SCREENWRITER’S GUIDEPOST: Kick Down the Door – 3 Reasons to Adapt Your Script into a Book (or Any Other Medium)

“Success is when you feel good enough about [a piece of work you’ve made] to share it in the world. That’s the moment of success.”

-Rick Rubin being interviewed by Malcolm Gladwell on his Broken Record podcast

Remember that. We’ll come back to it.

Navigating the entertainment industry can feel like walking through a maze of locked doors. If you're tired of feeling trapped and want to take control of your career, read on.

When we think back to why we became creative, it wasn't for awards or money or to look sexy.

It was just about that expression on mom or dad's face when we brought home a crafts project.

Connecting with an audience. Capturing a feeling in time. Sharing the preserved inspiration.

But sometimes, we lose sight of that mission. As a screenwriter, I found myself in a creative rut, despite working on professional projects with talented collaborators, I turned around to realize:

• I hadn’t worked on a story of my own in almost 3 years

• I was creatively unfulfilled when I thought I would’ve been the opposite

• Writing professionally wasn’t opening the door for any of my passion projects

So I decided to take control and kick down the door.

The answer was to adapt one of my scripts into a novel.

The script in question was Killa, a hip-hop reimagining of The Phantom of the Opera that had been optioned but never made.

Adapting it—making it—into a book became one of the most ecstasy-inducing experiences of my creative life. It could be the same for you.

So here are 3 reasons to adapt your script into a book (or any other medium):

1. REMOVE THE LOCKS (GATEKEEPERS)

The industry is full of gatekeepers—whether agents, managers, producers, readers, studio execs, or others.

It’s tough to get your script in front of the right people. And even harder to get their buy-in and get it past them.

These gatekeepers are often talented creatives themselves but it’s their job to say no to 99% of what crosses their paths. The traditional publishing industry is similar.

Self-publishing is the lock pick.

If you self-publish you're in control of the entire process. Your only blockers are your taste and judgment. If you feel it’s ready to be put out into the world, you can do just that.

This adds the benefit of making you more discerning about what you feel is release-worthy—because you know there’s no one else to blame and no one else to save the day.

The moment I flipped the switch on Killa was scary. And exhilarating. I didn’t know if anyone would buy it or like it, but it felt good. If anything happens to me, Killa will keep going.

There’s no PDF drowning in someone’s inbox hoping to be read. It’s officially through the door.

2. AN OPEN DOOR IS A WINDOW (PRESENT YOUR PUREST VISION)

When you write a screenplay, you're limited by the format. You have to follow strict guidelines in terms of structure, pacing, and dialogue. (This can be useful for its own reasons.)

But when you adapt your script into a book, you have freedom.

You can delve deeper into your characters' thoughts and emotions, describe the settings in greater detail, and experiment with different writing styles (like an epic rap, in Killa’s case).

You can present your story in its purest, most authentic form.

Killa’s set in a condemned Art Deco theater in Miami. There’s no exact location like it. And to build it for a film, including all its secret passageways, would cost something eye-watering.

But I could describe the hell out of it. I remembered pitching it to my mom one night—her on the edge of her seat—up until the early hours. And I tried to channel that energy into the book.

Becoming the production designer on the page (along with cinematographer, costume designer, prop master, sound mixer, and more), was actually one of the most fun parts of the process.

3. IT CAN OPEN OTHER DOORS (INCREASE THE ODDS FOR THE SCRIPT)

As mentioned in a prior Guidepost, according to George Lucas' book Blockbusting, 60 percent of films made between 1903 and 2003 were based on preexisting material.

So a script has a higher probability of being produced if the story also exists in any other medium.

Here are some self-published books that became films: 50 Shades of Grey, Legally Blonde, Eragon, Still Alice, The Martian.

Sideways was an unpublished manuscript shared with the right producer by author Rex Pickett. Colleen Hoover’s oeuvre, which began via self-publishing, will start appearing on screens soon. Percentages will keep tilting toward existing intellectual properties. IP reigns.

Beyond all that, many of the biggest scriptwriters got their breaks by writing in other mediums. These forms typically require a lower cost to entry, increasing the odds of a product coming to market, and upping the opportunities for newer voices.

Diablo Cody wrote the memoir Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper and had a blog that caught the eye of the film industry and launched her Oscar-winning career.

David Benioff wrote the novel 25th Hour before being hired to adapt it into a Spike Lee joint.

Benioff later created Game of Thrones with D.B. Weiss, whose own novel Lucky Wander Boy predates any of his produced credits.

On the flip side, the source material for Game of Thrones, the A Song of Ice and Fire book series, famously was the product of author George R.R. Martin’s frustrations as a TV writer.

Martin wrote the story he wanted to tell—something he imagined could never be produced in another medium.

And it’s not just books that put a boot through the proverbial door.

Aaron Sorkin and John Logan wrote plays that launched their A-List careers. Sorkin's A Few Good Men and Logan's Never the Sinner. Both were later adapted into films.

So go adapt your script into a graphic novel, a game, a social media thread, or something in whatever the next medium is that helps you connect with an audience.

It’ll allow you to remove the gatekeepers, present your purest vision, and increase the odds of your project getting made. So why not give it a try?

Sadly, my mom passed away before my book completed the publishing process. I wish I would’ve adapted it sooner.

But I was able to hand a copy to my dad. Watching the expression on his face as he flipped through pages rekindled that childhood feeling. Bittersweet and sweeter still.

I took Killa home to the Miami hip-hop underground, where we promoted it at a battle.

I surprised an attendee with a free copy, and he turned out to be an emcee who incorporated the book into his rhymes during the midnight cipher. Shout-outs to Nome, Orion, Evo The Lone Prodigy, NoEmotion, and all the La Plancha DJs and emcees.

I posted some of the clips and they stirred more buzz.

Killa found an audience among fans of hip-hop, suspense, and horror. And fans of one genre who don’t usually go for the others. And among fans of my work that I didn’t know I had, who’d been waiting for there to be something I wrote they could have.

Some started posting pics of their copies.

It renewed the interest of the producer who once optioned it and is now shopping it again. And of an investor who approached me offering to be involved with anything I wanted to produce.

Now I’ve started fielding questions about what my next book will be, and when it’ll be out.

(Consume it with a grain of salt.)

This isn’t success—success was the moment I shared it.

Take a step back and think about why you became creative. Keep your answer in mind, and I have no doubt you'll kick down the door to your own success (Rick Rubin-style).

You might even get the satisfaction of including a link to your creation when you tell others about it, like this: https://www.amazon.com/Killa-Mixtape-Novella-Mario-Moreno/dp/B0BVDKBHL9/