Authoring & Playwriting

Hi TJ... would love to get aquainted with other writers and just chat about the process in general.

Ditto, TJ! I'm a self-published author, ex-editor and ex-cover designer. I've been a published author since 1991 - started out publishing children's articles, women's magazine articles and short stories, etc. - moved on to corporate training manuals, organization development materials and website design/copy, and in 2009 I hit the romance publishing industry pretty hard...(heh heh...I said hard...I'm a romance novelist! What's ya expect?)...and I haven't looked back. Though I have been traditionally published, I prefer self-publishing. A LOT more control, but it's a LOT more work.
I'd be happy to collaborate with a group online and chat about novel writing and the industry as a whole. I'm very interested in learning to write screenplays/scripts. I know it's not just a matter of structure and formatting. Script writing needs to be tight and though every single word SHOULD count in novel writing, there is a matter of luxury in verbosity with novels. Script writing affords no such luxury! I know I have a lot to learn!
As for your editing questions, no author can truly edit their own script, especially at the beginning. If we knew the mistakes we were writing...we wouldn't make them, right? All authors need another pair of eyes, be it a critique partner (if you can't afford an editor), or a friend who is an editor (my best friend and I edit each other's work, so we got lucky). As an ex-editor, I can help!
Every author has their own style of editing, so what works for one, might not work for another. James Scott Bell wrote an EXCELLENT book on the topic, so I would recommend you start there: http://amzn.to/2pZ7bJC
The more you do it, the better you'll get at it and, more importantly, you'll start developing your own methods, procedures and style that works best for you. Editing is just trying to catch your mistakes, so there's no right or wrong way to do it.
I hope that helps...but I'd be happy to answer more questions. :D
And to illustrate how easy it is to miss mistakes....see attached picture. Have fun!

Hi TJ, if you are still looking for writers to join the group...I'm interested. I've published several books of short stories in the past, and have just published my first novel. I would love to join in the conversation.
Thanks,
John

Hi TJ, I'm a mutli-published author, editor, author's mentor, and publisher. I'd love to talk shop.

Hi TJ, nice to meet you, and I'd love to join the group! ;-)

Lots of knowledgable people here to help you.

Great advice everyone, and whilst unexpected, once an 'agreement' came up in conversation, the illustrator's interest has 'dwindled'... bout say's it all right there!!!

Protect yourself and her, have a written agreement in place. Speaking from experience, if you don't have a detailed agreement in place, you're opening the door to a lot of unnecessary stress and headache later if things go sideways.

Explain that it's to protect both of you. If they aren't interested in protecting their work and your work, find a new partner.

Society of Authors have legal templates and are normally v helpful.

Heaven, I'd be interested in helping you write your book.

Book -- Jeff (the other Jeff) is right. See my post here on S32 on writing your script as a novel (Top 6 Hurdles Turning Your Script into a Book). It's hard, but worth it. Everyone wants IP behind a script, even new IP.

Book first. I wrote and got the books published before I began the process of adapting them. The stories, the characters, the locations were all live and vivid in my minds eye, which helped me when it came time to move to the next step. I think it was easier, simply because I had the skeleton of the story already when I sat down to start writing the scripts.
Now if you have questions about the process for writing the novel and getting it published - I can certainly give you a ton of information. ;)

Do both. As soon as you finish the book, do the screenplay. That way, no one can muck it up. I have 2 shorts that I made into a one-hour TV pilot.

Do both! I'm in awe of anyone writing screenplays ;-)

I think it could work if done properly.

It'll depend upon the length of the short story. If its something really short you probably would want to offer it only as a sampler and attach it to the first novella. Its a good idea when you're doing series, to ensure each piece leads into the next but all can be stand alones. What's the game plan for the series? Are you looking to do a self-pub or seek publication through an indie press? The answer to those questions will also help you figure out where to go with your project.

I actually published two short stories in paperback and Kindle formats just to have some writing credit when I apply for writing jobs. I discovered when I applied for freelance work through a RPG company that they wanted published authors. (Think Kevin Anderson or Timothy Zahn) Discouraging, indeed. So I think it depends on the why you want to publish.

I published several short stories, one of which links into the sequel to my first horror novel. I believe they can generate interest in other works, especially if you offer them for free via Smashwords etc. Trying to get them onto Amazon for free is a ball-ache. You essentially have to publish them everywhere else at $0 before you can ask Amazon to price-match. I've since included the short-stories I wrote in an anthology and they're useful for entering competitions etc.

