September 12, 2025 • 33 mins
Could your book be the next big streaming hit? Before you start dreaming of red carpets and Hollywood premieres, there's a reality check you need to hear.
While Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other platforms are constantly hunting for fresh content, the journey from page to screen involves far more strategy than most authors realize. This candid conversation unpacks what truly makes a book "film-ready" and why so many aspiring authors miss the mark.
We dive deep into the elements producers actually look for—and they're not what you might expect. Forget expensive "sizzle reels" and screenwriting services that promise to get your book noticed. The real keys to catching Hollywood's attention lie in creating an irresistible elevator pitch, building a robust author platform, and demonstrating that readers are already obsessed with your story.
Through practical examples, we examine what makes certain loglines instantly captivating and how simpler, budget-conscious stories often have better adaptation potential than complex narratives spanning multiple worlds. You'll discover why your book cover, title, and online presence form a crucial "resume" that producers evaluate before even considering your story.
Perhaps most valuable is our candid discussion about the misconceptions that lead authors astray—from pursuing tenuous celebrity connections to investing thousands in unnecessary marketing materials. Instead, we offer actionable strategies for positioning your work effectively, including how to craft the perfect elevator pitch and leverage writers' conferences for meaningful industry connections.
Whether a film adaptation is your ultimate dream or just one possibility on your author journey, these insights will help you approach the process with realistic expectations and professional savvy.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome back to the Book Marketing Tips
and Author Success Podcast.
This is Penny Sansevier and AmyCornell and we are doing a show
.
You know, we've been doing thisfor five years and every time I
think, oh my gosh, like we'vecovered all the topics.
And I realize, oh, we haven'tcovered all the topics.
So we get a lot of authors overthe years that have come to us
(00:22):
and say you know, I want to workwith you because I want my book
to be a movie.
I want, you know, and we know,that Amazon Prime and Netflix
and all of these places that areproducing content, they are
hungry for content, they'reinterested for content, to get
new content.
But that doesn't necessarilymean that just because you wish
(00:42):
it, it is going to be so right.
And a lot of times, one of thethings that, in my opinion, that
happens is that an authordecides somewhere between, like,
when they sit down to write thebook, to finishing the book,
like this book needs to be amovie.
(01:04):
And sometimes they have friendstell them, like, like, this
book needs to be a movie.
And sometimes they have friendstell them like, oh, this book
could be a movie, right, I mean,you've heard that as well?
Oh yeah, absolutely, and we'reso.
What we're unpacking in thisshow?
is not so much how to findproducers or how to, like you
(01:25):
know, go to a movie studio withyour screenplay and say, hey,
turn this into a movie, orwhatever.
Or starting to stalk peoplelike Reese Witherspoon's book
club, which gets a lot of thoseget turned into movies on, you
know, instagram.
This is really about what makesa book, getting what makes a
(01:46):
book really film ready, becauseto me, as I was researching for
this show, that's really where alot of authors kind of miss the
boat, like they start with anidea and they're like this is
the idea for my book and now Iwant this book to be a movie.
But a lot of times and you andI have talked about this before,
(02:09):
too a lot of times, these booksdon't really translate well to
screen for a variety of reasons,and it's nothing to do with the
quality of the writing.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Right 100%.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Sometimes they're just, they're like they're
wildly complex.
Right, they're too complexbecause you know
budget-conscious stories arestories that you know are going
to have broader appeal to manyof you know, to getting this
(02:42):
book in front, getting your bookor your screenplay in front of
someone who would put, you know,turn it into a movie Fewer
locations, minimal, like if youhave a, if you have a book that
is science fiction and it's kindof a la Star Wars and you have
all these special effects andall this stuff and planets and
(03:04):
set designs like that gets to.
That's something that becomes alittle bit less likely.
I mean, it can happen, but it'sa lot harder to get the
attention because it's socomplex exactly it's.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I mean and this harkens back to our a lot of the
media shows we've done Penny, Ithink you know what I mean.
Like the harder it is toexplain, the more you have to
include for somebody to get it.
Yes, weakens your chances ofgetting a positive response.
(03:42):
Like it really needs to be aninstant.
Oh, this is great.
Oh, that's so obvious.
Oh, our market definitely willlove this.
Our viewers will love.
Like it needs to be that.
Like nobody is going to spendan extra few minutes trying to
figure out if it's viable.
If they're doing that, it'salready dead in the water.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Yeah, for sure, absolutely for sure.
The other thing to consider,too, is that a lot of times what
happens is that authors and Iknow we sound like we're just
being like buzzkill all over theplace we really aren't.
What we're trying to do withthe show is save you a lot of
money, and I'll get to that injust a minute but a lot of times
authors will see movies like ohthis, like Harry Potter's a
(04:22):
great, great example.
Just because we had so manyauthors that came to us and said
my book is similar to HarryPotter, I think this could be a
movie Right by the time.
The trend is popular and this isworth anything, right, even
with like book talk on TikTokand all that whatever, and all
that other stuff by the time,the trend is super popular.
(04:45):
It's already passed.
Because it takes so long to getfrom book to movie.
I mean, generally it can takeyears.
We had an author who had anoption for a movie deal and I
want to say this was this isactually before Amy and I
started working together, sothis goes back 20 plus years and
I don't think, to the best ofmy knowledge, I don't think they
(05:07):
ever, I don't think it ever gotturned into a movie, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
So it takes that, you know.
So it takes a lot of time.
One of the things that keptcoming up over and over and over
again as I was reading throughsome of this stuff is the
decision to adapt a book,something that you addressed,
amy.
The decision to adapt a bookcomes down to whether the book
can be pitched in an elevatorpitch.
(05:34):
So 30 seconds, you know thecore of the book.
If you have to spend a lot oftime, well then there's this,
and then there's this, and thenthere's that.
A the book isn't maybe tightenough to be published in the
first place, but B you're goingto.
If you're pitching this book,you're going to completely lose
(05:57):
your market, right?
Oh yeah, so that's one of thefirst things.
So let's just back up a littlebit Now.
If you're listening to this,you're like you know what?
I have a book idea.
I think this could really be amovie.
Start to think about this superearly.
(06:18):
Start to think about it evenbefore I don't want to say
before you put pen to paper, butbefore you start packaging this
book up for the world to see,because your packaging is going
to make a huge difference, andthis comes down to the cover and
honestly, we have done so manyshows on cover design and author
(06:38):
branding and everything, so I'mgoing to be referring back to
those a lot Because all of thatmatters.
So covers Amy you and I talkabout this hugely important
Titles.
I just don't know.
We see sometimes really complextitles that are hard to
(07:03):
pronounce, hard to understand,don't necessarily make sense for
the genre.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Right, you need a little.
You need to be an insider toget it, which is also
problematic.
Oh, so problematic, yeah, youknow and that's usually why the
authors love it and we canunderstand where you're coming
from.
Like no, this title is soclever.
Once you understand it, it'slike yeah, but that's not how
things start.
You know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
And then, of course, you knowthey talk about tracking your
data.
