Part LV: When I Should - and Should Not - Hire a Ghostwriter

Being October; Halloween month; I thought it to be apropos to discuss ghostwriting.

When should I hire a ghostwriter for my adaptation? As a screenwriter who makes a living writing spec scripts, ghostwriting for others and adapting novels into screenplays, this is a common question I get from clients - and potential clients - when they are considering to adapt their novel into a movie script.

Here are some steps to take in helping you to make that decision:

1. Understand that writing an adaptation is MUCH MORE DIFFICULT than just writing a screenplay.

Writing a screenplay is extremely difficult even when you have the working knowledge of the craft, you have writing talent, and when you know certain people in the industry that can help you. It’s nearly impossible to do when you don’t know how to write a proper screenplay. It takes more than a Google search, a Wiki page, a few screenwriting books, and/or a college course on Basic Screenwriting Competency. It takes years of working at your craft, years of writing, and years of networking to even HOPE to achieve some success. You’ve now decided that YOU can’t realistically write the script, so you’ll have to hire someone who can- and not every screenwriter is trained or experienced with adaptations.

2. Decide if this is the best and most cost-effective “move” for their project.

Generally, I speak with clients who have written novels that they think would make excellent screenplays or films. They’ve spent several months or years writing this novel that sprung from their own creative juices or borne from their own life experiences. Most are self-published, and have had a modicum of success in marketing and/or selling the book through Amazon or other sources. They were hoping to get this concept out to the masses, and now believe- after much feedback from family, friends and fans- that the story would be great on the silver screen. With a screenplay, you can introduce a whole new revenue stream with contest earnings, an option or a script sale, or even future paid writing assignments. Having a successful screenplay will increase your sales of the original source material- your book- as well as other books you may have written. You will also more than double your network, which will improve books sales as well.

3. Realize that “you get what you pay for” when hiring a professional ghostwriter.

Retaining a professional ghostwriter is NOT an inexpensive proposition. You should understand that a professional (or even amateur) screenwriter works towards earning and amounting “screenwriting credits”. They want to be able to show people in the industry that they have that screenwriting experience.

When a ghostwriter writes, he/she is giving up (selling) those credits. In other words, we do the writing, while YOU get the all-important credit, which, in turn, gives you instant credibility in the industry. In exchange for these valuable credits and industry recognition, a ghostwriter is exchanging that credit in return for payment for the assignment. To some, these “credits” are invaluable, which is why they don’t offer this kind of service.

A single screenplay can take several weeks until it’s completed.?A first draft of a screenplay can take anywhere from 3-6 weeks of 40+ hours of work each week (yes- when you write for a living, it’s a full-time job). After the first draft, you generally have several stages of rewriting, which can take another couple of months or so. Generally, I contract a 12- 24 week process for a completed screenplay.

Each agreement comes with a signed legal contract outlining ALL of the details of the agreement, including the final payment amount; the starting and guaranteed end-date; the screenplay review process; the FREE rewrite offer; who retains the rights to the screenplay when completed; and the screenwriting credit information.

4. Determine what separates one ghostwriting service from another; least expensive is NOT always the best choice!

When you hire a professional screenwriter, you don’t just want to end up with a script, do you? You want that script to have a fighting chance in the marketplace, and possibly, make a dent in the contest world with the idea of making a name for yourself or your project. Depending upon the level of service that you contract for, you can also receive TWO story lines of your concept to choose from, and decide where you’d like the story to go. You will also receive a marketable logline, and a professionally written query letter to send out along with your screenplay.

While no one can “guarantee” a script sale (unless, of course, they intend to buy it themselves after writing it), The Script Mentor is the ONLY ghostwriting service in the screenwriting world that offers a written “Money-Back GUARANTEE” if your screenplay doesn’t achieve a certain level of measurable success (details of which are provided at the time of the contract). We have relationships with top-level producers that will read any and all screenplays we send to them. This is KEY because they won’t consider optioning or buying any screenplay until they’ve READ it, and this is often the biggest obstacle for most screenwriters.

The work doesn’t stop with the writing of the screenplay, either.?We’ll assist you with a networking and marketing strategy, and assist you in the marketing of that screenplay.

When Should You NOT Hire a Ghostwriter? Now, I’m going to address when you SHOULDN’T hire a ghostwriter- or even consider it (for the sake of this discussion, a “ghostwriter” and “screenwriter-for-hire” will be considered one in the same). Why would I do that, considering that I AM a screenwriter by trade? Because if you consider these points first, you’ll save yourself a lot of time, money, grief, ill will, and protect your personal.

1) Do NOT shop screenwriters to write your “movie idea” that you haven’t thought through. Calling us and saying “I want to hire you to write a movie about my life” is fine, but when we ask about your life and what makes it so special, we cannot spend the next six weeks interviewing you, your family, your childhood friends, your teachers, and an old lover you met on a six-month hitchhiking tour of Europe in 1978. I mean, we CAN, but it’s going to cost you. A lot.

2) Speaking of cost, please do not commit to an agreement with money you do not have! It is not our place to “ask” if you have the funds, or where the funds are coming from; that’s none of our business. There is a certain amount of assuming that has to take place- we ASSUME you have the money or you wouldn’t be committing to the project. Once you verbally agree to do the project, a written contract goes out outlining all of the nuances of the agreement- cost, dates, end product, post-project involvement, etc. As the screenwriter, my involvement in that project begins immediately. I am thinking of the story, conducting any research that is necessary, outlining characters, potential plot points, titles, even a comparative analysis of the particular genre in the industry, as well as lining up potential clients to read the screenplay at its conclusion. Most of this is done within the first 48 hours of the verbal commitment. We are also adjusting our schedules, blocking out the 12-16 weeks to complete this project. That MAY mean cancelling family trips, vacations, re-arranging child care, putting off medical procedures, whatever the case may be. YOUR project takes 100% precedent in OUR lives at that point.

