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My book has been optioned for a movie

RealityChuck Feb 18 2011 08:45 AM

Well, sort of my book. A few years ago, I was involved in the Atlanta Nights -- an attempt by a group of writers to create the worst possible novel and show that PublishAmerica (a vanity press) would publish anything. They did indeed accept it, despite the fact that it was just plain awful (manuscript is available here (pdf)). Well, I just received word that the book and the story behind it have been optioned for a film. They want to contact me about being interviewed for it, too. They're raising money for it online. Hard to say if they'll raise enough to get it finished, but it's kind of fun. Here's an overly dramatic reading of my chapter. [youtube]ftJ5DowqdjE[/youtube]

themetfairy Feb 18 2011 08:55 AM Re: My book has been optioned for a movie

WTG Chuck - that is fabulous!

Ceetar Feb 18 2011 08:58 AM Re: My book has been optioned for a movie

Pretty cool for sure. publish anything huh? I should mention that to my friend who's got a book he's "trying" to get published.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 18 2011 09:07 AM Re: My book has been optioned for a movie

Excellent.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 18 2011 09:10 AM Re: My book has been optioned for a movie

That is cool! But I don't understand... why did you have to prove that a vanity publisher would publish anything? Isn't that like trying to prove that KFC is willing to sell fried chicken?

TransMonk Feb 18 2011 09:10 AM Re: My book has been optioned for a movie

Congrats to you!

RealityChuck Feb 18 2011 09:16 AM Re: My book has been optioned for a movie

That is cool! But I don't understand... why did you have to prove that a vanity publisher would publish anything? Isn't that like trying to prove that KFC is willing to sell fried chicken? They claimed they weren't a vanity press and had high standards that mere science fiction writers couldn't hope to meet. They offer their authors a token $1 "advance" and pretend to be able to get their books into bookstores. But they don't (they even make it difficult for bookstores to order from them) and many bookstores have a policy of requiring payment in advance for PA books. There's also no promotion or editorial changes. Basically, they overcharge for their books (they're about $5 more than a comparable sized book) and expect the authors to buy copies, both to give to family and to promote the book (the average vanity press book sells 75 copies). The authors end up paying for the publication of their book, though in a very sneaky way. They claim that they reject most of their submissions, but AFAIK, no one has ever reported getting rejected, and the belief is that the only rejections were when they hit their limit for the day (that's 500, time to call it a day). Authors were warning writers about them fairly early on. A lot of those who were involved were science fiction writer (e.g., A. C. Crispin). PA put together a web page "explaining" the "facts" of the publishing business. Since the most visible of their critics were SF writers, they wrote: As a rule of thumb, the quality bar for sci-fi and fantasy is a lot lower than for all other fiction. Therefore, beware of published authors who are self-crowned writing experts. When they tell you what to do and not to do in getting your book published, always first ask them what genre they write. If it's sci-fi or fantasy, run. They have no clue about what it is to write real-life stories, and how to find them a home. Unless you are a sci-fi or fantasy author yourself. (I love that last line BTW -- Oh! we don't mean you!). In any case, Jim Macdonald took this upon himself as a challenge. He solicited writers and gave them chapter outlines. Mine was two lines and I assume the others were similar. We all cranked out chapters in a weekend, not knowing what anyone else was writing (note mine ends with a cliffhanger that is never resolved; another chapter ends with the character waking up and discovering everything was a dream). Two chapters are identical. Chapter 21 does not exist. Chapter 34 was created by taking a chapter and running it through a randomizer. Then it was sent to PA, using the name of a front. Soon Jim got the news: PA had accepted. On the advice of a lawyer, we didn't go any further as to sign a contract. The hoax was revealed. A few hours later, PA sent a letter rejecting the book because one of the chapters (Chapter 34) appeared to be gibberish. Which clearly shows they didn't read the entire book before accepting it. Unfortunately, PA is still out there, preying on writers. (They also accepted a second hoax novel a year or two later. One of their authors, suspicious, sent them a submission that was the same 30 pages printed out over and over. It was accepted). The story of Atlanta Nights, unfortunately, bears repeating.

TheOldMole Feb 18 2011 11:56 AM Re: My book has been optioned for a movie

Very cool nonetheless.

G-Fafif Feb 22 2011 09:19 AM Re: My book has been optioned for a movie

Fantastic!

metirish Feb 22 2011 09:26 AM Re: My book has been optioned for a movie

Bravo , good stuff Chuck