On Writing : I have a screenplay called 'HOPE SAVES MANHATTAN' any books on converting it to a stage play? by Steven Harris Anzelowitz

I haven't seen any books on that specifically. Check the Internerd. I'm not sure what you mean by "It would prove more cost effective." To publish? To produce? To market? If you've never written any stage plays, I'd recommend learning that craft really well BEFORE you attempt an adaptation. I've written 17 stage plays and I still intend to take a course in playwriting before finishing #18. (I've also taken acting courses as another adjunct to learning the craft. I love it all.) I adapted "In the Mouth of the Lion" from a one-act stage play to a screenplay to a novel. I've not gone the opposite direction yet. Some general thoughts: Novels are the most forgiving form, plays less so, screenplays least of all. Each is very different--not just in format, but in its ability and its availability of ways to communicate your story to the audience. Live theatre has a special energy, especially with the always-present but rarely used potential to break the fourth wall ad lib. Neither books nor film approach live theatre in its immediacy. A screen-to-boards adaptation that doesn't take advantage of those peculiar qualities may not be a failure, but it will be less than a total success. The challenge is enormous; the bar is high. Adapting "Mouth of the Lion" to a novel was more difficult than I imagined. The 120-page film script crunched down to a 20,000 word first draft novel. Enrichment back to the level of expectation of a reader required expanding that by a factor of three.

Hello Jeff Turns out the british publisher who wanted my book contradicted himself many times. Red fags went up when he said he could not tell me what it cost for editorial changes or cover art. He didnt like when I asked too many questions and then I found out I would have been his 1st author to sign a contract with him. I never thought I would find a scam publisher and I found him on twitter. Rick

Probably a good publisher to avoid. Even if he has good intentions, why tie up your book by helping him learn the business? But it's not surprising that he couldn't quote a price for editing--he hasn't read the whole m/s! A professional would never have offered to accept your book for publication after reading only part of it. Also cover art requires a quote from an artist. A professional would have said, "Let me call my cover guy, and I'll get back to you with a price." The big five publishers can only be reached via an agent. They don't advertise on social media. They don't ask for money up front.

Too bad I was getting excited to have publisher - especially in the UK where they could market my book better than me. I called McNally Jackson in NY who has my book and asked their opinion on my cover and they said they liked it. Said it is timeless. Good for all ages too. My editor said the only thing he saw was my name is too small - otherwise he likes it. I like that its unique - So I read today on STAGE 32 a writer said to change up query letters. He said its a good idea to use a logline instead of a regular query. thought it sounded like a good idea so I am going to try my logline next publisher I query to. Dont supose you know of any publishers I can contact for YA fantasy/light sci-fi? Thanks again Jeff -

My publisher, World Nouveau Books, is not currently accepting submissions. A friend of mine published his WWII history book through Amberley, but I know nothing at all about them. Yes, your name should definitely be bigger on the cover!

Thanks Jeff look online - How much bigger do you think my name should be? Should it run across the entire bottom of cover?

Roughly twice as high as it is now. You may have to combine the two lines above it to make room.

thanks

I just had a book buyer tell me they found a grammatical error on back but I cant seem to find one. Everyone is a critic!

For many years, the Russian navy had a brass plaque mounted in a conspicuous place on each ship of the line. It said: "Better is the enemy of good enough."

Hello Jeff my new and good friend - I made the changes to back cover text - its reads better, easier to understand shorter and to the point with added teasers - ALso taking your advice which my editor agreed to change cover - making my name larger across the bottom and book 1 the amulet above the knight on 1 line - Let you know when it goes up on amazon for you to preview - thanks again Jeff - wish I could do something for you - Rick

The back cover text is a good place to tweak. The changes to the front are simple and worthwhile. I'll take a look when the site updates. You might buy a copy of my book, if you wish. It's on Amazon in both formats, but you really don't have to buy one unless you like the concept: Carl Jung examines Adolf Hitler for the OSS in 1942.

Soon as I am done with 2nd book I will take a look at your book. WWII huh. Have you ever heard of Donald L. Miller author of The Pacific and Masters of the Air? Hanks and Speilberg are making the Master of the Air into HBO film. He is a good friend of mine. Back cover is also 2 paragraphs now

Ricky & Jeff- I started this thread 6 months ago to see if anyone had any advice on converting a screenplay into a stage play. I see that both of you have decided to work with each other on your own projects. I wish you best of luck. I will start another thread to see if I can get more response to my original topic which has gotten lost. Best wishes.

Yes, Steve, it might be best to start a fresh thread; six months is a long time. I suggested a few things six months ago. Did you pursue any of them? There are tons of play writing how-to sites and books. Also, there is a lot of material specific to movie-to-stage adaptations. For example: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?221531-How-difficult-woul... http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ScreenToStageAdaptation You might try using the latter list to obtain both the screenplay and the stage script of a project, then compare the two.