by Jim
Hi Jim,
I wrote a short story recently that I published on the KDP. A friend of mine in college wants to use my story as a script for a small film he’s going to do as a project for one of his classes and I’m kind of torn. I mean I kind of like the idea because I’d get to see my work come to life, but on the other hand, what happens if he doesn’t do it right? He’s going to be making the movie, so he’s going to have a lot of creative control. Given his social media following, I’m worried that his film may wreck my story.
What do you think I should do?
Thanks,
Warren
Hi Warren,
His film can’t wreck your story. Let’s just be clear on that one. No matter what he puts on screen, it won’t change what you wrote and have published on the KDP. At worst, he makes a bad film with your name in the ‘based on’ field and you get a few people who take one look at your story and say, “Well… the movie sucked, I’ll pass.”
However, typically people are smarter than that… and usually, the people you lose will be replaced by the masochistic crowd that comes in out of morbid curiosity to see if your story is as bad as the film.
Remember it’s YOUR story. You can keep a choke hold on creative control if you want. If you’re that concerned about it, you can give him conditional usage of your IP. In other words, he can make the movie, but you have a say in the actors, props, sets, etc. The problem there is that the director may have a different vision than what you have and forcing him to work with your vision may be to the story’s detriment.
Let me put it this way, do you trust this person?
If so, let them make their movie and don’t worry about it. If you don’t trust their creativity, there’s nothing wrong with saying no. It’s not really worth quibbling over. If worst comes to worst and you really don’t like what you see when he makes the movie, simply ask that your name be removed from the credits. However, even this may be ill-advised because even if you don’t like it, the audience might. (See the Never Ending Story)
In the end, it’s up to you. You don’t have to give him the story to work with if you don’t want to. However, I don’t think that decision should be predicated on the concern that his movie could ruin your story. To me, that’s a non-existent issue. Your story will always be there. If the movie isn’t good, just ignore it.
Anyway, I hope this helps. Please feel free to email me back and let me know how things go!
Thanks!
Readers,
Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.
jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com
I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.
I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.
Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.
Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:
http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU
Note:
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Thanks friends!
Catch you on the flip side!
-Jim
James Harringtons Creative Work 
I suspect if you insist on integrity to the story and don’t let the filmmaker follow their own vision, the film won’t get made. I say give the filmmaker free reign, with one exception. You might want to protect the integrity of a character if you plan to use the character in other stories.
Otherwise, I agree with Oscar Wilde. There is no such thing as bad publicity. A great movie will drive people to buy your story. A bad movie will drive at least some to see if the story is as bad as the movie. In either case, that will be sales you would not have otherwise made. And, good or bad movie, that will get your name out there for the next story you put up for sale.
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