Author Debbi Mack on the Amazing Opportunities for Authors Onscreen

Debbi on Mulholland Drive

I just returned from the most amazing conference. I attended a Sisters in Crime event in Hollywood, California. There I learned that people in the industry are constantly on the prowl for great new works to adapt into movies or television shows.

A panel at SinC Hollywood on adapting work from page to screen.

This gives authors all the more reason to write the best books they can for publication.

However, keep in mind that adaptations aren’t limited to just novels. A work can be adapted from a short story, a true-life story, a biography, a memoir, a comic book, and virtually any other type of published story.

The important part is to be able to establish that you as the author own the IP (that stands for “intellectual property”). So if you’re a self-published author, you retain total control over those IP rights. If you sign with a publisher, your control over those rights will be governed by the publishing contract.

That’s something important to keep in mind if and when you do decide to sign with a publisher. Intellectual property rights still mean something, even in the Internet age.