Absolutely, you want to trackyour Goodreads stats, your
reviews, all the thingsProducers, if somebody is really
interested in you know, thebook.
I mean that should be part ofyour package and we'll talk
about the package in just asecond.
(07:48):
Producers can easily find salesand sales data because they
have access to that.
But having it all kind of inone place, this isn't something
that you have to lead the paradewith, right.
So you publish your book first,you put it, put together a
great cover, a great title.
Amy.
Speak to the.
Speak to the author presencepart.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Yeah, I mean and this again, there's so many.
This mirrors what we talk aboutwith just coverage and media in
general.
But your social media, your,where are you showing up online
when you search your name, whenyou search for your book?
You know that's all absolutelymatters.
Your website, I mean you haveto have a website, you have to
have a brand and I mean and thisis where why you know not to be
insensitive, but why Penny andI roll our eyes when authors
(08:37):
show up in their book is barely,you know, it's fresh, fresh on
Amazon.
You know what I mean Like thesubmit button is hardly cooled
off and they're like I need amovie deal.
It's like, well, hold on now.
No, like there's nothing outthere about your book that
signals this should be a movie,you know.
(08:57):
So all of these things, thislike packaging your product, if
you're serious about making yourbook into a movie, you've got
to get serious about developinga brand and a platform and
getting I mean, I don't want tojump the gun, but getting
reviews.
You know, like Penny said, yourGoodreads data, reviews on
Amazon.
No movie studio is going to takea chance on something that
(09:19):
hasn't already proven to bepopular.
Right, you know that's not howthis works.
Great books that people loveand are obsessed with get made
into movies.
Unknown books by unknownauthors do not.
Yes, that is just like the coldhard truth, unfortunately.
And that's again why, penny, Ilove that you wanted to do this
(09:41):
show, because this is we'rereally digging into.
What does it take?
And this is not about like, oh,write a great story.
It's so much more complex thanthat.
If you're serious about it,make this your business.
You know.
Make packaging your book readyfor a studio.
Yeah, not all of it you cancontrol immediately.
(10:01):
You know, some of it takes alot of hustle.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Right, exactly, and we talk a lot about.
You know everything is yourresume, so your website, strong
author branding, the socialproof, just in terms of you know
the reviews and all of thatstuff.
But I think you know when FiftyShades of Grey got a movie,
this is a great example becausea lot of people were scratching
(10:25):
their head.
The book is like.
A lot of times people are like,oh, the book is not really well
written.
You know how did that happen?
Like I don't understand.
It's such a bizarre story.
Whatever, whatever your issuewas, I was at a lot of writers'
conferences at that, like almostone a month, and I'd hear this
over and over and over again andthe difference between that
(10:49):
book and a book that ispotentially similar or right or
50 Shades adjacent, whateverthat is, the author branding was
spot on the cover was spot onthe social proof, the reviews,
it tracked with all of themetrics that these studios look
(11:09):
for and it was also easy.
Obviously it was high concept.
It was easy to produce becauseit wasn't set in 50 million
different locations on planetsand all Not that.
Again, not that science fictioncan't, because sci-fi is a very
, very popular, you know genrefor producing a film.
But that's really where theauthor branding the website,
(11:32):
this author from the get-go,thought about her brand out
there in the world, and herbrand is her resume.
And that's the differencebetween you know, this head
scratcher, where people are justlike, well, how did that really
happen?
My book is so much better, Iget it, but if you don't have
all the, if your resume isn'ttightened up, this job's going
(11:55):
to go to a different candidate.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, so now the other thingthat I now this is kind of where
I'm going to get like okay, soI'm'm going to get like, okay,
so I'm just going to get on mysoapbox here for a hot second.
Um, love it people.
So there are a lot of companiesout there that will tell you,
so I will write your screenplay.
(12:16):
I had a company I asked maybefive years ago and I think I
bitched to amy about this and itwas this guy kept emailing me.
I don don't know if it was theguy or who it was, but anyway, I
remember the emails Like wereally want to work with your
clients and they were giving ahefty commission on a $20,000
book trailer.
$20,000 book trailer, hello.
(12:38):
And the idea was that theywould create this book trailer,
this sizzle reel, so to speak.
Right that they would then sendto producers.
She's already laughing.
You already know where thisstory's going.
Big, flashy trailers, expensivesizzle reels you don't need any
of that.
(13:00):
People you know, anybody thatyou talk to in Hollywood are
just like, honestly, that justreally really helps.
So save your money, pocket yourmoney, spend it instead on your
website, your cover, all thethings doing the right kind of
marketing.
So that's the first piece of it.
The second piece of it iswriting your own screenplay.
If you want to take ascreenplay class and turn your
book into a screenplay, morepower to you, that's great.
(13:22):
That's not necessary to get adeal.
The things that are necessaryto get a deal is to have a book
that people really, a book coverthat looks like a movie poster
and a book that people areresonating with and all the
things right.
So what you do need so I'mgoing to use some industry terms
(13:43):
here so a log line and a logline is you're basically we talk
about this too is an elevatorpitch, and we need to.
This is the show.
Have we done a show on elevatorpitches?
I?
Speaker 2 (13:58):
don't think we have.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
I adore Elevator pitch.
Adjacent time at a writer'sconference, a three-hour class
with just a group of like 25people on elevator pitches it
was a blast.
It was so much fun.
A good elevator pitch canchange the trajectory of your
book.
In fact, in that class therewas an author and she really
(14:21):
struggled with her elevatorpitch and she's like I have an
appointment.
I have a couple of appointmentsactually with agents at the
Writers' Conference.
This event happened the daybefore the Writers' Conference
started, because I really wantto present well, so we worked on
our elevator pitch, we got ourelevator pitch down and she
actually got a literary agentand then she got a book deal
(14:43):
from a really tight elevatorpitch with the same book that
she had been trying to sell atprior writers' conferences for
years.
So spend the time at anelevator pitch.
We will do a show on that forsure.
The next one is a treatment, anda treatment they'll talk.
Treatment is really just asynopsis.
You know a synopsis?
One to three pages, three actsset up, conflict resolution,
(15:04):
that's basically.
Don't overthink this.
This is what happens a lot oftimes too, amy, and you and I
have seen this Authorscompletely overthink the process
when in fact it's actuallyreally pretty simple, right, you
know.
Yeah, and an example of anelevator pitch is and I use this
one from Outlander an Englishcombat nurse from 1945 is
(15:27):
mysteriously swept back in timeto 1743, right, that gets
people's attention.
That's an example when we doelevator pitches.
We're going to dive more deeplyinto that.
As I said, elevator pitches arejust my jam.
I really really love those.
Here's an elevator pitch fromJaws, actually 1975, so the
original Jaws, not like the 50th.
(15:48):
I don't know how many Jawsmovies they have.
I think there's like 50 or 60.
No, but when a killer sharkunleashes chaos on a beach
community, a local sheriff, amarine biologist and a grizzled
fisherman must hunt it downbefore it strikes again.
Boom, like that's the kind ofthat gets your attention.
