My ongoing deal with a major American subscription streaming service and production company fell through recently. No names but X marks the spot. Anyway, the second book of the Alvarez Series, A Wedding To Die For, had reached the development stage with them. That meant they paid a scriptwriter or writers (not me) to create a screenplay of my book. It also meant they gave me, the creator of the original story, a little more money. Thank you!
Now the X company is in trouble and all new projects are either on hold or cancelled. I don’t know which category my book falls into, but it’s possible it is a zombie i.e., dead but still walking around, maybe even drooling. A similar thing happened to me four years ago. A Wedding to Die For was with another American subscription blah blah, where mark marks the spot, and it fell through because…because.
I will be my own therapist for the moment. How do I feel about this? Disappointed but a little proud. Only 1 out of 1000 projects ever make it to the completion stage. The odds were never in my favor. And the same scenario has happened to some of my pals, writers I know and respect. I am a member of a club. Maybe a wannabe club, but I think it’s better to be a wannabe than a never was.
People often ask me how I found these production houses willing to speculate on making my book(s) into a tv series or movie. Sad to say, I didn’t have a thing to do with it. I don’t have an agent to push my work onto an unsuspecting production house. But producers are always cruising the internet in search of potential projects. If it strikes their fancy, you just might get an email or a phone call. Being the whole deal of reaching the final stage is akin to trapping lightning in a bottle, they are often willing to take a chance on even lesser known writers, such as me.
My lesson in all of this was and is to keep my best work out there, clean, neat, and professional. None of this “oh, heck, it’s good enough” stuff. And not because I am trying to get it done in another medium. Another no-names-named item: I learned the sister of a very famous comedian read one of my books, really liked it, and told him about it. On a personal note, I’ve loved and respected the brother’s work, which includes his own production house, for decades. The fact he was told about my book made me giddy. Mini-crush, donchaknow.
Did he read it? I have no idea. But he could have. And still might. My point is, you never, never know who is going to land on one of your books, maybe only to read the blurb. But that might be enough to rev up some interest. If they do nothing but buy the book, you’re already ahead of the game.
So that’s my story. But make no mistake, I’m still a little disappointed it all fell through. And the name’s Heather.
Ladies of Mystery 
I’ve known a few other people who have had the same thing happen to them. It would be wonderful to have someone think that much of your story to want to put it on film but at the same time, I’ve seen so many movies and TV shows that started from books and aren’t a thing like the book. I don’t know if I could stand to see my characters portrayed differently than I’d written them.
Fingers crossed someone else sees the potential in your book!
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Oh, my! Having heard the story about this project in the past, I was wondering about an update. Carry on!
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Paty, they told me right upfront I was giving away all claims to the work. They don’t really care what I have to say, as the originator of the work. In a way, I understand it. It is a different medium and one I am not familiar with. It is a case of letting go. So I decided to go there. Not easy, but I did.
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Janet, it was what it was. A lot of fun and flattering. I knew what they were doing with the piece, and while I wouldn’t have done those particular things, I trusted the screenwriter to know the medium, who had a lot of credits to her name. Even with the changes, I’m sorry it didn’t go. But thems the breaks.
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