Authoring & Playwriting

Ps. Good luck with the agents too!

It's constant marketing. I have two ebooks that still sell today, thanks to regular posting on social media, maintaining my own blog, and guest blogging.

I even had my books available in my email signature for the longest time. With a quirky line above the link, I got lots of clicks and sold lots of books.

Podcasts are a great way, too. If you take the time to Google podcasts that you think you'd be a great guest on, that's a fantastic way to get yourself out there.

You can also choose to sell your book on Amazon for next to nothing to attract attention and boost the algorithm. Don't do it forever, of course, but lots of times people will sell it for $0.99 for a limited time.

I can't speak to finding literary agents, but I can tell you that you can sell your book if you take marketing actions everyday and stick with them.

Here's a post I wrote last year. If you scroll down, I expand a bit on the marketing aspect. Good luck to you. :)

thanks all for the tips! its finding the time to keep on top of things as you say - the promotional side needs constant attention...

Thanks as always Joleene, you are one of the most generous creative artist I've known here.Keep shining, always friend ((

Don't forget to create an Author Page on Amazon... you can then give people one link to direct them to all your books, because Amazon's search is absolutely DREADFUL. (seriously, look for me (David E. Gates) and you'll see other "David's" way before any of my books are listed).

Have any thoughts on the value (to an agent or editor) of a book's synopsis as part of a query package? Some agents expect a synopsis, for others it is optional. One actually stated that synopses are evil.

Of what actual value is a synopsis to an agent? Is it about the story, or the writer?

Not that I'm too lazy to write a synopsis; I like the challenge of boiling down a story to a single page; after that, a blurb and logline are easy.

One of my current publishers told me she skims the synopsis but the most important things are the cover letter/query letter & the actual writing. I really struggle with synopsis but I’m like you & enjoy a challenge!

Chris H Stevenson, please contact me. I'm am far ahead of where you are now.

Jeff, disregard my private message. Sorry.

What happens if your publisher owns all the rights? I guess they would do the deals for you?

Daisy, I believe that’s how it would have to work. Luckily, I own my film rights despite having a book publisher. Phew!!

If you have an agent, he/she will do everything possible to retain most of ;your rights. Especially film rights. Without an agent, you must be very studious when examining a publisher's contract--it will likely be a standard boilerplate contract that retains most all rights and harbors clauses that are in their favor. Novelists and screenwriters can collaborate on projects where no money is exchanged until the project is sold and accumulates royalties. These types of agreements are a little hard to find, but they are out there. They are like co-authors, working on the same project but crafting in different mediums.

15% is the norm.

Refer to my blog here: Seeking an Agent.

Check this article: https://www.scriptreaderpro.com/how-to-get-a-screenwriting-agent/

Gustavo, thank you for the article link!

10% no higher.

Hi Donnalyn, An agent is just a one-off type, I guess, just to sell your screenplay. After that's sold, then the managers will find you. It has to be worth it and a track record is the only way...

If you don't already have a newsletter, start one. Ditto a website and a Facebook page. Join Facebook groups for other writers in your genre. Ryan Zee does newsletter promotions that help you gain followers. Mark Dawson has an excellent self-publishing course out there. Network online and create a "lifeboat" of authors who write in similar genres. If you're in KU, utilize the free days and promote. If you're wide, Bookbub is great (though it is an investment). If you have a series, set the first book for free (or at least 99c). Don't overprice, but also don't undervalue your work. Make sure you have a professional cover and a professional, edited interior. Make sure your book blurb is awesome. Analyze your categories and keywords. If they aren't working, change them. Don't be afraid to experiment.

I definitely think we published authors can help each other bond with the screenwriters, directors and producers.

Always happy to bond with any kind of writer. Feel free to message me or contact me on Twitter, Instagram (@philmscribe) or Facebook.

Looks great good luck! I have a new book out in Feb so super interested in marketing tips. So far spend on Facebook & Twitter has worked well plus it is out on NetGalley this week

THE INTER-TERRESTRIAL

Claim your FREE Kindle copy by writing "ME!" or the tag of someone who might be interested in the comments section and I will DM a link. (Due to STUPID regional restrictions on Amazon, I may not be able to send the book outside the U.S.)

