From Page to Screen: Taking Your Story to Hollywood - podcast

Hollywood producers often look to literature for their next big movie. The trick is getting their attention. Pen Densham, Hollywood producer, writer, and director, talks about how to sell your book to Hollywood and the right way to initiate contact with people in the movie industry. He says that how you approach producers and directors is key in selling your book-to-movie idea. If you want people to pay attention, you need to approach them personally and figure out how to translate your project into something that excites them. Find a director you like and whose projects are in the style of your book, and then write them a letter to pitch your book. If you have someone willing to look at your book, you need to manage their perceptions of it, because it’s all about perception. You need to sum up your story in a catchy and appealing way so that the buyer sees it as a financial opportunity. If you can make your project seem like the logical next step in their personal journeys, they’ll definitely take a look at it.