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The
Writers Literary
& Publishing
Services Company
Book-To-Film Critique & Pitch Sheet Services
Book To Film
Services
Not every book can become a major
motion picture. An epic narrative, a cinematic setting, characters
actors would love to play…these are just some of the attributes which
might make one book perfect for Hollywood while another falls short. How
does yours measure up?
Here’s how to find out…
Our unique “Book
to Film Critique” will assess your novel’s potential to be
adapted as a film. It will analyze your book’s strengths and
weaknesses from a filmic perspective – can the story work in the 3 act
structure which is specific to every screenplay
Hollywood
produces? What changes might be necessary to make it work? Is the
narrative too internal or can it be manifest in an active “Show not
Tell” manner? Are the main characters complex enough to attract top
actors? Would the potential
budget for the film be justified by its target demographic audience?
What can the author do to make the material more marketable?
Is this book
Hollywood
will respond to?
Assessing the novel’s potential
will be one of our staff of produced
Hollywood
screenwriters. These are
Writers Guild of America members who have written motion pictures --
movies you’ve likely seen at your local AMC, or rented from
Blockbuster. Their opinions and insights are not only intelligent and
thoughtful but, most importantly, experienced:
they
know what works because they’ve done it themselves. It’s as
simple as that. They’re not sharing things they’ve read in a book,
they are sharing knowledge they’ve gained writing scripts, whether
originals or adaptations from novels like yours. They know what works
and they’re willing to share this knowledge with you.
(Click
here to view an example of a BTF Critique)
Some
recent praise. "That
gave me goosebumps! Now that's what I was looking for. Thank
you, thank you. Can you please forward that to my agent asap! Thank
you so much, Ellen. In this crazy business, it's nice to have people
like you out there! Really, it's wonderful. Thanks, Joanne"
The next step…
Okay, you’ve determined your
novel’s film potential, and you know your strengths and
weaknesses. What do you do now? What’s the best way to sell
it? We know -- and that’s why we offer our unique Pitch
Sheet Creation Service.
The “Pitch
Sheet” is a
Hollywood
essential because here’s the dirty truth: studio executives, “A”
list producers, top agents? They don’t read. So how do you get
your manuscript noticed? The Pitch Sheet. It is your most important
sales tool, more important than your manuscript itself.
In the Pitch Sheet, one of our WGA
screenwriters retells your story, not in synopsis form but creatively to
give the material a
Hollywood
spin and patina, featuring those elements which, again, they know
will appeal to the buyer, shaping the narrative into its most cinematic
form. “Pitching” the story, as we say, to the buyer in a way that
intrigues and interests – motivating them to want more.
That’s what a great Pitch does
-- it gives you a taste and leaves you wanting more. There are countless
tales of producers and studios who’ve bought novels based on pitches
and never read the book. Never. It’s true. Not saying this is good or
right, but it truly happens. (One of our senior editors themselves wrote
the film adaptation, which was produced, for a book neither Producer
ever read; they bought it in galleys off the pitch). Pitches
sell material.
With a Pitch Sheet, you are
sending your novel out to agents, publishers, studios and producers with
the perfect calling card attached …
More
praise: Thank
you for the mail and the Book-to-Film Critique & Pitch Sheet. I
find both to be very thorough and quite impressive. Please convey my
great appreciation to your Editor for the very professional work, and
particularly for getting into the 'soul' of my book!
As regards the Pitch
Sheet, I think it is so outstanding that nobody can improve on it.
Except for the minor factual error that I mentioned earlier, I have
nothing more to say about it.
I would like to
once again thank your firm and your Editor for the excellent work.
But can you write the script?....
Some authors hanker to write their
own screen adaptations. Of course it’s not for everyone; others prefer
to get started on their next novel. But for the author who is interested
in this process, we offer the “Pitch
Template”.
Similar to the Pitch Sheet in that
it tells your book’s story in a cinematic way, the Template
actually lays out how the story would be adapted to screenplay form.
The editor shows you how the story could work in a 3 act structure and
gives suggestions on how to change it where necessary -- to make sure
that your opening has a hook and reflects your tone, to make sure that
you have an “inciting incident’ placed correctly in your first act,
to make sure your first act ends by page thirty and so on. The editor
will suggest if and where the narrative needs tweaking, if and what to
add or drop as subplots. They provide a template, an outline so to
speak, of how to transfer your book to script. They’ll also provide
insights on other screenwriting “tricks” specific to your
adaptation…say, for example, consolidating two minor characters to
create one role that’s now large enough to attract a bigger actor, and
so on.
And then…
As with our screenwriting
services, we offer advanced coaching for the writer who wants a
collaborative, interactive relationship with an editor. “Book
to Film Coaching” is for the writer who is using the template to
create their adaptation and wants some additional one-on-one help. You
and your editor set the parameters and you work together via phone,
email, fax or combination thereof until your vision is realized…
And finally…
We hope that you invite us to the
premiere!
For more information please email us at :
adminscreenplay @ writersliterary.com