BOOK DESCRIPTION

An alien scientist has a half-human "inter-terrestrial" son on the primitive planet of Earth. Aliens from neighboring planets (Mars and Venus) think they own the Earth and are adamant that it not be used by higher species without their consent. For twenty years, this alien father has been trying to figure out a way to get back to this forbidden planet to see his son, desperately looking for an opportunity to present itself.

But how did this "inter-terrestrial" come to be? How has his human mother protected him on a planet where many people hate and fear what is different? And what role would this hybrid play in proving that humans are not inferior to our alien brethren?

Oscar, A writer can easily identify their story. You have to get your story out there. "The Revenant" floated around Hollywood for a good while. You can't get an agent until you have a buyer for your story, or so I was told.

The Revenant screenplay was an assignment gig.

"Since that original spec script, The Revenant went through a series of director and star attachments." https://nofilmschool.com/2017/06/the-revenant-screenwriter-mark-l-smith

original spec adapted from a famous novel, hired by a prod co? okay.

Movie titles should convey something, be it inner-working such as The Shining, or character such as Sicario, or relationships such as Friends With Benefits, or event such as Groundhog Day. But then you get stuff like Ferris Bueller's Day Off that's character and event. Or something like Silence of the Lambs, which is metaphor. Metaphors are artsy and that's cool, particularly when applied to psycho bad guys. Casino is a good book/movie about mobsters, something of a biography, but the title does not imply that. But that didn't seem to hurt the success of it. Whatever the story is, the title should set the viewer up in some way.

I wrote a play. Everyone told me I'd written a film, so drowned was I in scriptwriting technique. I still long to write an actual play ...

I am currently tackling the challenge. I've written three screenplays and have an idea for a stage play but have NO IDEA as to where to start or how to begin? Any tips? I bought a book and read it at night hoping it will offer up some guidelines to format and the rules of theatre etc.

Amanda, I've penned two plays over the past two years. Never saw that coming but what it has done has reinvigorated my love of writing. Don't know what it is about the stage but I've never had as much fun putting words and characters on the page.

Write on!

I wrote 2 plays that I entered into contests but both were rejected so I turned them into short films.

Desiree Argentina Keep sending them out even though you adapted them. I've got one play that started as a film script, is now a play, and I think I'll adapt it fully into a movie again. Write on!

Thank you, Ann, I'll head on over there and check you out.

Chris H Stevenson What exactly do you mean by strong visuals? Oh, I'm working on my first novel right now. I enjoy it, though screenwriting comes more naturally to me. I wish there was a format that blended the two lol. That would be the sweet spot for me.

I write in a very visual sense. People have often commented on how my descriptions make them "feel" as if they are "there".

Michael, thanks for your question. In narrative, and in many cases dialogue, I try to use the five senses when communicating a scene--sight, hearing, touch, see, smell, to give more than a two-dimensional perspective on any type of object. The use of metaphor and simile also help to contribute to the mind's eye, and works especially good in describing locals and geographical locations. David is right, in that you want to convey a "feeling" that goes deep down into your core--a feeling that you have been transported and are there. Strong visuals.

I do wish there was a medium that defined both novels and screen plays as one entity. Unfortunately, we do have to transpose one medium to the other. Novelizations are treatments that turn an original screen play into a novel. Roughly 65% of all films are created from the original book format, and that includes bios and documentaries.

I co-write novels & screenplays, so the lines are blurred. Are my screenplays movie adaptations, or are my novels novelizations of the movie? Neither, IMO.

Another interview about writing books! “I Believe That Everyone Has A Book In Them.” With Author David P Perlmutter https://medium.com/authority-magazine/i-believe-that-everyone-has-a-book...

I can give you a lot of advice. You can email me at gregorj33 at icloud dot com.

I’m working on a new novel & would love to connect!

I am sure the good folks on here will help combat that lonely feeling. Come have a chat with me anytime, Michael.

Wishing you much luck on your writing project. I am working on a 4 part book series right now, trying to stay focused.