in screenwriting, so don’t take it personally if you can’t either.
Scenario #3: Your book is traditionally published.
If a major publishing company is releasing and promoting your book, it’s doing sales, and there is a bidding war for the rights to adapt, you’re in a great position.
You can choose to option the rights to someone who promises to give you a first crack at adapting it yourself. The caveat here is that they will give you the *first* attempt. If your screenplay isn’t working, they will have someone come in and rewrite it.
It’s an unfortunate, necessary evil and painful experience. Almos every writer has to go through this during the process of turning their script into something that actually ends up on screen.
Scenario #4: Your main priority is to break into screenwriting.
If your goal is to be a screenwriter, then the best way to do it is to write a screenplay.
If your spec script delivers an incredible reading experience and promises to be an entertaining movie, then it will open up doors for you.
As long as you have been prioritizing the craft, your adaptation will shine.
4 Scenarios in which you SHOULD NOT write the adaptation:
Scenario #1: You don’t have any screenwriting experience.
If you’re not a screenwriter, you might not realize how much you don’t know.
There are formatting, story structure, and execution limitations to screenplays that novelists and even playwrights don’t need to deal with. If you are legitimately interested in screenwriting as a craft and an art form, I will be the first person to encourage you to roll up your sleeves and dive in.
But if you’re not interested in screenwriting for the long haul, don’t try to attempt it for this one-off project.
Scenario #2: You don’t have any contacts in Hollywood.
If you’re an experienced, acclaimed author or journalist, you might have tons of connections in publishing.
But film & TV is a whole other ball game. You will have more success getting your work adapted if you put your project into the hands of someone who has a vast network in the film & TV industry.
If the idea of starting over is too much for you and you’re going to approach this project with impatience, it’s best to stay in your lane.
Scenario #3: Your IP is unpublished or self-published.
To be clear, there is nothing inherently wrong with adapting your own unpublished manuscript for film or TV.
Just know that it is going to be considered at the same level as a spec script of an original idea. The benefits of IP are a built in audience and the legitimacy that comes from publication. If your book doesn’t have either of these, it doesn’t bring the same advantage to producers.
If you are considering writing a book because you think that will make your screenplay easier to sell, you are wasting your time. Just go ahead and write the original screenplay.
Scenario #4: Your main priority is getting the story told on screen.
Some writers have specific career objectives that involve screenwriting.
Others just want to see this story on screen, no matter how that happens. Maybe this is a family story that is important to you, or it’s about an historical figure that you want the world to know about. Perhaps you’re proud of your novel and know it would make a great TV show, but it’s more important to you that the characters are adapted for the screen than it is for you to write it yourself.
If you are interested in diving into the IP game, the question to ask yourself is:
Is it more important for me to be a screenwriter? Or to see this story on screen?
There is no wrong answer here. Once you are clear and honest about your real priorities, you can choose a strategy that best aligns with your desired outcome.
Want to know more about the step by step process in adapting your book for the screen? Click the link below for instant access to a recording of the IP Webinar with a Media Rights Expert!
Thanks for the info. What if the IP is a produced podcast or (more pertinent to my case) produced fictional podcast? Can those serve as a proof of concept, or is there still more industry interest in novels, news stories and comic books?
This is fascinating.
My Ben Blackshaw thrillers, now six titles some of which were edited by Dick Marek, who bought and edited Ludlum's Bourne series, and Harris's Hannibal series.
Though I bring Blackshaw out myself, I secured a feature option, and sold the German language rights to Luzifer-VERLAG in a traditional publication deal. They have published the first four titles, and made them all multi-category Kindle bestsellers, sometimes beating Lee Child translations. I wonder if, in the Age of Streaming , is Germany still a significant target for foreign presales?
I have considered offering a piece of book sales driven by a feature or limited series release.
I have adapted the first two Blackshaw books myself. Working on the third.
Oh, and I have two other features currently in development, one with Legion M, Defiant: The True Story of Robert Smalls, and the other, Silver Hit, with Gina Goff.
Also, I have been inducted into International Thriller Writers.
Thanks again for all these insights on adaptations of one's own work. Of course, it's difficult to calculate exactly where my stuff falls, with the hybrid publication situation.