That's an elevator pitch,exactly, you know.
(16:09):
Elevator pitch I mean you'veworked with authors.
I mean you do when you doevaluations on the retail pages.
How many authors have elevatorpitches that you work with?
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Very few.
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's few andfar between, and most of the
time and I'm not knocking, Imean it's just it really does
take a lot of work Um, but a lotof times it's just a shortened
version of the synopsis as well,you know, yeah, like a chunk of
the synopsis, not somethingthat can really stand on its own
.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Yeah, yeah exactly, and I think that it's you know.
And your elevator pitch isn'tjust something that you're going
to use to pitch this book tostudios, right, your elevator
pitch is something that you'regoing to use when you go to
networking events.
Somebody asks you what yourbook is about.
You go to networking events.
Somebody asks you what yourbook is about.
(17:01):
When you go to, you know,writers' conferences, slash
networking events and to put onyour Amazon retail page, your
elevator pitch is cruciallyimportant.
So we're definitely going to doa show on that, for sure.
But I think really, I meanagain, you know, amy, what am I
leaving out here?
Because what this really comesdown to is get away from the
(17:23):
glitz and even, like we've hadauthors say well, can you pitch
Reese Witherspoon's book club?
For sure, yeah, absolutely, butpitching and actually the line
between pitching and acceptanceis not straight.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
No, you know what I mean no, not for huge
opportunities like that.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Not for huge opportunities.
So you really have to do.
You have to kind of I mean,this is a weird, weird word that
I'm going to use but you haveto sort of backfill this with
all the prep work that you'regoing to do, because everything
that you put out there is yourresume.
Everything on social media,your book description, your
website, your cover, absolutelyeverything is your resume.
(18:06):
And it's the difference betweenyou I use the job analogy
getting the job or it going tosomebody else, right, right?
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Yes.
And to steal a line from popculture show up with the
receipts, right.
Oh my gosh, I love that.
Yes, you want receipts foreverything.
Oh, reviews, got those?
Oh, amazing cover Got that too?
Are people obsessed with mybook?
Yes, they are.
Check out all of the.
You know what I mean.
Look at my social media rightnow.
I mean be prepared, put yourselfin the position of being across
(18:34):
from somebody that is askingyou to prove that you have all
these things ready to go, and ifyou don't have a quick, easy,
impressive answer, you're notready.
You know and I love the tip,and we've mentioned this for
other things when you startdeveloping your logline and you
know your treatment, yoursynopsis, read it out loud.
(18:56):
Oh, yes, you know film yourself, whether it's just on your
treatment, your synopsis, readit out loud.
Oh yes, you know film yourselfwhether it's just on your phone
or, if you want to do it, onyour computer, if you're used to
creating content, video content, but either way, video yourself
and you're like well, that'sgoing to be awkward and weird.
Exactly, keep making it betteruntil it's not awkward and weird
.
That is the goal.
You know, if you're startingout awkward and weird, then
(19:16):
that's pretty much whereeverybody starts, you know, and
you improve from there.
Yeah, but it's like if youcan't deliver it in an engaging
way on camera, you're probablynot going to be able to sell it
to somebody at a studio.
Yeah, you know.
So put yourself in that awkward, uncomfortable position and
keep working at it until itseems amazing.
(19:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
And you know, speaking of awkward,
uncomfortable positions, sothere used to be a writer's
conference where they would havea couple of producers from
really big shows.
So Good Morning America, theToday Show, really big morning
shows and talk shows and whatnot.
Producer from Oprah, like youknow and it was a draw for the
conference because you get it.
(20:01):
Oh, I want to pitch Oprah'sproducer.
There is nothing moreeye-opening than sitting in
front of a producer and I'vedone it because I used to pitch.
I used to go to New York a lotNow you know that's all changed
and pitch producers in personand I've had meetings with the
(20:23):
Today Show people.
There is nothing moreoverwhelming, humbling and
intimidating than sitting infront of a producer who's
getting like 2,000 pitches aweek and trying to keep their
attention with your pitch andtrying to keep their attention
with your pitch.
One of the most interestingthings that you can do is, as
(20:46):
you're preparing for all youknow, for your big time is go to
a writer's conference and startpitching, even if you're just
pitching publishers and agents,if you're not even interested in
publishers and agents, whatever.
Get in the habit of doing thisreally uncomfortable thing and
getting feedback on your bookconcept, your elevator pitch,
all this stuff.
If you aspire to getting amovie deal down the road, all of
(21:07):
this stuff will really help you, you know, oh absolutely
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
This is I mean this is going to help you If you even
prep for this, thinking it's along shot, or you're not even
going to follow through.
Like honestly, this is amazingbranding homework for anybody
listening in general, you know.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Yeah, because you know, look, they're not trying
to be dismissive or whatever,but they know it's really hard
to get their attention.
They know what sells and themore that you can kind of you
know get comfortable with that,the better that you will be.
Just not even just like.
(21:45):
If you listen to the showyou're like, oh my God, the
movie thing sounds really hard.
Fine, it'll still make you amuch better author Because you
get a lot of rejection.
It's funny because I just talkedto an author last week who
we're now working with and sheand I had a really good laugh on
the phone.
She's like I've been pitchingmyself to all these places and I
forget now it was televisionpodcast whatever so she's been
(22:07):
doing this, not necessarilymovie rights related, but she's
like they never write me back,right, because why don't they
write me back?
I'm like I know I remember whenI was first in business, like
25 years ago, I took it sopersonally, like it was like, oh
my gosh, this is like apersonal affront.
Trust me, when they'reinterested they will write you
(22:28):
back.
No-transcript, they're just toobusy to respond to you, you
know I know.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Think about all the emails you get from businesses
and brands and things thatyou've potentially signed up for
.
I mean, do you respond to themand say I don't want to buy
anything right now, but thankyou?
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Because the minute that you respond to them they
won't let go.
I remember I was, oh my gosh,for some reason this year I have
just gotten so much weird spamemail and I would write back to
like, like somebody wrote me andsaid do you want a list of pet
stores across the country?
I'm like, and I don't know Igot a wild.
I'm like, what about?
(23:10):
My business says that I want alist of pet stores.
Like I was just having a day Imust have gotten.
I finally had to like blockthere.
I got 25 emails back from this,like, right, because that's,
and that's what everybody's likeafraid, like the minute you
open up the floodgates, oh mygosh.
But I would just say, you know,don't overthink this.
And then if you get to thatpoint where you feel like you
(23:33):
know, I feel like I'm ready,like I know I've done all my
research, you know you have theoption of going the DIY route.
(23:55):
Certainly that does require,like you've got to have contract
knowledge and of co-minglingthe pitching television
conversation with pitchingproducers.
But I remember one time I hadan author say to me I know
somebody, wait, it was thisweird connection.
It wasn't even like the KevinBacon, like six degrees of
(24:27):
separation, someone who knowsthe dog walker, no, of the dry
cleaner, of course, of thebeauty salon, of the, something
that oprah uses, like it was sofar afield, right, and I was
like, so I'm supposed to use the.