3) Please do your DUE DILIGENCE FIRST. This goes both ways, actually- for the writer AND the client. You have to find out with whom you are dealing, if you do not know this person personally, and most times, we do not. A Google search will give you some basic things, and you can drill down from there. If you’ve had a good relationship with the person up to the point where you are seriously considering on hiring them for this project, THEN find some questionable history about them- ask them. Either they have an explanation or they don’t. Either you accept that explanation or you won’t. I’ve had clients that were real bad hombres- ex-cons with murder rap sheets and such- but that was generally why we were talking in the first place. We were discussing this past life in terms of a movie screenplay, etc. so it wasn’t too much of a shock. If my client has a history of check kiting, I’m probably NOT going to be accepting checks from them for payment- or at least waiting until they clear before spending any time.

4) BE REASONABLE in your expectations. You are NOT going to get a WGA writer for $1500, but neither should you pay $85,000 to a screenwriter who has but two shorts to their credit list. Do NOT expect a 100-page professional, final draft screenplay, in five days. You’re probably not Steven Spielberg, and neither are we.

5) Please realize that WE ARE THE PROFESSIONALS. Chances are you’ll be hiring a writer with some background and history of success. This didn’t happen overnight, or by chance. For some of us, this IS our livelihood and how we put food on our table. We’ve studied and worked on the craft for years. WE know what we’re doing. You (the client) have probably only seen movies as a paying customer. We’ll listen to you, and do our best to satisfy each and every request, but sometimes YOUR ideas are not always the best ideas. IF you really want to give a screenplay a fighting chance of doing well in a competition or at a film festival, or be considered for an option or sale, its best you allow US the final decision on some of the more important aspects. Creatively, this is your project, and we’ll do our best to see your vision through, but know when to yield for the sake of the project. At the same time, you do not want the hired screenwriter to take your idea and change it in such a way it no longer resembles what you were originally paying for.

CLOSING: Many authors are taking their novels and having them adapted into screenplays. Approximately 70% of the movies produced today involve concepts that have originated from another source- be it a book, a magazine article, a comic book or even a blog. This number rises every year. Over 40% of the films represented in the 2020 Academy Awards show are adapted projects.

We offer three specific levels of screenwriting service, and can work within anyone’s budget and/or time schedule. In the past, we have represented the client in various screenwriting contests, and have accompanied clients in pitch meetings, as well as help them prepare pitches.

In the end- believe it or not- we want to see your project be successful as much- or more so- than our own work. There is a sense of pride when writing for someone else. It doesn’t matter if our name is on the title page. Just knowing I wrote your screenplay that went on to win these three contests, and was read by forty producers until one chose to pay you to option it, is why we write in the first place. The screenwriter and the client are partners throughout the process and, if done well and they work together well, the project has a much higher chance of being successful.??

If you are thinking about using a ghostwriting or screenwriting service in the near future, drop us an email or a phone call.

THIS WEEK'S PROMO: Susan Sember, Filmmaker, Author, Publisher and Advocate?

Susan Sember, as a seasoned film director and producer, as well as a former litigation/entertainment and sports law attorney, is associated as the Executive Producer and Film Director for “Beyond the Game”. See www.beyondthegamefilm.com . Since the inception of “Beyond the Game”, Susan has been called upon to present regarding an athlete’s transitions, the convergence of sports and film, and other contemporary sports, media and entrepreneurial topics . As the film producer/director of “Beyond the Game”, Susan has also published four magazines, two in collaboration with a NBA-sanctioned publication. Her expertise and the film are further featured in the book, “Not Another Broke Athlete” by Shkira Singh & Don Padilla. Now, Susan is preparing to release her book, “Beyond the Game: The Official Film Companion”, which features her beautiful photographic and cinematographic perspective and captivating stories with the athletes and experts, in conjunction with the documentary.?

“The personal and relatable film interviews with these athletes, whether it be Hall of Fame inductee or rookie, transport us into the quintessential metaphor of sports mirroring life where athletes overcome adversity to attain triumph, mix grit with grace, and go from winless to national champions, to name just a few. It’s the unexpected, the buzzer beaters and Hail Mary’s of life, which impact their plans and values, as well as ours. As we all know…it’s not always the superstar, but rather the unassuming and hardworking Cinderella that goes to the dance”

—Susan Sember

Susan has had her own film production company for over 20 years and while previously practicing law for over 16 years, her own firm for 10. She also is the CEO/Founder of a unique hybrid publishing company, Silverlight Press . See www.throughpenandlens.com . For Susan Sember’s film project, referenced above, please visit www.beyondthegamefilm.com

WRITER'S BIO:?Mr. Scala spent 22-plus years in the Hollywood community, and was the?Executive Director?for the?72nd Annual Academy Awards, as well as?The Soul Train Awards,?The Grammys,?The Blockbuster Video Awards Show?and?The Saturn Award Show.?

He is working on his 41st adaptation; the fascinating autobiography?"CALL ME ZENA", by?Sally Barnard?who, after a brief illness, developed high-level artistic skills overnight. He is also developing biopic projects of rock pioneer?Jimmie F. Rodgers,?Motown star?Tammi Terrell?and iconic folk singer?Harry Chapin- all while continuing to mentor hundreds of new writers and self-published authors.

Geno has two screenplays produced and currently on Amazon Prime;?"Assassin 33 A.D."??and?"The Tombs", and-at present-?is the?Executive Script Consultant?of a major motion picture scheduled to begin filming Spring, 2022.