Book Adaptations

Book-to-Screenplay Adaptations

I’ve adapted several novels into screenplay form and vice versa. This is not a simple matter of shaping a novel into a different format, with special tabs and dialogue blocks: a screenplay must follow a specific structure to attract professionals and production entities, and adapting a novel to fit this structure requires a specific skill set. As both a novelist and a screenwriter, I possess those skills. 

Perhaps you're a novelist and want a screenplay adaptation of your work to serve as a companion to your book, to show a director, star, agent or studio how a film version of your material could work; or maybe you want to enter a screenplay adaptation of your  novel into screenwriting competitions to try to gain attention for your property. Or maybe you think your short story or novella has what it takes to become a motion picture. There are many reasons for an author to hire a screenwriter to adapt his work.

I consider  this particular line of work one of my specialties: I've adapted novels into screenplays and I've adapted some of my own screenplays into award-winning published novels. I understand the process better than most other freelancers.

I'll adapt your novel, novella, or short story into a feature-length screenplay.  Billing is based on whether you want a screenplay for a film with a length of up to 105 minutes or something longer. An adaptation of a novel may run close to 120 pages to include as much of the original source material as possible; an adaptation of a short story or novella may run only 90 pages. Every project is unique.

I charge less to write an adaptation of an existing work because the bones and essence of the story have already been created. My fee to adapt your work into a feature-length script is $4,500.

I require one-third payment upfront, upon signing an agreement; one-third payment when I complete the first act (approximately the first 30 pages) of the first draft; and one-thrid when I complete the second act of the first draft, before beginning the third and final act. In essence, you are paying for each act of the first draft in advance. A second draft is built into my fee. There is no discount if you decide my work doesn't require a second draft. You retain all rights, even if you sell the screenplay I write for a higher fee. If you cancel the project after hiring me, my "kill fee" is 50% of the total balance remaining. If you wish for me to adapt your novel as a ghostwriter – receiving no credit – I charge an additional 20% of my fee.

If you  want me to read your story, novella, or novel an advise you whether it will make a suitable screenplay, I must charge you a reading fee for my time: $1.25 per double-spaced page. If you then hire me to adapt your work, I will deduct the cost of that payment from my overall fee.

I do not use A.I., and I do not adapt novels written using A.I.

What are you waiting for? Let's get started now!

Email me at: digital guerrilla cinema at gmail dot com.

Photo: Craig Sheffer in Widow's Point, which I adapted from the novel by Richard Chizmar & William Chizmar.