I was confused like am Isupposed to hire the dog walker
for my dog?
Like I didn't know where tostart with this.
Yeah, where do I start withthis?
So sometimes those connections,I mean a lot of people say like,
(24:51):
a lot of people say like, oh, Iknow such and such, Knowing
them and getting, having youknow, getting their attention,
getting their interest forsomething, they first off, they
have to be getting theirinterest for something.
First off, they have to be inthe market for something new or
two very different things.
So you can also go after agentsand consultants who do this for
a living, which I think if youever have the opportunity, if
(25:14):
this is kind of in yourwheelhouse and you really want
your book to turn into a movieand you ever have the
opportunity to go to aconference, I'll tell you
something it's worth the priceof admission to go to a
conference and just kind of sitdown, because a lot of times
some of these conferences BookExpo America, which I miss to
this day.
But Book Expo America used tobe able to go and pitch.
(25:34):
Do that kind of pitching topeople who are producing movies
and shows and things like that.
Do that kind of pitching topeople who are producing movies
and shows and things like that.
But some conferences, I think,still do that.
It's absolutely worth the priceof admission, even if you just
get a flat-out no.
If you get a no, ask why youwere there at your time.
(25:54):
And even if you're not at aconference and you just got an
appointment with an agent orwhatever, push back and ask you
know just why.
Can you give me a little bit offeedback?
And that feedback is somethingthat you're going to put in your
toolbox and make correctionsand you know, do all the things.
So don't fall for.
Don't fall, for there's so manycompanies out there.
(26:15):
Amy and you and I see this allthe time I'll turn your book
into a movie.
Yeah, and I oh my gosh, I getthis for my nonfiction book,
marketing books.
We've talked about this on theshow before.
It makes me crazy.
We want to turn Get PublishedToday, which is frankly I'm
sorry for my language, but it'san old-ass book from I don't
know 25 years ago.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
There's probably nothing in it that even matches
up with what's going on today.
I can imagine it was like awhole different world.
It's a whole different world.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
It was so vastly different from where it is now.
We want to turn this book intoa movie and they'll call me and
then legitimately sound like oh,we're super interested in this
book.
Like, are you even payingattention to what you're doing,
you know, are you?
Speaker 2 (27:00):
in your pajamas.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Right, are you in your pajamas just calling me
from some like basement orsomething where you're just
calling everybody?
Exactly, don't overthink theprocess of going from book to
movie.
I mean really your elevatorpitch, your synopsis.
Skip the sizzle reels, skip theexpensive book trailer synopsis
(27:23):
.
Skip the sizzle reels, skip theexpensive book trailer.
It's not going to let you.
These things are not going to.
You know, the glitzy booktrailer or the screenplay is not
going to let you jump the lineat all.
Exactly, you know.
But thinking about the bookcover, but thinking about the
book cover, what you are puttingout there is as important as I
(27:45):
mean, that is, that's the thingthat's going to get you to.
That's potentially going to getyou to that, you know, to that
movie deal.
I am really excited now to dothis show on elevator pitches.
I know we need to record thatNow.
I see this is what we do.
We get really excited aboutshows.
I'm like, oh, we have to do ashow on this.
We have so many show ideassitting in the queue right now.
(28:05):
But we definitely have to dothe elevator pitch show in the
next few weeks because I thinkthat's something that authors
can use, whether it's forscreenplay or just whatever you
know.
Pitching your book to be amovie, the elevator pitch makes
a huge difference.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Absolutely.
And I think to your point aboutthe packaging, penny, when you
mentioned at one point and Ididn't want to stop the
trajectory, but you said, if youcan't pitch this succinctly and
, you know, in an engaging way,then you know honestly, maybe
your original storyline isn'teven as tight as it should be,
let alone will it translate fora movie.
(28:42):
And I thought that was so smart, because this is also one of
those situations that if this issomething you're serious about,
you better have a damn goodbook.
And I think there's a lot ofauthors that could resonate with
the fact that maybe a yearlater after their book is out, I
think a lot of them can saylike, oh, I would have done this
a little different.
Or you know what I mean nowthat I'm getting feedback from
(29:04):
reviews, I should have gone withthis like I originally.
You know what I mean.
There's those things and ifyou're serious about having a
book turned into a movie, thinkabout making those improvements.
It's going to help the bookeither way.
It's going to help you as anauthor.
Yeah, it's going to help yourbook either way.
You know it's going to help youas an author.
It's going to improve yourauthor business, which is
definitely like we've beensaying this whole time matters.
(29:26):
That's at the base of this.
Yeah, but definitely make sureyou know that was one thing that
stood out and what you weresaying about you have to have
the platform, you have to havethe reviews, you have to have
the social proof and also makesure you have a really, really
great book.
Yeah, you know, and sometimesthat's not the first edition
that goes out, you know, that'sjust the reality, especially if
(29:46):
you're a new author.
Yeah, you know.
Yeah, so if you're seriousabout this too, make sure you've
put out the best version ofthat story and if it means a few
tweaks, make those tweaks,because either way, your readers
will love it.
Yeah, make those tweaks,because either way, your readers
will love it, and that shouldalso be a goal, you know.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Don't forget your readers, with the goal of
hitting the movie deal Right,and I think that to your point.
A lot of times authors show upwith the book thinking that the
movie deal—like.
(30:25):
They show up with the book,tethered to this imaginary movie
deal, because they think that'sthe thing that's going to get
them to the next level, right,right, um, yeah, so it's, it's a
little bit, they're sort ofit's, they're putting the cart
before the proverbial horse, asthey were.
And it's 100.
You know and we do, we do seethis all, in fact the majority.
So here's, here's a tip y'all.
If you contact us um, we lovehearing from uh, we get so many
(30:45):
authors that contact us from theshow just feedback or work, you
know, reviews or want to workwith us.
If you tell amy because amy isgoing to be the first person
that you talk to if you tell amythat you want your book to be a
movie, that conversation willliterally never go anywhere.
Only because, only because,like I want to work with a book.
So typically like, if that's along-term goal, like that's a
(31:08):
different, that's kind of adifferent conversation.
But typically the conversationis I want to work with a
publicity firm so that my bookturns into a movie.
Like, understanding that thatis a long process is great.
The majority of folks who kindof have that in mind want to
have you know, they want it'smore immediate for them, I guess
(31:29):
.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Yes, 100%.
It's like, if you come at uswith that, to me that translates
as I don't really care whathappens or what you do, just get
me there.
You know what I mean.
It's like that's not the way tobe engaged in your own success.
You know you're not learningfrom that.
You're not understanding theindustry if that's your
viewpoint.
You know what I mean.
(31:51):
There's all these little signsthat you're going to be missing
out on these important buildingblocks and just your author
education and building yourauthor business.
You know, if you're lookingthat far ahead and missing
what's right in front of you,yeah, exactly, I, I, I
completely agree with that.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
Um, so we want to thank you so much for tuning in.
This was a really fun show todo.
