How Are Books Adapted for the Screen? Two Agents Demystify the Process

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How Are Books Adapted for the Screen? Two Agents Demystify the Process

During a PEN America event I attended a few months ago, Your Option on Options, one of the speakers noted that the rise in streaming companies, coupled with the pandemic, has made today a golden age for IP content. Curious to find out if this is true, I reached out to Allison Hunter of Trellis Literary Management and Jennifer Weltz of Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, both of whom represent authors whose work has been or is being adapted for the screen.

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How Important Is Genre When Pitching and Promoting Your Book?

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How Important Is Genre When Pitching and Promoting Your Book?

Many novelists, especially those who consider themselves literary novelists, are loath to define their genre. Why reduce their work to a label or box? Doesn’t confining oneself in this way impede the very process of creating art? To get a better understanding of what genre is and how much trade book publishing relies on this concept, I spoke with literary agents T.S. Ferguson of Azantian Literary Agency and Laura Zats of Headwater Literary Management.

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Should You Publish Your Book With a Small Press?

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Should You Publish Your Book With a Small Press?

Small presses have produced Pulitzer Prize winners and International Booker Prize finalists, in spite of sometimes limited budgets or distribution. But not all small presses achieve the same level of success. In some cases, signing with a small press can hinder rather than help a writer’s career, as the Writer Beware website and blog warns. To get a better sense of the nuances of small press publishing, I spoke with literary agents Michelle Brower of Aetivas Literary Management and Jennifer Chen Tran of Bradford Literary.

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Writing, Pitching & Promoting in the Age of the Coronavirus

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Writing, Pitching & Promoting in the Age of the Coronavirus

For those writers who are able to work at this time, questions loom:

  • If they’re writing fiction, should they adjust their story to reflect current events?

  • If they’re already published, can they effectively promote their book through social media?

  • What’s the best way to help fellow writers, booksellers, and others who may be struggling?

I asked literary agents Stefanie Sanchez von Borstel of Full Circle Literary and Leslie Zampetti of Dunham Literary, Inc.

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What Does It Mean to Be A Full-Time Author?

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What Does It Mean to Be A Full-Time Author?

Established or not, most of us in creative fields put in as many hours as those with traditional day jobs—probably more—but how should these hours be spent? How should writers’ daily responsibilities change as their careers gain momentum? And what if their return on investment is low And what if their return on investment is low, or it leads to extreme but short-lived financial success, as it did for this writer? I asked literary agents Jim McCarthy of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret and Paula Munier of Talcott Notch Literary. 

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