Who wouldn’t love to see visual versions of their novels? Many writers dream of their books becoming movies. But only a handful of books get adapted to films, and the authors usually don’t have any creative control whatsoever. Only big names, like J.K. Rowling, may be allowed control. The filmmakers often say that what looks good written on paper may not necessarily translate well to the screen. They also worry about their chances of success if they permitted the author creative control.
Regardless of what movie crews claim, I notice that it often backfires. Many film-adaptations of books where the authors were completely left out of the projects have mixed or negative overall reactions. Those, such as ” Harry Potter”, do better. The books already sold well on their own prior to the movies being optioned.
I, too, have dreamed of my books being movies. In fact, I used to try and sell film rights through certain sites many times. But it was too premature and no one would accept them. And I am quite glad that they didn’t.
I’ve gotten to know myself better and how much of a control freak I am over my work. So, now I realize how much I would hate film versions of my novels. I feel the need for input and having things happen exactly how I envision them. In fact, I am teaching myself to have a new mindset, where certain publicity services should be avoided because they will mess with my ideas.
Okay, that may sound crazy. I am not necessarily saying this is a good mindset to have. But for me, it’s realistic. I get very annoyed when people do things to my work that aren’t how I intend or envision them. So, no selling film rights, traditional publishing rights, or foreign language rights, is a message to me.
I did once consider animating my books into movies myself. But, of course, that would be a huge overkill, even if I worked with others. So, that is why I want to make comics of the stories instead.
Yes, the characters won’t move. Yes, no one will hear them speak out loud like in cartoons. But it would be far less work than animating. I would just have to practice my illustration skills over time. Then I would maybe test them by offering them as free downloads from my website. If they succeeded, I would then sell them.
Comments