Optioning a novel question

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  • Optioning a novel question

    Had a question about optioning a novel. Have read up on the process, but still have a few unclear things. I have a novel I want to option, it was written in the 50's and does not have any current option according to copyright check. I have read that it is best to contact the author directly rather than the publisher, but this is not available to me since the author is long dead. So if I go to the publisher should I already have a lawyer, contract, and number I am willing to pay ready? Do they set the price and I get back to them or do I throw out the first number? Want to do this as professionally as possible so any advice is welcome.

  • #2
    Re: Optioning a novel question

    Originally posted by Sandro_9 View Post
    Had a question about optioning a novel. Have read up on the process, but still have a few unclear things. I have a novel I want to option, it was written in the 50's and does not have any current option according to copyright check. I have read that it is best to contact the author directly rather than the publisher, but this is not available to me since the author is long dead. So if I go to the publisher should I already have a lawyer, contract, and number I am willing to pay ready? Do they set the price and I get back to them or do I throw out the first number? Want to do this as professionally as possible so any advice is welcome.
    I actually just went through this process with a writing partner. The book we optioned was released in the last five years, so we were able to contact the authors and win them over with our pitch. They helped advocate for us with their publisher, which was a tremendous help. But we also had an attorney on our side handling negotiations, so in your case I would start by trying to find one.

    If you can't find one and have to do this on your own, I would imagine (provided copyrights still exist and the novel isn't in the public domain) that there's an estate involved. Try to find out who controls the estate and contact them. Maybe it's a family member who can be won over with your take and passion for the material.

    From there, I would start by asking for a free option or shopping agreement. The option we got on the book is a free six-month deal, and this is a book about a very well-known public figure written by professional journalists. Though we're not pros yet, we're both repped and have contacts in the business, and we leveraged that to present ourselves as being serious about getting the project made.

    If you play your cards right, I would imagine you'd be able to get the same kind of deal on a book that's been hanging around since the Eisenhower era.

    However, if you're not able to get a free option, figure out your max amount and work up to that. We were set to spend two grand, but opened with the free option (which was initially rejected, but we rolled the dice and had our attorney ask again after we sent the authors a detailed pitch to let them know how serious we are.) From there, we would have negotiated until we settled on a price.

    Your experience is going to be different than ours, but some elements will be the same. The key is to let whoever you speak to know how passionate your are and that you're serious about getting this made. Hopefully you have some sort of track record, or you've already taken some steps in your career (you're repped, you've had stuff optioned, etc.), which will help convince them that you're the right person to write the script.

    Hope this helps, and good luck.

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    • #3
      Re: Optioning a novel question

      although i've never gone through the process myself, as (recovering) IP attorney, not sure the Copyright Office database would necessarily reflect a mere option -- typically you record actual transfers of ownership. but the author/title sound fairly obscure as you describe them so odds that it's currently optioned would still seem lower

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      • #4
        Re: Optioning a novel question

        Writing as a published novelist (and as a screenwriter) who has twice been optioned, I think it's important to note that authors often appoint their literary agents to be the ongoing overseers of the intellectual property part of their estate, and thus have the ability to grant an option and to collect money on behalf of the estate (and the heirs, if heirs there be).

        Even with an obscure title there can be obstacles, so my suggestion is to contact the last known publisher of the most recent edition (paper or hardcover, it doesn't matter). They will have a record of the author's agent, and then you can contact the agency and make your offer.

        If you don't know the author's agent's name, try emailing the Authors Guild (https://www.authorsguild.org). If the author was a member, his or her agent information will be on file there. If it's a UK author, try the Society of Authors (https://www.societyofauthors.org).
        Last edited by Jake Schuster; 08-02-2018, 06:08 AM. Reason: To add info.

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        • #5
          Re: Optioning a novel question

          Originally posted by Sandro_9 View Post
          Had a question about optioning a novel. Have read up on the process, but still have a few unclear things. I have a novel I want to option, it was written in the 50's and does not have any current option according to copyright check. I have read that it is best to contact the author directly rather than the publisher, but this is not available to me since the author is long dead. So if I go to the publisher should I already have a lawyer, contract, and number I am willing to pay ready? Do they set the price and I get back to them or do I throw out the first number? Want to do this as professionally as possible so any advice is welcome.
          Intellectual property law is not my speciality, to put it mildly, but as many know, books published during different periods of the 20th century are subject to sometimes wildly varying copyright law. From what I understand, regarding books published between 1950 and 1964, any book can be renewed at the 28-year mark for another 67 years. However, if the book is not renewed by that time, it falls into the public domain. It seems to me not impossible that this may have been the fate of the book you describe, if it was a relatively obscure volume. I trust any IP lawyers (Joe Banks?) and publishing types will correct any part of this that's mistaken.

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