I'm between a rock and a hard place. (sentence, copyright, money)

[CALGUY]

About twenty five years ago, I, with not an ounce of experience, began to write a novel.
One thing in my favor was, I knew the ending,before I ever wrote the first word.
While writing, I visioned all the actions as though it were a movie.
That being said,the opening scene alone would have be an outstanding start to a movie.
Without revealing much,it is set in the early 60's, the opening scene is of a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed through a small town, and deliberately heading for a gas station ,where it hits the pumps, and explodes.
Now, not being a typist, what I have completed is in long hand, and this is part of the problem.
A much bigger problem is, I have lost interest in completing the novel.
Not because of writer's block,I just seemed to have lost interest in it.
I stopped writing about fifteen years ago, and it has sat in my brief case ever since.
The people who have had the opportunity to read what is done so far,(more than twenty) are all of the same opinion, and that is, "This would make one fantastic movie, you need to finish it".
I just don't have any desire to finish it,and wonder if I have any options to see it's conclusion.
I know I could never finish it in long hand.
Are there people who would invest their time in finishing the novel, and if so how are these negotiation usually carried out?
Even if I were not the author of this novel,had I been given the opportunity to read it, my opinion would be the same as those who have read it.
As a movie,it would be outstanding.
It deals with love, hate, suspense, bribery, infidelity, murder and one topic that was never discussed back in the decade when this novel takes place, that being gay love.
And, to top it off, a surprising un-predictable ending.
All the great points for a movie, but the one thing lacking is the desire to complete it.
Bob.

[Fred314X]

Just out of curiosity, does your novel contain as many sentences broken up with commas as your posting?

[LittleDolphin]

I have completed a novel. It's available as an e book on Kindle and the Nook. It's been well-reviewed. Lots of people have told me it would make a great movie, too.

The fact of the matter is, as an unknown author, your (and my) chances of our novels becoming movies is about the same as winning the lottery. It's an uphill battle just to find a literary agent (which I've not yet been successful in doing), let alone finding an agent who can interest and negotiate movie rights.

That's the reality. Take it from there. The writing is one thing. The all-important representation and marketing are the bigger part of the equation if an author expects to make a living from their writing.

[lovecda]

Originally Posted by LittleDolphin

The fact of the matter is, as an unknown author, your (and my) chances of our novels becoming movies is about the same as winning the lottery.

Quite true. The best bet for getting a movie made from an unknown book/author is probably to find a good film program at a nearby university and see if:
A) The film department is interested in doing a department-wide project
B) Any students want to do it as a senior project

Your costs will be significantly lower than hiring an independent film company, and you have much better chances of getting it made than if you shopped it around Hollywood.

Once made it can be distributed the same as a non-traditionally published book--online, through local stores, film festivals, etc. And you'll have a little boost in marketing right off the bat because the students who worked on it will help promote it, and maybe even the school itself will. Unless you're familiar with intellectual property law and can write up a comprehensive contract with your filmmaker, you'd be well-advised to have a good contract attorney help you with that--especially one who has experience in copyright law.

(Why does it always seem like I'm recommending people to consult with lawyers? :/ Never thought I of all people would be doing that.)

[Bunjee]

Everyday it's possible for us to be surprised by people, surprised by ourselves. Visualizing action is one thing, but understanding reactions is another. Are you sure you completely comprehend all the various and complex motives of these characters that cause them to do what they do? Think about them, even the most incidental players. You might find nuances you didn't recognize before and reinterest yourself in their stories.

[LittleDolphin]

You know, I didn't mean to be a bummer and negative. There is nothing more satisfying than completing a book. Why don't you re-read your incomplete novel and see if you're moved to pick up the pen again...you could dictate your story and have your dictation transcribed.

Failing that, you could write an outline and hire a ghost writer to complete your opus. Fees vary and are negotiable.

Who knows..you just might find an agent, a publisher and sell screen rights..it does happen.

But I think the most gripping and involving novels get written by the original author--it's the distinct voice of a single writer that creates the tension and the interest...and no one knows the story inside your mind as you do...

[CALGUY]

Originally Posted by LittleDolphin

You know, I didn't mean to be a bummer and negative. There is nothing more satisfying than completing a book. Why don't you re-read your incomplete novel and see if you're moved to pick up the pen again...you could dictate your story and have your dictation transcribed.

Failing that, you could write an outline and hire a ghost writer to complete your opus. Fees vary and are negotiable.

Who knows..you just might find an agent, a publisher and sell screen rights..it does happen.

But I think the most gripping and involving novels get written by the original author--it's the distinct voice of a single writer that creates the tension and the interest...and no one knows the story inside your mind as you do...

Thanks for your valuable suggestions.
I like the dictation idea.
Never thought about that aspect .
I think I will take your advice and re-read what I have.
Thanks again,
Bob.

[LittleDolphin]

You're welcome!

One other motivational concept might be to find a congenial writing group where you can read your work for critique, chapter by chapter. That really helped me stay motivated--and kept the book honest. My group members were great at letting me know when my plot or characters strayed from the critical/honest/in-character path.

