Posts Tagged ‘Daily Kick’

By David Farland

(From David Farland’s Daily Kick in the Pants—Making the Runelords Movie)

When a new writer puts out a book, you’ll often hear of immediate movie interest. I had interest in NIGHTINGALE, my most recent novel, before the book was ever released, for example.

This all sounds exciting, especially to a new author. You’ve just sold your first young adult novel, a big studio decides to option it, and suddenly you’re getting paid $60,000 per year “for nothing.”

Does this mean that a movie will be made based on your book? Possibly. If your book gets optioned at that price, there’s about a 1/10 chance. So what’s the deciding factor?

Fans. It’s all about the fans.

If your newly re-leased book comes out, and the sales are strong. That’s great. But you need about three to five million fans before the studios will decide that it’s a good bet. They want to feel assured that there are real customers out there, willing to pay for the opportunity to see this film. So they buy an option, tie up the rights, and wait. Of course, they buy rights for several other books, too. That way, no matter which horse is winning the race, they can jump on it’s back. more »