Authoring & Playwriting

There are a lot of playwrights here in the community, Sam Ornstein. What is your musical about?

Thanks for responding Ashley, my musical about being regressed to ancient Egypt. The music’s not yet written, and my first choice is Hans Zimmer. 90% of the dialogue is rhymed . I do have an experienced producer committed, while I search for a theatrical attorney.

Yes! I wrote five plays years ago - and still have heart for this genre. Please share what you've written about!

I have one on the back burner while I'm working on a script at the moment

That's great Sam Ornstein!

Thank you for sharing, Leonardo Ramirez! Cole has so much valuable wisdom to share from her experiences!

Thanks, Leonardo Ramirez. So is your question. Knowing what a TV staff writer does each day will help up-and-coming staff writers know what to expect.

You're very welcome Ashley Renee Smith. Interested to hear what misconceptions exist about working in the writer's room.

I"m curious as well Maurice Vaughan. I like to learn from others so when our shows hit the ground we can learn from those that came before us.

That's one of the best ways to learn, Leonardo Ramirez. I'm thinking about writing a series, so Cole's answers will definitely help.

That's a great question Laura Preble . I'm in the same boat and I've heard different takes from different people (including producers and attorneys). Some do look at numbers of the initial release while for others it boils down to belief in the story. Having said that, this didn't stop me from writing a graphic novel or a screenplay based on that work. I did that because I still believe in it. It may boil down to that and meeting the right person.

Agents will take anything if there's business to conduct (not every agent, but someone). By the same token, they won't take it if there isn't. A few literary agents I've met have an author's estate as the backbone of their agency - a deceased author but where the rights are still in copyright (and they weren't the agent at first publishing). The works are sometimes re-published, re-optioned, adapted, anthologised, etc. So just because something is 'out in the world' doesn't mean they won't take it. But there has to be a commercial interest.

I've been told that most literary agents won't take on a pre-published work unless they expect big returns. But film agents are looking for published IP. Lots of us are pitching novels to film agents, producers, or managers. Evidently, once a producer asks for an option to shop the project around, film agents and/or managers will sit up and take note. Even more so when someone offers to purchase the rights to make a film.

You could sub it and try with the agents? I know authors who have had previous book reissued, and with one of mine, I got the rights back from a publisher, and my agent sold it to another publisher. I would definitely have a new ms to hand as well though. Good luck and let us know how you get on!

simply self publish with Amazon it's free and the work will be out there

I thought advances were clawed back through a percentage on book sales. If it bombs, isn't the author on the hook to repay?

Jeff E. Gregory correct. Often, the agreements state the author does not receive any royalties until the advance is paid back via book sales, hence the reason it's called an advance.

Are traditional publishers no longer offering advances, @Daisy?

Really interesting comments on here as always! From authors I know, there does seem to be a trend for offering less in terms of advances, and for digital first publishers, often nothing at all. I have no issues with the advances having to earn out, and I think it's fair, although absolutely not the repayment of advance from the author's own pocket if the book bombs. I'm also looking at a lot of celeb book deals which potentially never earn out... If I had a an idea for a TV series, and pitched it successfully, would I be paid for it up front? Or would I have to wait and see if the series made any money, and then get paid royalties if it did? (Genuine question because I don't know how the TV/film industry works). Traditionally, I believe, an advance was to keep the writer solvent while they worked on the book. This makes sense. If I signed a book deal with an advance, I would feel I had been paid for my 'product' and could ease back on the day job while I worked on the edits/next book.

Another issue is our royalties come in 3/6 or 9 months after publication and work in arrears.

This is really interesting and I think explains it all very clearly. https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/company-article/book-advances-and-roy...

Great advice and insight, Randolph Randy Camp! All of my protagonists change (positive change). Sometimes other characters change positively. Love interest, antagonist, etc.

Great share, Randolph Randy Camp!

Thanks for your service Randolph Randy Camp. My dad is also former USAF. Way to spend some time really thinking about your characters and their journey. Makes for a much more engaging reader experience!

@Randolph Thanks for share. Character development cannot be emphasised enough. We don’t need to even like the characters but must feel “something” for them. The norm for writers is goal, want V need, obstacle, conflict (with oneself or antagonist) battle, first fail, pushed into final crucible, then final result. Yet there are many ways small salient details can drive plot & growth EG universal moment, a switch, a sting or shock. Strong memorable characters that jump off the page will be remembered more than any plot points & are infinite in variety undeserved of any paint by numbers strategy.

If you listen to John August & Craig Mazin's podcast, they brought up a great point about AI with the new deal. Turns out the studios are also concerned about AI because of data scraping and potential copyright infringements which they would be liable for. This was a surprise to the WGA who assumed the studios would want to exploit AI as much as possible, but they have very real and legitimate legal concerns, which was good for the two sides finding some agreement!

I hope A.I. doesn't turn out to be Pandora's Box. This will be messy for sure.

Here's the clue: “numerous AI-generated books that have been posted on Amazon that attempt to pass themselves off as human-generated and seek to profit off a human author’s hard-earned reputation.”

If the point is to teach AI to mimic the author's writing style and duplicate it then by all means, let slip the dogs of war.

The article says, "According to the Authors Guild-led lawsuit, the books OpenAI used to train ChatGPT 'were downloaded from pirate ebook repositories and then copied into the fabric of GPT 3.5 and GPT 4, which power ChatGPT and thousands of applications and enterprise uses — from which OpenAI expects to earn many billions.'" That's money (some of it) that won't go to authors and their families if authors don't stand up to AI, @Karen "Kay" Ross. I think it's great that the Authors Guild and top authors like George R.R. Martin are standing up to AI. Just like the WGA stood up and the SAG-AFTRA is standing up.

You're right, D.E. White. It's a great opportunity. Really generous of Stage 32.

That's awesome, Erin Leigh! I hope you enjoyed it!

Robin Gregory, which one are you thinking about getting?

Ashley Renee Smith I just signed up for Michelle Alexandria's webinar on how to make a feature pitch deck. Yay! Than you, thank you, Stage 32!

Michelle Alexandria is one of the best at pitch decks, Robin Gregory.

LOL Thanks Ashley Renee Smith! ;o)

I really like the logline and concept, Leonardo Ramirez! "Captain Ash" could be a transmedia project (book series, movie, show, video game, mobile game, etc.).

Love that Maurice Vaughan!

Leonardo Ramirez, WOW SUBLIME logline! It leads me also to wondering what that "interdimensional travel" would be;)

You’re very kind, Carina S. Burns. I may have to tuck this one away and perhaps pursue it. Theoretical physics was once a passing interest. It’s fun to think about. :o)

Exciting stuff, Terrence!

Hey, my friend! Long time, no see! So excited to see this project continue to move forward! Hope you're doing well!