Screenwriter Support: Getting the Film Rights for a Novel
And how to prepare your own work to actually get the rights
Okay, before we get into today’s question you probably all saw the news: the WGA strike is OVER.
The membership still needs to review and ratify the contract, but after a couple days of reading through the points and talking with folks, the overall vibe is that we did it.
This contract does not and could never win everything we asked for, but it does make meaningful gains within every ask. It will codify many many things that once were considered standard procedure for the operation of the entertainment industry (multiple writers working on a tv show, a second step on a feature screenplay deal) as well as some meaningful gains like *Staff Writer Script Fees* (yes, Staff Writers used to not be paid for their scripts while everyone else was).
Others have already shared more details so I won’t go into it more than this: I’m so excited to work under this new contract, I feel protected and hopeful that these gains will give us just a little more space to be creative and take risks as storytellers, which is exactly what the industry needs from us.
That said, five months without work is devastating and people will be recovering economically and emotionally for a long time. Let’s be good to each other in the coming months like we have been during the strike. Let’s support each other through rebuilding because that part isn’t over along with the strike. Let’s support SAG-AFTRA as they continue to fight for a fair contract, and each union going forward.
Today’s screenwriter support ticket comes from member Teddy Young (back at it again, Teddy. Love the questions and I appreciate your membership - it motivates me to share more and more!)
If you have a question you’d like answered here, fill out your own ticket and maybe you’ll see your question next! Paid members will be prioritized, because their support helps me put this newsletter together each week.
Let’s get into it…
The Question
How do you figure out who owns the film rights to a novel?
My Thoughts
Usually, the publisher owns the film rights, unless the Author carved out the deal to retain rights, which is more likely with established authors. (Note: this is a correction from my first post, where I said the Authors usually own the rights. That was my experience a while ago when digging around, but a friend with more recent experience corrected me. Thanks, friend!)
The only database I’ve heard of is called www.rightscenter.com. For a fee, you can see their list of titles, or can track things down for you if you reach out. (This is another correction from my original post where I said there was no easy and free database. While I don’t know of a free one, the rights center seems like the easy one with a fee).
If that’s prohibitive to you, I’ve had the most luck reaching out to the authors themselves. Reaching out to publishers can be full of gatekeepers and unread emails. Authors, on the other hand, tend to have more direct access.
Find their website, maybe they have a contact form or email address and inquire. If they no longer own it, they may be willing to tell you who does (a production company, studio, or another screenwriter who got there first).
That said, your first inquiry to them should also establish why you are someone worth discussing the film rights with.
That means you need to succinctly share who you are, what your intentions are with the rights, and why they should trust you.
The easy version of this is if you’re an established writer or working on behalf of an established company. Here’s a version of what that might look like:
“Hi [Author],
My name is Chris Amick and I’m a screenwriter and producer in Los Angeles. I recently wrote a movie for Universal called [MOVIE TITLE] that will star [MOVIE STAR], and I also produced a tv series called [SERIES TITLE] which aired on Netflix for three seasons.
I’m reaching out because I read [TITLE OF BOOK] and think it would make an incredible movie. If you’re open to it, I’d love to chat with you about what that might look like. Do you still own the film rights, or has someone else beaten me to the punch?
Either way, you’ve made a fan for life and I’m excited to read [UPCOMING NOVEL] in the new year.
Talk soon,
Chris”
You can also do this on behalf of a company you work for, switching out your own credits for the company’s credits (something I did a lot as a development assistant in my first years in LA).
This is obviously not so easy if you don’t have the credits or body of work, and that’s something to consider before heading down that path.
A few important points to take into consideration:
You NEED to have the credibility before you can hope for a reply. If you don’t have work to point to, how can they trust that you will be able to do anything if they sold you the rights?
It’s best to have credibility within the same space as what you’d turn this novel into. If you see it as a movie, you should have experience writing movies. If you see it as a massive sci-fi action comedy, you may not want to point to a short, grounded drama.
Sometimes credibility comes in the form of having an agent, manager, or a producer reach out on your behalf. They can use their credibility at their company to uplift you if you don’t have the credits.
You may need to pay for the rights, you may not. A lot of authors are happy to give proven screenwriters the rights for free in the hopes that they can set up the project within a specific timespan (12-18months). Others want that money, and I get that. Be ready to have a pitch for HOW you will make this project work, not just an ask for the right to make it work.
These days, publishers and authors sell the film rights to higher-profile books before the book is even published. That’s right, before you even have the chance to learn about a new title, the manuscript has passed through the agencies, production companies, and top-tier filmmakers. It can be a challenge to find a book whose rights aren’t already tied up somewhere. That said, the more indie the book, the more likely you have a shot.
Chasing down the rights to a book can be as easy as an email, or as difficult as months and months of hopping from company to company, producer to producer, to see who currently has the rights and if they are willing to let them go or want to hoard them.
I’m all about trying, but don’t let it slow you down from writing your own original project. The last thing you want is to spend all of your time working to get a project off the ground when you don’t own the rights to it. All that work can go away in a flash and leave you with nothing. Trust me.
Have you ever tried (successfully or not) to get the rights to a book or other property? How does this line up with your experience? Feel free to share other perspectives in the comments on Substack, and share this post with a friend who could get some value from it.
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