My niece's last book really needs to become a move. How does that typically happen?

[LeeH]

Ok... so I know I'm biased, but not completely. My niece, Delilah Dawson, is a pretty successful author.

Her young adult book, Hit, just screams to be made into a movie. When I read it, I kept imagining how the scenes would work on film. Bias aside, I really think it would compare well well to some of the current dystopian movies out there. Just wondering why her agent hasn't figured out a way to make this happen.

What sort of magic happens to drive a successful book from paper to film?

[lendaddy]

She writes books about Sniper?



Sorry, couldn't resist

[LeeH]

That was her first release. Not originally written a romance, but her agent said she could sell it if she'd spiced it up significantly. She did and it sold at auction as a three book deal. I'd never heard of the auction between publishers, but I guess if a book has promise then that's how it goes.

[pcardude]

Someone would have to write it as a screenplay then they would have to try to sell it to studio. More or less.

[sc_rufctr]

Does her publisher have connections in Hollywood? I'd imagine the bigger publishers would.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Sounds like it might be kind of fun reading:

Delilah S. Dawson writes dark, edgy books for teens and fantasy with a wicked edge for adults.



The Blud series is available now and includes WICKED AS SHE WANTS, winner of the RT Book Reviews Steampunk Book of the Year and May Seal of Excellence for 2013. SERVANTS OF THE STORM debuts August 2014, and Kirkus called the Southern Gothic Horror YA "an engaging page-turner" and "a standout, atmospheric horror tale." April 2015 will see the launch of HIT, a YA pre-dystopia about teen assassins in a bank-owned America.



Delilah is a geek, a synesthete, an adventure junkie, a cake fiend, and a Twitterholic (@DelilahSDawson). You can keep up with her news at whimsydark.

With all the recycled drek coming out of Hollywood lately I'd think they'd be eager to get any kind of new writing / storylines but what do I know?

[recycled sixtie]

Hugh might know or have some contacts....

[Hugh R]

She needs a Hollywood agent to sell it to a studio.

I'm not allowed to accept scripts, or treatments for a script of any kind, in fact, if I'm at a dinner party and someone says "I have a great idea for a script", I have to politely tell them I'm not allowed to go there, which is why I won't click on the links above. In addition, if someone emails me a script or treatment, I'm required to immediately forward it to our creative legal department for them to respond.

[Bill Douglas]

By the time she's sold a million or two copies, and getting great reviews, the studio will approach her.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

By the time she's sold a million or two copies, and getting great reviews, the studio will approach her.

She definitely has a following. She's come to Phoenix for Comicon a couple of years in a row. It's fun to see people show up with a stack of her books for autographs.

[pcardude]

The film industry is a pile of crap that somehow makes crap into money. They are so afraid to take a chance that they just keep remaking the last 2 dozen or so hits. We are at the point now where it costs so much to make a film if something flops it would bankrupt entire company's.

Meanwhile the Indyfilm market gets stronger and stronger.

[xbrumossalesman]

Agree- I have an original comedy based in a high line automobile dealership where the owner has suffered his fifth heart attack and he turns the business over to his underachieving son and then brings some of his old gang in to keep an eye on the kids- old school meets the next generation-hijinks ensue- can't get any traction- even did a 3 minute teaser video- like pcardude said they keep recycling the same old tired ****.

[cstreit]

Jack O does screenwriting iirc. Might want to ask him what the next step is...

[varmint]

Over the years I've had two projects optioned. It's a brutal process. I can tell horror stories of having to take advice from a twenty five year old Ivy League chick who made all her decisions based on focus groups. One book died when the studio got bought out and everyone working on developing it got let go. The other faded because somebody else got something similar out first. And it didn't do well.

My agent earned his cut getting that far. It helped that a couple semi important people in Hollywood saw my work and said good things about it. If you have the networking skills, I don't, comicon is good for building the fan base. Not sure it's the place to makes deal or be discovered.

[varmint]

I really wish Amazon and self publishing had been around when I started. Self publishing has always been around. But it's now lost its loser stink.

And congratulate your niece on getting that far. She's made it further than 98% of authors.

[RSBob]

Anyone can self-publish. I should know. But marketing your work is a true art and takes considerable effort. For those of us whom chose to not social network, it's even more uphill.

I have sold a few, but to keep it in the public eye, good writing is not enough.

I also have another yet unpublished book which many friends have read and really enjoyed. It was written as the base for a screen play - action outdoor survival thriller set in Glacier National Park. I will self publish it this summer and see how she rolls. Since this one is not a self-help book, I will link it to my signature and see if that will generate some buzz and get things rolling. A movie is a pipe dream, but it would be cool.

[pcardude]

People are making pretty good movies now a days for not a lot of money and then going through an aggregator like walla.la for distribution. Aggregators will get your movie on iTunes, Amazon, Hulu and other VOD stuff for a fee, around a grand I think.

A movie is a pipe dream for me as well.

Congrats to your niece. She is talented!