Authoring & Playwriting

Welcome! I pray for a speedy recovery.

Hi Tasha, thanks kindly. Here it is 3 months later and I am JUST NOW seeing you'd written. So sorry. I don't LIVE in these places, and they DON'T notify me that anyone's written to me. SO I HAPPEN UPON THESE... BY CHANCE purely. Hope this finds you some day, well and safe out there! Kindly, Nicholas 11/1/2020

Nicholas In Seattle are you accepting manuscripts in a variety of genres at this time?

Nicholas in Seattle, no problem. I’m glad for the update.

There is NO COPYRIGHT IN AN IDEA. So long as you don't use actual avatars, logos, trademarks which other people have published, you're good. This is very, very far from an original idea which boosts your legal copyright position. But that might maybe make you think again about it's originality and make sure you have something new to say.

Hire a lawyer.

maybe i'll just stay safe and steer well clear lol, thanks! :)

They might give you clearance. Remember the Golden Rule always. Maybe you could create even better characters. I am thinking you can! An attorney might be a good idea, yes. They are expensive but in this case worth it. They range from $250-$750 per hour for Intellectual Property attorneys but sometimes law professors can help you. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say!

Thanks Angela!

Thanks guys

Thanks for comments btw I still need to get book edited ideas of ballpark figure for cost

My publishers use it to put me in print and it works just fine with me. I haven't gone Indie because I really don't have the skills to format, self-edit professionally and create books covers. good luck with it should you decided to go that way!

Barry the average cost is about 400 dollars for a novel. It depends how much editing you need done.

KDP is a great option. If you have extra money to spend, I would at least purchase your own ISBN numbers though.

I'm going through a similar process. E-mail me at gregorj3 at gmail dot com. I provide free advice.

Love to do the same with my work. I’ve spoken out with some on Stage 32 but no luck so far. My work is with horror and learned script writing from the director of Children of the Corn (Fritz Kiersch).

Hi Amanda. I have done a few book to screen adaptations.

Cool idea - I would love to know what goes on when material is sent off for 'developmental review' and what they are looking for.

Thank you.

Does the author submit or the copyright holder?

Was in talks about a year ago with a Canadian film maker about adapting one of my novellas to script. The deal feel through but it taught me opportunities can come and go.

So, you use a publisher? How do they get paid?

Here is a resource. https://www.bookbaby.com/partner-referral/Tasha-Lewis

Okay, BookBaby is NOT an "indie publisher." They are a vanity publisher. Authors buy services from them to print a book. And if you feel the need to pay someone for services, there are better and less expensive alternatives, not the least of which is Amazon's KDP.

True "indie publishers" operate pretty much like the Big 5, but on a smaller scale: they accept submissions, assign an editor, design a cover, do some marketing, etc. They typically pay a better royalty than the Big 5, but generally don't pay any advances.

And they never, ever charge authors for anything. Only vanity publishers do that.

I've use a vanity publisher twice in the last 20 years. I've used KDP a half dozen times. I come down somewhere in the middle: I will NOT ever use a vanity pub again, but I WILL pay for professional editing, design and formatting (ebook) when I pub my next novel (assuming it doesn't get picked up by a true indie press). But I will do the research myself on editors, designers and so on - I won't ever again just throw money at some vanity press.

If I really believe in my novel, I'll take the time (and spend some money cost-effectively) to publish it right.

Yes, John, I agree... stay away from vanity pubs. You can do all of this stuff yourself. You can pay a Fiverr person to design your book cover, format your manuscript, and even find a voice over artist. Or you can design it yourself and format it yourself. I format my manuscripts for Smashwords myself. They have an excellent and free style-guide for the process.

I paid $35 to have my document prepared for the more complicated mobi format, so I could have a paperback created for free at KDP. When someone orders my novel, KDP prints it and sends it to them... no box of books in my garage.

I paid $30 for a book cover which fits audible, paperback, and ebook.

I contract with Jim Foster for all of my audiobooks. Sometimes a VO will agree to wait and get their royalties until the it's purchased... ask.

Once I have my cover design, then I go to my Canva App and start playing around to create posters like the one you see above and this one for one of my reviews.

