Tips for Screenwriters

The opening shots of a good movie, just like the first few pages of a good novel, show the audience or reader WHAT KIND of story this is—like the opening shot of “Social Network” or the first scene of “The Exorcist” or the opening murder of a commercial thriller. The audience needs the reassurance that they’re watching a romantic comedy, or thriller, or true life story—it makes them trust the storyteller, and “suspend” their “disbelief.”

Dr. Ken Atchity Discusses the New Frontier of Publishing and What It Means for Writers

As a literary manager, Dr. Ken Atchity has launched many illustrious careers for novelists, writers of nonfiction and screenwriters.

He’s also produced 28 films and authored 14 books, including “A Writer’s Time: Making Time to Write” and “Writing Treatments That Sell.”

With credits like these and over 40 years experience in publishing, it’s safe to say that Ken knows the business.

This is precisely why I wanted to speak with him about the radical changes in the publishing environment and what it means to today’s writers.

Here’s the interview:

There’s been drastic change in the publishing world over the last several years. What does this mean for today’s aspiring novelists?

It means that today’s novelists are living on a new frontier, and are free to seize opportunity where they find it—and take their fate into their own hands. They are no longer enslaved by a publishing paradigm that never made good business sense. In short, go Internet, young novelist!

What are your thoughts on novelists self-publishing their work in e-book form?

That is not only the way of the future, it’s the way of the present! It’s the paradigm that’s already working for hundreds of writers. Soon it will work for thousands. Be the next one on your block to publish an ebook.

Is there still a stigma tied to self-publishing? And, if so, should writers care?

Not in the least, as long as it’s done professionally with the highest artistic standards and commercial intelligence.

What kind of sales would an author have to demonstrate in order to gain interest from a traditional publishing house?

Once you’re north of 10,000 sales or so, you have a chance of the traditional publishers taking you seriously because you’ve proven there IS a market for your book.

If an independent author is making healthy sales on his own, what reasons would he have to sign with a traditional publisher?

That’s really the question. If money is your goal, you’re making more by far on the esales than you would make from a traditional publisher at that point.

If fame, then maybe you consider switching to the traditional publisher so you can say you were “published by W. W. Norton.” But you will lose control over your book if you do that.

Basically, the only reason that makes sense for going traditional at that point is the kind of irresistible advance Amanda Hocking got from St. Martin’s–$2 million!

At what point (if any), would you recommend that a new novelist who has published their book in electronic format consider publishing in paper- or hardback?

This is primarily a question of whether the new novelist has access to physical audiences that will buy her book. If he does, then go to Print on Demand (P.O.D.) and order enough books for each event you attend. Plus, you need “hard copies” to sign!

If self publishing, what are some of the tasks a writer should perform before launching their books?

(1) Make sure your book is professionally edited. Most self-published books are not, and readers get angry and stop buying them.

(2) Hire a professional designer for the cover—one who’s worked for the traditional publishing houses.

(3) Make sure you have a marketing plan, no matter how minimal—and implement it every single day. Hire a web publicist who knows what he’s doing—or a strategic career coach like myself (www.storymerchant.com).

Where do you think most writers go wrong when self-publishing their books?

They do it through organizations that add unnecessary expense to the writer’s investment instead of doing it “direct” with Kindle, I-books, Lightning Source, etc.

Now that anyone and everyone can publish themselves (& often do), what can an author with a quality product do to stand out?

Publicity and marketing. The more inventive you are, the better. That’s why it’s a new frontier—the prize goes to the most creative.

Thanks for your time, Ken! Informative interview.

Thanks, Jen. Keep up the good work!

To find out more about Dr. Ken Atchity, you can find him at aeionline.com and storymerchant.com.

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Interview by Jennifer Minar-Jaynes. Jennifer Minar-Jaynes is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the editor-in-chief of www.WritersBreak.com.

Criticism Is the Only Way to Grow

Recently I responded with thanks to a former Georgetown professor of mine who had taken the time to critique (severely, as was his wont) something I’m working on. He wrote back, “I admire your courageousness in the face of criticism.”

It’s not courage, Dr. Joe, it’s sincere gratitude. In this frenzied world of minute attention spans, when someone takes the time to read your work carefully and the further time to criticize it, gratitude is the only response I consider to be professional. I wrote just that, nearly twenty years ago, in A Writer’s Time: “Finding a writer you can take objective criticism from is a rare discovery in a writer’s career…If criticism angers you, allow yourself to be angry, but put your anger on hold until you have a chance to consider the criticism at a cooler moment.”[click here to order A Writer’s Time]

I was reminded of the evening I spent chatting on a South Florida beach with my old friend Mort Ransen, director of Falling Over Backwards. We had just come from the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, where the film had played to sincere applause from the opening night audience. Afterwards, at the lobby reception, people stood in line to congratulate us and shake Mort’s hand. All were positive, except one man who went on and on about something or other that bothered him about the film. I was about to come to Mort’s rescue and usher the critic away, when Mort stopped me and proceeded to give the man his full attention.

“I’ve never seen anyone in my life,” I said, later on the beach admiring the Gulf Stream’s gentle lapping at the frantic South Beach scene, “who takes criticism as well as you do.”

“It’s the only way to learn,” he replied. “I learn nothing from praise.”

Tip for Screenwriters

Don’t refer to other films in your screenplay. You never know what the reader may think of them, and the reader may think way too many thoughts about them—distracting from the story in front of him.

Act 2

Act 2 is the Sahara Desert of writing a novel or screenplay, and it’s much more than merely the bridge between Acts 1 and 3. One way to deal with it effectively is to divine Act 2 itself into three acts—and, while you’re at it, divide each of those into three mini-acts. The division by three is powerful even down to the page, paragraph, and sentence level. It keeps the reader involved all the time!

Character

Not just MAJOR CHARACTERS, but also SUPPORTING CHARACTERS need to make progress or change in a good story. It takes only three or four beats to establish transformation:

(1) establish the character as selfish;

(2) illustrate further selfishness, this time with someone reacting to it;

(3) do it again, with her registering the reaction; and

(4) show her doing something, even something small, that is unselfish.

With strokes like that, you’ll be considered a master of character-building. It’s that simple.

Showing Up

Achievement and success aren’t all about feeling GREAT all the time. I can tell you that I’ve often wondered about the speakers I hear who pretend like they’re ALWAYS at the top of their game, when, in fact, I believe we all have to get ourselves to the grindstone nearly every single morning–not leaping out of bed, but going through the motions until the sparks start flying. And they do, as you say, start flying once the positive energy of work takes over. It’s just if you’re not there, it won’t happen. The biggest effort of all is putting all the cobwebs in your brain aside and just SHOWING UP at your writing desk. As a great baseball player once said, “Practice all the time. If you’re not practicing, someone else is out there practicing–and when he meets you, he will beat you.”