We are going to, like I said,we are going to do a follow-up
on the elevator pitches and Igot to say y'all, you're really
coming through with the reviews,listen, subscribe to the
podcast so that you get anotification every time we
launch a show and we publish ashow every Friday.
If you're a new listener,welcome, welcome, welcome.
Amy just pointed out we're upto 95 ratings and reviews.
(32:31):
We want to get to 100 beforethe end of the year, so we just
need five more, and thatshouldn't be that.
Y'all are awesome.
You are always giving usfeedback on shows.
We get emails from authors allthe time, so we appreciate that.
Five more, do it, just get usto 100.
That would make us super happy.
We want to thank you so muchfor tuning into the show and we
(32:53):
will see you next Friday.
Bye, bye.
Hello and welcome back to the Book Marketing Tips
and Author Success Podcast.
This is Penny Sansevier and AmyCornell and we are doing a show
.
You know, we've been doing thisfor five years and every time I
think, oh my gosh, like we'vecovered all the topics.
And I realize, oh, we haven'tcovered all the topics.
So we get a lot of authors overthe years that have come to us
(00:22):
and say you know, I want to workwith you because I want my book
to be a movie.
I want, you know, and we know,that Amazon Prime and Netflix
and all of these places that areproducing content, they are
hungry for content, they'reinterested for content, to get
new content.
But that doesn't necessarilymean that just because you wish
(00:42):
it, it is going to be so right.
And a lot of times, one of thethings that, in my opinion, that
happens is that an authordecides somewhere between, like,
when they sit down to write thebook, to finishing the book,
like this book needs to be amovie.
(01:04):
And sometimes they have friendstell them, like, like, this
book needs to be a movie.
And sometimes they have friendstell them like, oh, this book
could be a movie, right, I mean,you've heard that as well?
Oh yeah, absolutely, and we'reso.
What we're unpacking in thisshow?
is not so much how to findproducers or how to, like you
(01:25):
know, go to a movie studio withyour screenplay and say, hey,
turn this into a movie, orwhatever.
Or starting to stalk peoplelike Reese Witherspoon's book
club, which gets a lot of thoseget turned into movies on, you
know, instagram.
This is really about what makesa book, getting what makes a
(01:46):
book really film ready, becauseto me, as I was researching for
this show, that's really where alot of authors kind of miss the
boat, like they start with anidea and they're like this is
the idea for my book and now Iwant this book to be a movie.
But a lot of times and you andI have talked about this before,
(02:09):
too a lot of times, these booksdon't really translate well to
screen for a variety of reasons,and it's nothing to do with the
quality of the writing.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Right 100%.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Sometimes they're just, they're like they're
wildly complex.
Right, they're too complexbecause you know
budget-conscious stories arestories that you know are going
to have broader appeal to manyof you know, to getting this
(02:42):
book in front, getting your bookor your screenplay in front of
someone who would put, you know,turn it into a movie Fewer
locations, minimal, like if youhave a, if you have a book that
is science fiction and it's kindof a la Star Wars and you have
all these special effects andall this stuff and planets and
(03:04):
set designs like that gets to.
That's something that becomes alittle bit less likely.
I mean, it can happen, but it'sa lot harder to get the
attention because it's socomplex exactly it's.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I mean and this harkens back to our a lot of the
media shows we've done Penny, Ithink you know what I mean.
Like the harder it is toexplain, the more you have to
include for somebody to get it.
Yes, weakens your chances ofgetting a positive response.
(03:42):
Like it really needs to be aninstant.
Oh, this is great.
Oh, that's so obvious.
Oh, our market definitely willlove this.
Our viewers will love.
Like it needs to be that.
Like nobody is going to spendan extra few minutes trying to
figure out if it's viable.
If they're doing that, it'salready dead in the water.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Yeah, for sure, absolutely for sure.
The other thing to consider,too, is that a lot of times what
happens is that authors and Iknow we sound like we're just
being like buzzkill all over theplace we really aren't.
What we're trying to do withthe show is save you a lot of
money, and I'll get to that injust a minute but a lot of times
authors will see movies like ohthis, like Harry Potter's a
(04:22):
great, great example.
Just because we had so manyauthors that came to us and said
my book is similar to HarryPotter, I think this could be a
movie Right by the time.
The trend is popular and this isworth anything, right, even
with like book talk on TikTokand all that whatever, and all
that other stuff by the time,the trend is super popular.
(04:45):
It's already passed.
Because it takes so long to getfrom book to movie.
I mean, generally it can takeyears.
We had an author who had anoption for a movie deal and I
want to say this was this isactually before Amy and I
started working together, sothis goes back 20 plus years and
I don't think, to the best ofmy knowledge, I don't think they
(05:07):
ever, I don't think it ever gotturned into a movie, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
So it takes that, you know.
So it takes a lot of time.
One of the things that keptcoming up over and over and over
again as I was reading throughsome of this stuff is the
decision to adapt a book,something that you addressed,
amy.
The decision to adapt a bookcomes down to whether the book
can be pitched in an elevatorpitch.
(05:34):
So 30 seconds, you know thecore of the book.
If you have to spend a lot oftime, well then there's this,
and then there's this, and thenthere's that.
A the book isn't maybe tightenough to be published in the
first place, but B you're goingto.
If you're pitching this book,you're going to completely lose
(05:57):
your market, right?
Oh yeah, so that's one of thefirst things.
So let's just back up a littlebit Now.
If you're listening to this,you're like you know what?
I have a book idea.
I think this could really be amovie.
Start to think about this superearly.
(06:18):
Start to think about it evenbefore I don't want to say
before you put pen to paper, butbefore you start packaging this
book up for the world to see,because your packaging is going
to make a huge difference, andthis comes down to the cover and
honestly, we have done so manyshows on cover design and author
(06:38):
branding and everything, so I'mgoing to be referring back to
those a lot Because all of thatmatters.
So covers Amy you and I talkabout this hugely important
Titles.
I just don't know.
We see sometimes really complextitles that are hard to
(07:03):
pronounce, hard to understand,don't necessarily make sense for
the genre.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Right, you need a little.
You need to be an insider toget it, which is also
problematic.
Oh, so problematic, yeah, youknow and that's usually why the
authors love it and we canunderstand where you're coming
from.
Like no, this title is soclever.
Once you understand it, it'slike yeah, but that's not how
things start.
You know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
And then, of course, you knowthey talk about tracking your
data.
Absolutely, you want to trackyour Goodreads stats, your
reviews, all the thingsProducers, if somebody is really
interested in you know, thebook.
I mean that should be part ofyour package and we'll talk
about the package in just asecond.
(07:48):
Producers can easily find salesand sales data because they
have access to that.
But having it all kind of inone place, this isn't something
that you have to lead the paradewith, right.
So you publish your book first,you put it, put together a
great cover, a great title.
Amy.
Speak to the.
Speak to the author presencepart.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Yeah, I mean and this again, there's so many.
This mirrors what we talk aboutwith just coverage and media in
general.
But your social media, your,where are you showing up online
when you search your name, whenyou search for your book?
You know that's all absolutelymatters.
