Tinseltown or Bust? The Hollywood Dream, Part Two
Read Part One HERE
With new book-to-film opportunities springing up, it seems you can not only publish your book, but also venture into the world of TV and film without an agent or a traditional contract. Is it really as easy as it seems?
Pipeline is an established US based contest taking scripts, short stories, published and unpublished works as entries, with the winner getting a cash prize, and their story pitched to various production companies.
I entered a book in the 2018 competition (entry fee was $35). The entry is evaluated by industry experts. I didn’t win, but I did get helpful and positive feedback. One thing I did note is that most of Pipeline’s success stories involve screenwriters/screenplays, namely Evan Daugherty’s ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’, which, after introductions by the Script Pipeline team, sold to Universal for $3.25 million.
This one is probably more worth a shot if you’re writing screenplays. Enter early because the fees sky rocket the nearer you get to the deadline.
Another newbie is TaleFlick, which launched in 2018. This company has industry heavyweights behind it, but to submit one book the price starts at $88 and climbs to $499. These are annual subscription fees for your book to be added to their Marketplace. That’s a big red flag for me. Is this one just pay-to-play?
But no, according to the creators, TaleFlick provides a curated marketplace where producers, agents and publishers can discover your work, and the professional curation makes it stand out.
Also in TaleFlick’s favour, HarperCollins recently signed a multi-year deal with them, adding thousands of their own books, across a range of genres, to the Marketplace.
A recent addition is TaleFlick Discovery, where you can submit your book and win public votes. In the interests of research, I submitted one of my books; because it’s free, and there don’t seem to be any ties in exchange for exposure. Free marketing? Within a week I got an email back saying my book has passed the criteria and will be added to the competition the following week. Again, they will give my book a nice shout out via social media.
A quick look at TaleFlick’s success stories seems reassuring, but I still feel a bit uneasy about the amount of money involved to add a book to their Marketplace. For every success story there must be many more who end up with nothing.
I talked to Jayson Sutcliffe, one of the authors who won a TailFlick Discovery competition. He says, “I did initially register my book, and paid a small fee to have my work in the Marketplace. But I was then asked to enter the Discovery Competition.”
He was delighted to win, with his book ‘Rolaboi’ and even more excited when his book was optioned by Fortune Films. Jayson adds, “I had also written a pilot as another project that was optioned by the same company. When I won the Discovery competition, they learnt of my pilot script as well, and both were optioned as a package!”
Amie Ryan registered her book ‘Starfish on Thursday’ on Taleflick in their Marketplace. She says, “My book was optioned by Fortitude in 2018, but after the initial 12 month contract they opted not to renew the option. I gained a lot of new contacts in the film business, and am now working on a TV pilot!”
This experience hasn’t discouraged Amie from using TaleFlick, who she adds were ‘Very professional.” She currently has three books available for optioning. Amie also points out she would spend the safe amount of money on marketing her books in a year, as it costs to have them on TaleFlick.
It’s clear the authors with positive experiences are writers just like me, struggling to gain exposure, as we all are, and I admire the entrepreneurs who seem to have spotted a niche market within the creative industry.
BooksOffice and TaleFlick do indeed provide a service for your money. They seem to deliver, so I don’t really feel this is the movie equivalent of vanity publishing, as I first thought. But I still have reservations.
Hayley adds a final word of caution for authors, “If you want enter these type of competitions do ask questions about fees and rights, and compare them to WGGB. Get clarification on the expectation for your book.”
To conclude, it’s obvious there is no easy way to get your book on screen, but I’m happy to put the work in if it is a legitimate business opportunity. Having said that, I’m still undecided as to whether these new book-to-screen companies are a brilliant idea, cutting out the middle man, giving writers more choice, exposure and a chance at the big screen dream, or another way to make money out of dreams.
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Daisy White is the bestselling author of the Ruby Baker Seaside Mysteries (Joffe Books).
She also writes psychological thrillers as D.E. White for HQ Digital (HarperCollins). Remember Me and The Forgotten Child were published in 2019, and Daisy is currently working on her next two thrillers and a brand new cosy crime series.
As well as writing, Daisy loves to speak at events, give workshops at literary events and mentor at writing retreats. Her writing journey includes self-publishing, small press, and successfully changing genre.
She is represented by Lina Langlee at the Kate Nash Literary Agency.
Find out more about her on her website http://daisywhiteauthor.co.uk/
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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips
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I also wanted to add, that there is another database out there. The curators contacted me after seeing my Kirkus Review and added my novel The Night is Done to their list without me paying anyting. It is called the Rights Center https://www.rightscenter.com/
Not sure how you get on their database if they don’t request. But there is contact info.
I have worked with both Pipeline and TaleFlick. Pipeline did not provide much in the way of feedback so I did not do it again. As for Taleflick – I was notified that my novel The NIght is Done, Durant Family Saga would be in the Discover Contest well over 6 months ago and have heard nothing since. I emailed them to request that they schedule it alongside a promotion I was doing after receiving a Kirkus starred review for the novel. Nothing. No response. I am not renewing with them unless I see some results from the money I’ve already spent. Buyer beware.
I have a negative comment about Pipeline. I entered one of their contests in 2017 when they sponsored a conference I attended. I didn’t expect to win, but I did expect to receive the promised “personalized” feedback. I got feedback however, a friend, who writes in a totally different genre, received the EXACT same feedback verbatim. So obviously not personalized at all – it was basically a generic form feedback.