[CALGUY]

I looked at voice recognition software, and the Dragon brand seems to be the most popular.
I watched their "learn more" video, and was a bit disappointed at the fact that all punctuation had to be added by voice.
I am not crazy about that.
I called them to ask if they offered anything with automatic punctuation, instead of being done by voice command, and they said that no software is capable of that.
That's a bummer for me because I think having to say "period," exclamation","question mark" etc.. would be counter productive.
One thing I am going to do is, spend the rest of the day reading what I already have written.
Bob.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by CALGUY

As a movie,it would be outstanding.
It deals with love, hate, suspense, bribery, infidelity, murder and one topic that was never discussed back in the decade when this novel takes place, that being gay love.
And, to top it off, a surprising un-predictable ending.
All the great points for a movie, but the one thing lacking is the desire to complete it.
Bob.

Originally Posted by LittleDolphin

I have completed a novel. It's available as an e book on Kindle and the Nook. It's been well-reviewed. Lots of people have told me it would make a great movie, too.

The fact of the matter is, as an unknown author, your (and my) chances of our novels becoming movies is about the same as winning the lottery. It's an uphill battle just to find a literary agent (which I've not yet been successful in doing), let alone finding an agent who can interest and negotiate movie rights.

That's the reality. Take it from there. The writing is one thing. The all-important representation and marketing are the bigger part of the equation if an author expects to make a living from their writing.

If you want to hire someone to write your book, you basically just sit down with them, agree on a price, agree on who gets how much creative control, who's name appears on the novel, and that that is it. Well, not really, there are some legal considerations to think about over creative rights, but that would involve lawyers.

As for the movie...I went to school for screenwriting back in the day and dedicated many years to the craft before deciding my sanity was worth saving. My immediate desire is to grab the two of you and shake you both relentlessly while screaming What the f*ck are you thinking! Are you mad! I'm going to be blunt:

Skip the part about having a "great idea" or that "this would make a good movie". Novels aside, if all the great ideas for movies where piled up short-end to short-end the stack would extend to the edge of the Universe. Everyone thinks they have a great idea. Realistically, yours is not.

Bad idea #2: listening to friends. Your friends are biased, plain and simple. You know when you have a decent story on your hands? When a complete stranger thinks it is good. A stranger does not care if he hurts your feelings.

Originally Posted by lovecda

Quite true. The best bet for getting a movie made from an unknown book/author is probably to find a good film program at a nearby university and see if:
A) The film department is interested in doing a department-wide project
B) Any students want to do it as a senior project

Your costs will be significantly lower than hiring an independent film company, and you have much better chances of getting it made than if you shopped it around Hollywood.

Once made it can be distributed the same as a non-traditionally published book--online, through local stores, film festivals, etc. And you'll have a little boost in marketing right off the bat because the students who worked on it will help promote it, and maybe even the school itself will. Unless you're familiar with intellectual property law and can write up a comprehensive contract with your filmmaker, you'd be well-advised to have a good contract attorney help you with that--especially one who has experience in copyright law.

(Why does it always seem like I'm recommending people to consult with lawyers? :/ Never thought I of all people would be doing that.)

No. Most film students are going to do their own scripts. Like I said, everyone believes they have the greatest idea ever. Those who do not are going to film scripts from senior screenwriting students. The only film student who would accept your script is one who is struggling to write his/her own and will use yours in a last-minute effort. I will also guaranty that they butcher your script to no end.

Whether one is a known or unknown screenwriter is completely irrelevant. Who you are is not the point. Your story is. Known screenwriters are generally people who rewrite scripts for producers. The most known screenwriter, heck, even being Stephan King does not mean squat.

The best thing to do is to write a treatment before you write a spec and shop it around to as many studios as possible. Send it to 20-30 a week until someone bites. When someone bites they're gonna want a spec, so send it to them. The script is now optioned which simply means that this particular studio holds the rights to purchase it. In the mean time, you cannot option it or sell it to anyone else. They can hold the option for say, a year, before they say no. And 99.99999% of the time they do say no. So you continue to shop it around until someone else options it......then they buy it! Yay! You just made a few grand. But wait, that does not mean it is going to be made into a film. It hasn't been green-lighted yet. It probably won't. If it is, it will undergo roughly seven rewrites by seven different writers. You will not be one of them. In the end, when the film finally gets made, generally the writer who did the final rewrite gets the credit.

Lame, huh.

Ironically, you will have a better chance of getting it made if you took it to a local film school/program. Word of advice; take it someplace that is "less" prestigious.

Distribution is a whole 'nother headache all together. It is not that simple if you are serious.

Promotion: student promotion, are you serious? If your promotion is not reaching millions of people at the very least no distributor is going to give you a chance.

You know why scripts get sold? Because they like your idea. Not because it is the best idea. Not because it is a good idea. But because it is a marketable idea. You know why films ultimately get made? Because the producers feel like what-ever anticipated ROI will be worth it. It doesn't matter how much your friends think your book would make a great movie. All that matters is how much money the producers think it will make.