Your website, I mean you haveto have a website, you have to
have a brand and I mean and thisis where why you know not to be
insensitive, but why Penny andI roll our eyes when authors
(08:37):
show up in their book is barely,you know, it's fresh, fresh on
Amazon.
You know what I mean Like thesubmit button is hardly cooled
off and they're like I need amovie deal.
It's like, well, hold on now.
No, like there's nothing outthere about your book that
signals this should be a movie,you know.
(08:57):
So all of these things, thislike packaging your product, if
you're serious about making yourbook into a movie, you've got
to get serious about developinga brand and a platform and
getting I mean, I don't want tojump the gun, but getting
reviews.
You know, like Penny said, yourGoodreads data, reviews on
Amazon.
No movie studio is going to takea chance on something that
(09:19):
hasn't already proven to bepopular.
Right, you know that's not howthis works.
Great books that people loveand are obsessed with get made
into movies.
Unknown books by unknownauthors do not.
Yes, that is just like the coldhard truth, unfortunately.
And that's again why, penny, Ilove that you wanted to do this
(09:41):
show, because this is we'rereally digging into.
What does it take?
And this is not about like, oh,write a great story.
It's so much more complex thanthat.
If you're serious about it,make this your business.
You know.
Make packaging your book readyfor a studio.
Yeah, not all of it you cancontrol immediately.
(10:01):
You know, some of it takes alot of hustle.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Right, exactly, and we talk a lot about.
You know everything is yourresume, so your website, strong
author branding, the socialproof, just in terms of you know
the reviews and all of thatstuff.
But I think you know when FiftyShades of Grey got a movie,
this is a great example becausea lot of people were scratching
(10:25):
their head.
The book is like.
A lot of times people are like,oh, the book is not really well
written.
You know how did that happen?
Like I don't understand.
It's such a bizarre story.
Whatever, whatever your issuewas, I was at a lot of writers'
conferences at that, like almostone a month, and I'd hear this
over and over and over again andthe difference between that
(10:49):
book and a book that ispotentially similar or right or
50 Shades adjacent, whateverthat is, the author branding was
spot on the cover was spot onthe social proof, the reviews,
it tracked with all of themetrics that these studios look
(11:09):
for and it was also easy.
Obviously it was high concept.
It was easy to produce becauseit wasn't set in 50 million
different locations on planetsand all Not that.
Again, not that science fictioncan't, because sci-fi is a very
, very popular, you know genrefor producing a film.
But that's really where theauthor branding the website,
(11:32):
this author from the get-go,thought about her brand out
there in the world, and herbrand is her resume.
And that's the differencebetween you know, this head
scratcher, where people are justlike, well, how did that really
happen?
My book is so much better, Iget it, but if you don't have
all the, if your resume isn'ttightened up, this job's going
(11:55):
to go to a different candidate.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, so now the other thingthat I now this is kind of where
I'm going to get like okay, soI'm'm going to get like, okay,
so I'm just going to get on mysoapbox here for a hot second.
Um, love it people.
So there are a lot of companiesout there that will tell you,
so I will write your screenplay.
(12:16):
I had a company I asked maybefive years ago and I think I
bitched to amy about this and itwas this guy kept emailing me.
I don don't know if it was theguy or who it was, but anyway, I
remember the emails Like wereally want to work with your
clients and they were giving ahefty commission on a $20,000
book trailer.
$20,000 book trailer, hello.
(12:38):
And the idea was that theywould create this book trailer,
this sizzle reel, so to speak.
Right that they would then sendto producers.
She's already laughing.
You already know where thisstory's going.
Big, flashy trailers, expensivesizzle reels you don't need any
of that.
(13:00):
People you know, anybody thatyou talk to in Hollywood are
just like, honestly, that justreally really helps.
So save your money, pocket yourmoney, spend it instead on your
website, your cover, all thethings doing the right kind of
marketing.
So that's the first piece of it.
The second piece of it iswriting your own screenplay.
If you want to take ascreenplay class and turn your
book into a screenplay, morepower to you, that's great.
(13:22):
That's not necessary to get adeal.
The things that are necessaryto get a deal is to have a book
that people really, a book coverthat looks like a movie poster
and a book that people areresonating with and all the
things right.
So what you do need so I'mgoing to use some industry terms
(13:43):
here so a log line and a logline is you're basically we talk
about this too is an elevatorpitch, and we need to.
This is the show.
Have we done a show on elevatorpitches?
I?
Speaker 2 (13:58):
don't think we have.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
I adore Elevator pitch.
Adjacent time at a writer'sconference, a three-hour class
with just a group of like 25people on elevator pitches it
was a blast.
It was so much fun.
A good elevator pitch canchange the trajectory of your
book.
In fact, in that class therewas an author and she really
(14:21):
struggled with her elevatorpitch and she's like I have an
appointment.
I have a couple of appointmentsactually with agents at the
Writers' Conference.
This event happened the daybefore the Writers' Conference
started, because I really wantto present well, so we worked on
our elevator pitch, we got ourelevator pitch down and she
actually got a literary agentand then she got a book deal
(14:43):
from a really tight elevatorpitch with the same book that
she had been trying to sell atprior writers' conferences for
years.
So spend the time at anelevator pitch.
We will do a show on that forsure.
The next one is a treatment, anda treatment they'll talk.
Treatment is really just asynopsis.
You know a synopsis?
One to three pages, three actsset up, conflict resolution,
(15:04):
that's basically.
Don't overthink this.
This is what happens a lot oftimes too, amy, and you and I
have seen this Authorscompletely overthink the process
when in fact it's actuallyreally pretty simple, right, you
know.
Yeah, and an example of anelevator pitch is and I use this
one from Outlander an Englishcombat nurse from 1945 is
(15:27):
mysteriously swept back in timeto 1743, right, that gets
people's attention.
That's an example when we doelevator pitches.
We're going to dive more deeplyinto that.
As I said, elevator pitches arejust my jam.
I really really love those.
Here's an elevator pitch fromJaws, actually 1975, so the
original Jaws, not like the 50th.
(15:48):
I don't know how many Jawsmovies they have.
I think there's like 50 or 60.
No, but when a killer sharkunleashes chaos on a beach
community, a local sheriff, amarine biologist and a grizzled
fisherman must hunt it downbefore it strikes again.
Boom, like that's the kind ofthat gets your attention.
That's an elevator pitch,exactly, you know.
(16:09):
Elevator pitch I mean you'veworked with authors.
I mean you do when you doevaluations on the retail pages.
How many authors have elevatorpitches that you work with?
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Very few.
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's few andfar between, and most of the
time and I'm not knocking, Imean it's just it really does
take a lot of work Um, but a lotof times it's just a shortened
version of the synopsis as well,you know, yeah, like a chunk of
the synopsis, not somethingthat can really stand on its own
.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Yeah, yeah exactly, and I think that it's you know.
And your elevator pitch isn'tjust something that you're going
to use to pitch this book tostudios, right, your elevator
pitch is something that you'regoing to use when you go to
networking events.
