Script to Book - Ever Thought About Doing it?

[Beatlesfan1225]

So as I've been writing a very elaborate screenplay, I've realized that the world I'm creating would be seemingly impossible for myself to shoot as a film, or for most indie production companies or directors. (Due to the sheer intensity of the science fiction storyline, it would require a very, very large budget to create effectively.)

So, I've read threads here about screenwriters working on adapting novels into screenplays, but, as a screenwriter, have you ever considered switching it around, and turning your screenplay into an even-more detailed novel? Personally, I've strongly considered this, because I'd love the space a novel would provide me to unveil the story of the world I've created in an effective, articulate fashion. Plus, if you're a great writer, you're probably doing your story more justice than creating it in an indie film, and there's always the possibility of adapting into a screenplay again at a later date.

Just curious, have any screenwriters here ever considered doing this? If so, what direction did you go in?

 

[GuerrillaAngel]

You'd have a far better shot at making money (read profit) by publishing your own book (ie amazon.com) than filmmaking. But as a publishing expert, let me inform you that fiction is by far the worst possible genre for writers. All the money in self publishing is non-fiction, particularly self-help.

 

[KnightsFan]

No, my opinions of what makes a film or book good are so tied to the medium, I have a hard time even imagining squashing a story I conceptualized for one into the other. One issue is that in film sentence construction is irrelevant, but it's kind of a big thing on paper. I suppose it all depends on what the point of your story is.

If you're looking for profit, I was advised to try out my first novel (which I haven't finished) with a publisher rather than self-publish because you have a chance at getting some professional feedback and some insight into the publishing system.

 

[Beatlesfan1225]

I'm not particularly interested in profit or making money, so that's not really a point of interest for me. Rather, my thought process is along the lines of, 'which medium would allow my story to be most effectively told?' Also, which medium is it going to be most entertaining? A strong novel may prove more entertaining than an indie script that doesn't get made because it's production budget would have to be so high. (At least, that's my line of thought on the matter)

I'm interested in the divide set between Guerrila and Knight, and you both have extremely valid points, but differ on whether or not to self publish. As Guerrila says, self publishing is remarkably easy nowadays, getting your eBook on Amazon isn't hard, and it's a way to start making money, if that's your concern. However, with the abundance of mediocre and just plain bad independent eBooks, isn't there a possibility that by association with that type of material, your book may get severely overlooked or ignored? The last self published eBook I bought was written by a friend of mine, who I assumed was a decent writer, and bragged constantly to me of his story. So, I went and bought his eBook, and the first line of the book was a comma splice with a grammatical error. That left a lasting impression on me, because it gave me a negative outlook towards these half-baked self releases that get put up online.

Knights point does make sense, however, that professional feedback and insight could be massively beneficial. Obviously, that's much more difficult, though.

At the end of the day if your idea is good enough for people to want to spend hours reading it, however, wouldn't it stand a chance at getting professionally published? And if the idea isn't good, then publishers will deny it and you'll inevitably resort to self publishing or resignation.

 

[GuerrillaAngel]

I figure that if you write a fiction ebook, I doubt you will sell 10 books a year (outside of your family and friends), unless a marketing scheme of yours goes viral.

On the other hand, if you make a decent film that captures the eye of film festival gatekeepers (family- friendly, upbeat story, etc. -- easy to program and fill seats) and get in 7 or 8 mid-tier festivals, you could get 200+ viewers (more if you market the film in the city of the festival yourself).

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Sadly, when it comes to fiction, it's not how good the manuscript is but who wrote it. Publishers make more money from sloppy crap from a known author than books from 100 beatlefans. Marketing fiction is also an expensive investment -- books won't sell without it. Last I heard there were only 200 fiction writers that publishers invest in. To get in that club, you'll need an agent and other connections. Your first book is not going to do the trick.


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Given that most ebook dreamers want to write fiction, we're not seeing many breakout fiction books (yet) and yes, most ebooks, fiction or not, are poorly made pieces of crap.

 

[Flicker Pictures]

have any screenwriters here ever considered doing this?

Yep. In November I gave it a whirl using NaNoWriMo as the catalyst...

so, what direction did you go in?

The whirl didn't last very long! (blah) I petered out after my head went spinning while wrestling all the plot lines into shape. Sorta like cat wrangling. Just couldn't focus long enough to bring it all together. Once that feeling of being lost at sea set in, frustration followed and that was that.

 

[maz]

You'd have a far better shot at making money (read profit) by publishing your own book (ie amazon.com) than filmmaking. But as a publishing expert, let me inform you that fiction is by far the worst possible genre for writers. All the money in self publishing is non-fiction, particularly self-help.

That's just not true. You have a far better chance of making the big money writing genre fiction than non-fiction. The problem for both is emerging from the ocean of dross and the big name traditional authors. But if you do manage to do it, by luck or by strategy, then the sky's the limit. I know largely unheralded self-published genre fiction authors making five figures a month. Some of those are well written, excellent novels but others... aren't. As in filmmaking, the audience is a strange beast

There's probably less competition in non-fiction, and it's far easier to find a niche, so it may be an easier point of entry for new writers (although the dross problem is maybe even more relevant there, with thousands of copied and pasted internet articles posing as books).

 

[GuerrillaAngel]

That's just not true. You have a far better chance of making the big money writing genre fiction than non-fiction.

Basically we'll agree to disagree here. However I'll sipulate that acceleration of ebooks in the market are causing chaos among the gatekeepers that keep tabs on such things. ebooks are now outselling hardcovers so that's a significant milestone. But likewise, ebooks are flooding the market with lots of unreadable crap making it even more difficult to grab a handle on whether people are picking the hits and ignoring the misses with ebook success claims.