Agreed - it can be a great way to generate interest, and maybe you could then offer the short story as a freebie when you release the first novella?

Too many people want something for nothing these days. A friend of mine wrote two plays, Titanic - The Musical and Wacky Soap, and allows schools to have them at a discounted rate. I think you're doing yourself a disservice and undervaluing your worth and the worth of your material if you give it away free. I do give away some of my short-stories for free, for reading only, but only as a marketing tool to try and stimulate sales of my books. But if someone wanted to option one of those short-stories, then I'm afraid they'd have to pay.

I took a look at this... you basically have to be sure of getting more than 250 pre-orders before they'll consider taking your book to publication. I didn't like the way they talked about "our books" when considering progressing to selling TV/Movie rights. It's MY book, not theirs. :-) The royalty structure is about the same as Apple's (ie: You get around 35%). Doesn't mention anything about price structure so not sure if you're able to set your own pricing etc. Also, they said it takes 9-12 months for them to get your book into bookstores once you've hit the magic number of 750 pre-orders. That's a long wait. You can pay someone just a couple of hundred dollars/quid to get them to manage the publishing side of things (like formatting, editing, etc.) Hell, even I would do that. And your book could be in stores within a week or two of you having finished it! I'd self-publish rather than use them myself, but then I'm well established in the self-publishing world (ie: I know what I'm doing regarding formatting and getting it onto the virtual shelves!) having published eight titles all by myself (except the first which I had Lulu help with, though to be fair they didn't do very much!).

Hmmm...if anyone is charging your for any part of the publishing process, say no, in my humble opinion. Both smashwords and Kindle Direct Publishing are free. You can do a lot your self with Photoshop to design your cover, an editor to proofread, etc., but to have someone do anything else, especially assigning the ISBN, do it yourself for $0.00. You should only be paying the U.S. Copyright Office, and that's around $35 or so. you can also go the agent route for traditional publishing.

Honestly, I would avoid using them. If you want to use a service to get you into the best market possible try utilizing a reputable editor, cover artist (both can be found for reasonable rates and agreements need to be in place) and use a platform which allows you to sell almost immediately upon release. I say almost immediately because most distribution sites take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours to get the book up. Some storefront as well only release on a specific day.
Ensure whomever you work with is aware of your deadlines and any restrictions you wish to have in place. Once you've come up with the game plan in that sense you can certainly move onto the next phase. If you're looking for tips or tricks on how to get the word out and build a release buzz, network with other authors is a great start. Often times they will work with you to promote your work, and remember you're not selling a title, you're selling your author brand.
I hope that helps.

Tennyson Stead I agree with you. I'll be talking to a lawyer in the new year and I'll report back

Call lawyer!

Pagano tutti, elettricisti e altri professionisti, gli sceneggiatori stanno a guardare, ma senza sceneggiature non si fa nulla! Dovevi ritirare la tua opera, prima si paga o niente! Devono pagare, vai dall'avvocato e chiedi i danni.

Here in the UK, if you wrote the words you own the copyright unless you've specifically signed an agreement that relinquishes that copyright to them. Did they credit you on the film for the script they used? If they did, that's an admission they should be recognising your contribution and pay up on the fees. Though, I suspect they may use some creative accounting to get around that. How similar is the final film to your script? If it's very obvious it's from your script, then you'd be in the same boat. Probably worth talking to a solicitor and maybe firing off a letter requesting the fees be paid pending court action (if it's below a certain amount, you could take them to the small claims court). Once someone gets a summons through their door, they tend to change their attitude somewhat. Good luck! Let us know how you get on!

Hello David. No, I never relinquished the copyright. The film was 95% my script as written but it's never made enough money to pay me anything as the result was a bit of a mess. I will talk to a solicitor once I'm finished with my latest stage play which is opening on Monday. Thanks for the advice.

another link. https://pwcenter.org/playwriting-toolkit/latest-authoring-software

One more... https://pwcenter.org/playwriting-toolkit/how-format-your-script

I have a treatment available for Templar Odyssey.

I'd love to see it. Can you message it to me?

Sure. I have sent a connection request. Once we're connected, I can message.

This is Cameron's treatment for Terminator. Not the genre you're after but a first rate example of concise, impactful, language. I Googled the title and 'treatment .pdf' and it popped up. maybe you can find something more appropriate the same way? https://www.drehbuchwerkstatt.de/Fachtexte/Terminator_Treatment.pdf

Hope all goes well with your projects!