Somebody asks you what yourbook is about.
You go to networking events.
Somebody asks you what yourbook is about.
(17:01):
When you go to, you know,writers' conferences, slash
networking events and to put onyour Amazon retail page, your
elevator pitch is cruciallyimportant.
So we're definitely going to doa show on that, for sure.
But I think really, I meanagain, you know, amy, what am I
leaving out here?
Because what this really comesdown to is get away from the
(17:23):
glitz and even, like we've hadauthors say well, can you pitch
Reese Witherspoon's book club?
For sure, yeah, absolutely, butpitching and actually the line
between pitching and acceptanceis not straight.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
No, you know what I mean no, not for huge
opportunities like that.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Not for huge opportunities.
So you really have to do.
You have to kind of I mean,this is a weird, weird word that
I'm going to use but you haveto sort of backfill this with
all the prep work that you'regoing to do, because everything
that you put out there is yourresume.
Everything on social media,your book description, your
website, your cover, absolutelyeverything is your resume.
(18:06):
And it's the difference betweenyou I use the job analogy
getting the job or it going tosomebody else, right, right?
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Yes.
And to steal a line from popculture show up with the
receipts, right.
Oh my gosh, I love that.
Yes, you want receipts foreverything.
Oh, reviews, got those?
Oh, amazing cover Got that too?
Are people obsessed with mybook?
Yes, they are.
Check out all of the.
You know what I mean.
Look at my social media rightnow.
I mean be prepared, put yourselfin the position of being across
(18:34):
from somebody that is askingyou to prove that you have all
these things ready to go, and ifyou don't have a quick, easy,
impressive answer, you're notready.
You know and I love the tip,and we've mentioned this for
other things when you startdeveloping your logline and you
know your treatment, yoursynopsis, read it out loud.
(18:56):
Oh, yes, you know film yourself, whether it's just on your
treatment, your synopsis, readit out loud.
Oh yes, you know film yourselfwhether it's just on your phone
or, if you want to do it, onyour computer, if you're used to
creating content, video content, but either way, video yourself
and you're like well, that'sgoing to be awkward and weird.
Exactly, keep making it betteruntil it's not awkward and weird
.
That is the goal.
You know, if you're startingout awkward and weird, then
(19:16):
that's pretty much whereeverybody starts, you know, and
you improve from there.
Yeah, but it's like if youcan't deliver it in an engaging
way on camera, you're probablynot going to be able to sell it
to somebody at a studio.
Yeah, you know.
So put yourself in that awkward, uncomfortable position and
keep working at it until itseems amazing.
(19:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
And you know, speaking of awkward,
uncomfortable positions, sothere used to be a writer's
conference where they would havea couple of producers from
really big shows.
So Good Morning America, theToday Show, really big morning
shows and talk shows and whatnot.
Producer from Oprah, like youknow and it was a draw for the
conference because you get it.
(20:01):
Oh, I want to pitch Oprah'sproducer.
There is nothing moreeye-opening than sitting in
front of a producer and I'vedone it because I used to pitch.
I used to go to New York a lotNow you know that's all changed
and pitch producers in personand I've had meetings with the
(20:23):
Today Show people.
There is nothing moreoverwhelming, humbling and
intimidating than sitting infront of a producer who's
getting like 2,000 pitches aweek and trying to keep their
attention with your pitch andtrying to keep their attention
with your pitch.
One of the most interestingthings that you can do is, as
(20:46):
you're preparing for all youknow, for your big time is go to
a writer's conference and startpitching, even if you're just
pitching publishers and agents,if you're not even interested in
publishers and agents, whatever.
Get in the habit of doing thisreally uncomfortable thing and
getting feedback on your bookconcept, your elevator pitch,
all this stuff.
If you aspire to getting amovie deal down the road, all of
(21:07):
this stuff will really help you, you know, oh absolutely
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
This is I mean this is going to help you If you even
prep for this, thinking it's along shot, or you're not even
going to follow through.
Like honestly, this is amazingbranding homework for anybody
listening in general, you know.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Yeah, because you know, look, they're not trying
to be dismissive or whatever,but they know it's really hard
to get their attention.
They know what sells and themore that you can kind of you
know get comfortable with that,the better that you will be.
Just not even just like.
(21:45):
If you listen to the showyou're like, oh my God, the
movie thing sounds really hard.
Fine, it'll still make you amuch better author Because you
get a lot of rejection.
It's funny because I just talkedto an author last week who
we're now working with and sheand I had a really good laugh on
the phone.
She's like I've been pitchingmyself to all these places and I
forget now it was televisionpodcast whatever so she's been
(22:07):
doing this, not necessarilymovie rights related, but she's
like they never write me back,right, because why don't they
write me back?
I'm like I know I remember whenI was first in business, like
25 years ago, I took it sopersonally, like it was like, oh
my gosh, this is like apersonal affront.
Trust me, when they'reinterested they will write you
(22:28):
back.
No-transcript, they're just toobusy to respond to you, you
know I know.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Think about all the emails you get from businesses
and brands and things thatyou've potentially signed up for
.
I mean, do you respond to themand say I don't want to buy
anything right now, but thankyou?
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Because the minute that you respond to them they
won't let go.
I remember I was, oh my gosh,for some reason this year I have
just gotten so much weird spamemail and I would write back to
like, like somebody wrote me andsaid do you want a list of pet
stores across the country?
I'm like, and I don't know Igot a wild.
I'm like, what about?
(23:10):
My business says that I want alist of pet stores.
Like I was just having a day Imust have gotten.
I finally had to like blockthere.
I got 25 emails back from this,like, right, because that's,
and that's what everybody's likeafraid, like the minute you
open up the floodgates, oh mygosh.
But I would just say, you know,don't overthink this.
And then if you get to thatpoint where you feel like you
(23:33):
know, I feel like I'm ready,like I know I've done all my
research, you know you have theoption of going the DIY route.
(23:55):
Certainly that does require,like you've got to have contract
knowledge and of co-minglingthe pitching television
conversation with pitchingproducers.
But I remember one time I hadan author say to me I know
somebody, wait, it was thisweird connection.
It wasn't even like the KevinBacon, like six degrees of
(24:27):
separation, someone who knowsthe dog walker, no, of the dry
cleaner, of course, of thebeauty salon, of the, something
that oprah uses, like it was sofar afield, right, and I was
like, so I'm supposed to use the.
I was confused like am Isupposed to hire the dog walker
for my dog?
Like I didn't know where tostart with this.
Yeah, where do I start withthis?
So sometimes those connections,I mean a lot of people say like,
(24:51):
a lot of people say like, oh, Iknow such and such, Knowing
them and getting, having youknow, getting their attention,
getting their interest forsomething, they first off, they
have to be getting theirinterest for something.
First off, they have to be inthe market for something new or
two very different things.
So you can also go after agentsand consultants who do this for
a living, which I think if youever have the opportunity, if
(25:14):
this is kind of in yourwheelhouse and you really want
your book to turn into a movieand you ever have the
opportunity to go to aconference, I'll tell you
something it's worth the priceof admission to go to a
conference and just kind of sitdown, because a lot of times
some of these conferences BookExpo America, which I miss to
this day.