Back to Fiverr... you can also pay someone to make short videos for book trailers or screenplay trailers. They even have animators. The bottom line is you can do most of this stuff yourself and retain much more control. Trust me, unless you have one of the big five, you will be doing all the marketing yourself anyway.

If you are smart enough to write a novel, you're smart enough to publish yourself.

Thank you John Ellis for your input. Book Baby's Partner Program allows you to share your personal link. Earn commission and use it for book purchases or income. Just a resource.

Congratulations!

I'm just finishing up my first book about networking for Amazon Kindle it's called MAKE QUALITY CONNECTIONS. How to up your networking game

wow! That sounds great.

I will use my book as lead generator already have many that want autographed copy of book. I belong to networking group which I will give copies to everyone when its published

I understand amazin prints books on demand too the publish version. I think my 29 of in doc format will expand to over 100 pgs for lindle

If you work with Celtx - and there is a free version - you choose what kind of format before you begin, and the third option should be "Theatre". For the most part, it will keep your formatting correct. However, when in doubt, read other plays!

Thank you. I appreciate your help.

So intense and yet Cute! You got my attention, very intriguing... the ending caught me by surprise! I think you got a niche, creating other classic tales and giving it an updated spin on it. Great imagination, Stage 32'ers...

Go ahead and novelize them....what do you have to loose (except time)? You have the scripts already, some interested party likes your novel and approaches to you with idea for a film, you're covered :)

I would go ahead and write those novels! I visualise when I write and don't get carried away with the nuts and bolts. You will know when something sounds right, and it sounds like you are super creative.

That totally makes sense to me, Michael Cantrell. I find that music inspires me to write in a way that doesn't necessarily spoon-feed me the way other films do, so I can see how a different medium would similarly influence novelists.

Write, write, write. We all have movies going on in our heads as we write books, screenplays, tv scripts. The biggest way to learn is to do. Just write.

I'm new here..Good day..I'm happy..I can finally share an amazing already written hollywood script for those who need it..Thank y"all

Hey, Brian Flanagan! Thanks for sharing this on the Authoring Lounge - I definitely think you'll find more members who will contribute here.

What other films would you see your book ultimately looking/feeling like? How would your film be different? I think if you begin to articulate your story in visual comparisons, people will begin to see it in their minds.

Also, did you see that we're offering book-to-screen reviews? I think you'd highly benefit from it: https://www.stage32.com/scriptservices/coverage/buy?id=66&affid=mjm

Brian, you can reach out to me for free advice using gregorj3 at gmail dot com.

Karen "Kay" Ross

Thanks again for your thoughtful suggestions. As to paying for a review...

Three execs from Disney came to Iowa City to talk about a contest at the Writers Workshop.

Things quickly turned tedious as panelists and writers went round and round about who was eligible to enter.

I finally had enough and asked how we might proceed with them should we have no interest in their contest.

The woman on the panel asked me, in an arch tone, whether I'd been thru the Workshop.

I put on a sorrowful expression and explained that I'd been too talented for the Workshop.

The audience laughed. She squirmed. The tedium resumed.

So I sharpened my question, pointing to a youngish gent who'd worked on 'Diner,' asking how we could get a hold of him.

Dead silence. Impasse.

He then explained that, if you can write, you hold the ultimate power in Hollywood, and that they were forbidden from receiving any work on their own say-so.

You could feel the ground shifting in the wake of that little revelation.

I was rather proud of myself for speaking up. As you know, I'm typically a shy and reticent sort and so these kinds of outbursts do not come naturally to me.

_____As it happens, I did take classes at the WW's undergraduate level. DeWitt Henry of 'Ploughshares' told me I was at least as good as any grad students he'd taught. I remember his words clearly because I had to soak my head for several weeks afterward.

Jeff E. Gregory

Thanks for your gracious offer.

Interesting article. I write fiction for a living & rights sales are a major part of my income (& being able to pay the mortgage

Oh neat. What kind of fiction do you write?

I work retail for a living and write horror. I was one of those who thought that making a living as a writer would instantly work. Then again that was back in college. Recently had a pitch meeting and did some voice work- still writing and finding that success isn’t about the sales but the satisfaction. And reviews have said that my work is scary, creepy.

I get told repeatedly how good my work is, but still waiting for that option call.

I write crime - there's a lot of it about but a big reader appetite too ;-)