But Book Expo America used tobe able to go and pitch.
(25:34):
Do that kind of pitching topeople who are producing movies
and shows and things like that.
Do that kind of pitching topeople who are producing movies
and shows and things like that.
But some conferences, I think,still do that.
It's absolutely worth the priceof admission, even if you just
get a flat-out no.
If you get a no, ask why youwere there at your time.
(25:54):
And even if you're not at aconference and you just got an
appointment with an agent orwhatever, push back and ask you
know just why.
Can you give me a little bit offeedback?
And that feedback is somethingthat you're going to put in your
toolbox and make correctionsand you know, do all the things.
So don't fall for.
Don't fall, for there's so manycompanies out there.
(26:15):
Amy and you and I see this allthe time I'll turn your book
into a movie.
Yeah, and I oh my gosh, I getthis for my nonfiction book,
marketing books.
We've talked about this on theshow before.
It makes me crazy.
We want to turn Get PublishedToday, which is frankly I'm
sorry for my language, but it'san old-ass book from I don't
know 25 years ago.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
There's probably nothing in it that even matches
up with what's going on today.
I can imagine it was like awhole different world.
It's a whole different world.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
It was so vastly different from where it is now.
We want to turn this book intoa movie and they'll call me and
then legitimately sound like oh,we're super interested in this
book.
Like, are you even payingattention to what you're doing,
you know, are you?
Speaker 2 (27:00):
in your pajamas.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Right, are you in your pajamas just calling me
from some like basement orsomething where you're just
calling everybody?
Exactly, don't overthink theprocess of going from book to
movie.
I mean really your elevatorpitch, your synopsis.
Skip the sizzle reels, skip theexpensive book trailer synopsis
(27:23):
.
Skip the sizzle reels, skip theexpensive book trailer.
It's not going to let you.
These things are not going to.
You know, the glitzy booktrailer or the screenplay is not
going to let you jump the lineat all.
Exactly, you know.
But thinking about the bookcover, but thinking about the
book cover, what you are puttingout there is as important as I
(27:45):
mean, that is, that's the thingthat's going to get you to.
That's potentially going to getyou to that, you know, to that
movie deal.
I am really excited now to dothis show on elevator pitches.
I know we need to record thatNow.
I see this is what we do.
We get really excited aboutshows.
I'm like, oh, we have to do ashow on this.
We have so many show ideassitting in the queue right now.
(28:05):
But we definitely have to dothe elevator pitch show in the
next few weeks because I thinkthat's something that authors
can use, whether it's forscreenplay or just whatever you
know.
Pitching your book to be amovie, the elevator pitch makes
a huge difference.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Absolutely.
And I think to your point aboutthe packaging, penny, when you
mentioned at one point and Ididn't want to stop the
trajectory, but you said, if youcan't pitch this succinctly and
, you know, in an engaging way,then you know honestly, maybe
your original storyline isn'teven as tight as it should be,
let alone will it translate fora movie.
(28:42):
And I thought that was so smart, because this is also one of
those situations that if this issomething you're serious about,
you better have a damn goodbook.
And I think there's a lot ofauthors that could resonate with
the fact that maybe a yearlater after their book is out, I
think a lot of them can saylike, oh, I would have done this
a little different.
Or you know what I mean nowthat I'm getting feedback from
(29:04):
reviews, I should have gone withthis like I originally.
You know what I mean.
There's those things and ifyou're serious about having a
book turned into a movie, thinkabout making those improvements.
It's going to help the bookeither way.
It's going to help you as anauthor.
Yeah, it's going to help yourbook either way.
You know it's going to help youas an author.
It's going to improve yourauthor business, which is
definitely like we've beensaying this whole time matters.
(29:26):
That's at the base of this.
Yeah, but definitely make sureyou know that was one thing that
stood out and what you weresaying about you have to have
the platform, you have to havethe reviews, you have to have
the social proof and also makesure you have a really, really
great book.
Yeah, you know, and sometimesthat's not the first edition
that goes out, you know, that'sjust the reality, especially if
(29:46):
you're a new author.
Yeah, you know.
Yeah, so if you're seriousabout this too, make sure you've
put out the best version ofthat story and if it means a few
tweaks, make those tweaks,because either way, your readers
will love it.
Yeah, make those tweaks,because either way, your readers
will love it, and that shouldalso be a goal, you know.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
Don't forget your readers, with the goal of
hitting the movie deal Right,and I think that to your point.
A lot of times authors show upwith the book thinking that the
movie deal—like.
(30:25):
They show up with the book,tethered to this imaginary movie
deal, because they think that'sthe thing that's going to get
them to the next level, right,right, um, yeah, so it's, it's a
little bit, they're sort ofit's, they're putting the cart
before the proverbial horse, asthey were.
And it's 100.
You know and we do, we do seethis all, in fact the majority.
So here's, here's a tip y'all.
If you contact us um, we lovehearing from uh, we get so many
(30:45):
authors that contact us from theshow just feedback or work, you
know, reviews or want to workwith us.
If you tell amy because amy isgoing to be the first person
that you talk to if you tell amythat you want your book to be a
movie, that conversation willliterally never go anywhere.
Only because, only because,like I want to work with a book.
So typically like, if that's along-term goal, like that's a
(31:08):
different, that's kind of adifferent conversation.
But typically the conversationis I want to work with a
publicity firm so that my bookturns into a movie.
Like, understanding that thatis a long process is great.
The majority of folks who kindof have that in mind want to
have you know, they want it'smore immediate for them, I guess
(31:29):
.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Yes, 100%.
It's like, if you come at uswith that, to me that translates
as I don't really care whathappens or what you do, just get
me there.
You know what I mean.
It's like that's not the way tobe engaged in your own success.
You know you're not learningfrom that.
You're not understanding theindustry if that's your
viewpoint.
You know what I mean.
(31:51):
There's all these little signsthat you're going to be missing
out on these important buildingblocks and just your author
education and building yourauthor business.
You know, if you're lookingthat far ahead and missing
what's right in front of you,yeah, exactly, I, I, I
completely agree with that.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
Um, so we want to thank you so much for tuning in.
This was a really fun show todo.
We are going to, like I said,we are going to do a follow-up
on the elevator pitches and Igot to say y'all, you're really
coming through with the reviews,listen, subscribe to the
podcast so that you get anotification every time we
launch a show and we publish ashow every Friday.
If you're a new listener,welcome, welcome, welcome.
Amy just pointed out we're upto 95 ratings and reviews.
(32:31):
We want to get to 100 beforethe end of the year, so we just
need five more, and thatshouldn't be that.
Y'all are awesome.
You are always giving usfeedback on shows.
We get emails from authors allthe time, so we appreciate that.
Five more, do it, just get usto 100.
That would make us super happy.
We want to thank you so muchfor tuning into the show and we
(32:53):
will see you next Friday.
Bye, bye.
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