What Kind of Book Translates Well to the Screen?

Image: Netflix on the screen of an iMac computer.

This article was first published in my paid newsletter for authors, The Hot Sheet.


Given the increase in book-to-screen deals in recent years, and the tendency of the TV/movie industry to build off existing intellectual property, it’s natural for authors to wonder if their own work is suitable for adaptation—or if they can increase their chances of writing something that will be adapted. In a panel last year at the virtual Bologna Book Fair, several players in the industry discussed what they look for in projects.

Compared to scripts, books might have a better chance of becoming a recommended project. Annie Nybo, a reader for Netflix, sifts through more than 200 potential projects in a year for the streaming service. Her job requires her to read a book or script, write a three-page summary or synopsis as well as a one-page analysis, and rate the project on five criteria. Those criteria include premise, structure (hitting the plot beats), story line (how that plot is working), character, and dialogue. Even for books, Nybo is able to rate dialogue based on how the characters speak and if they sound unique (versus everyone kind of sounding alike).

Last year, Nybo read 215 scripts and books combined and recommended eight of them. That’s about a 4% acceptance rate for projects coming to her. As far as books specifically, she read 22 and recommended four. That’s a 14% acceptance rate and half of what she recommended. (Stand proud, authors, agents, and publishers!)

Nybo tends to start by first analyzing the premise when recommending projects. “We all have to write loglines and summarize a whole project in one sentence, and so for me, finding a project where the premise is the conflict is really important.” As an example, she offered To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, in which the main character’s secret love letters somehow get mailed to each of her five crushes: that’s the premise and the conflict.

It doesn’t matter how many copies the book has sold. Nybo said if the book is popular or has an established following, she has to take that into consideration when thinking about the adaptation, especially when there’s a plot point she doesn’t think will work well for the screen. If the fans are very invested in the story, it could be more challenging to adapt. “There’s more room to shift things when you don’t have an enormous audience,” she said.

Characters are critical. Caterina Gonnelli, EVP of content at Xilam Animation (France) said, “We want authentic characters and characters who are really moved by a strong drive and a clear drive. For children’s content we would want this character also to embody positive character traits—which does not mean that he or she is flawless. Of course we also want flaws, because otherwise there is no salt in the recipe.” Speaking again to children’s work, she added that the themes need to be clear, but not preachy, and the character’s trajectory must be clear. “What doesn’t work for us is what is static,” Gonnelli said. For example, a story might be static because there isn’t sufficient action or there aren’t any turning points or surprises for the characters.

Ellen Doherty at Fred Rogers Productions agreed and added that some stories just don’t pop. “You don’t get to know enough of the character or the world,” she said. “Sometimes there’s just no growth.” The characters are so important that if they’re strong enough, what might at first appear as a very local or regional story can in fact be adapted into something universal and appealing for global audiences—regardless of the source country of the material.

How loyal an adaptation should remain to a book—and how much the author ought to be involved—remains an open question. Gonnelli said, “We could debate for hours.” On the one hand, she said, one can argue that the author is in the best position to know the characters and the world they’ve built. But one might also argue distance is required to produce the best adaptation. “I guess what is really key is the relationship—to build a relationship that is based on trust, mutual trust—and for that you need to factor in a lot of time,” she said. She warned that if producers totally skip looping in the author—partly to offer reassurance that the book is in good hands—then there will be trouble. “You’re in a lot of anxiety from both sides.”

Doherty said, “That relationship between the producer and the author is key.” Ideally, the vision for the TV or film version can be built together during the development phase, so that when production starts, there’s already been a meeting of the minds and everyone knows what’s going to happen. However, Doherty said, “Ultimately when it comes to a TV version, for me the producer has to have the final say because we know our medium the best. I have seen instances where the author has too much control and the translation to the new medium doesn’t work so well.”

It’s more common than ever for producers and studios to find ideas and stories by following creators on social media. This is especially true in the case of graphic novels, comics, and illustrated children’s work. Doherty said there’s now a “profusion of opportunities” to find content on social media. Doherty said, “To follow individual creators that way is really interesting because you get to see more of their personality, you get to see maybe their playfulness and things that are in process, and I really like that. There are people that I’m watching to see what they do next; I’m checking out their books as they go.”

How can an author increase their chances of adaptation?

All panelists agreed that they look for stories that are the best example or expression of their genre. Nybo and others look for that blend of familiar and fresh, where the author clearly knows what genre they’re working in and hits those structural points but includes interesting and surprising twists and turns. Perhaps it goes without saying, but the quality of the writing on the page doesn’t matter. Rather, it’s more important that the story is “working on all cylinders,” according to Nybo. Excellent literary writing can’t translate to the screen as well as snappy characters.

Angela Cheng Caplan, president and CEO of Cheng Caplan Company, said (in a separate panel at Bologna): “Honestly, it’s all about the narrative. It’s really about the author’s narrative. We really, really pay attention to that. What is the author’s back story? What is the author trying to say? I’m always big on context. And I always have the authors that I work with put together an author statement that really sort of addresses why they’re the only person in the world to tell this story—what exactly it is that they’re going through that makes this relevant for this moment in their lives and how it can relate to everybody else.”

She also offered a warning: “Within the past year we’ve actually started looking at potential clients and their social media. I’m very, very aware of when someone is a troll, quite frankly—if they’re trolling for the good or trolling for the bad at some point in time. Whatever energy is put out there sort of comes back in some way, shape, or form. So I would say for authors who are out there trying to create publicity for themselves … be very aware of the kindness or lack of kindness you’re putting out into the world.”


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Harald Johnson

Timely post! I’m currently negotiating TV/movie adaptation rights for my debut novel about the birth of NYC (historical fiction). Nybo’s comments ring true, especially regarding the one-sentence logline that matches her premise/conflict idea. It’s already been a long process, and who knows where it will end up.

Richard Murray

1. Millions of scripts or books have been created. As the article suggest most people in film production read screenplays/scripts , not books, for potential projects. Sequentially, screenplays are vetted more harshly. But, moreover, most successful movies are based on media to be read<books/short stories/comic books[reading images]> not viewed in motion<screenplays/scripts>. Gone with the wind/arthur conan doyle works/harry potter/hammet’s detectives/stephen king works/edgar allen poe works/all religious characters/ the twilight series/the marvel or dc universes/chitty chitty bang bang <I just wanted to type that> / or et cetera dominate the list of most potent finacial films. Most of the financially potent movies come from media that does not have a moving image outside the mind of the reader. 
Yes, Star Wars, John Wick, Seven Samurai or its versions, titanic , or et cetera all prove standalone screenplays can make tons of money. But, overall I think the global film industry shows books are toe to toe with screenplays in profitable films, and thus with the larger perentage of potentials as screenplays, it is an advantage to books in rate. 
But, so many books exists, being the book chosen has its own set of rules that make it more of a challenge to be chosen , even if once chosen you have a better chance of selection.
2. Premise does matter, I said it a trillion times. A film is not as long as a written work. Even a short story at times can be in the mind quite long. SEquentially, while Ulysses, about the domestic life in Dublin, can work as a book, as a film, its premise is a challenge and converting the linguitiscal freedom of book world into film is always a challenge once film became governed with codes. Thus, few adaptions of this historically well regarded book have been made while others were chosen.
I can add Aucassin and Nicolette, of the troubadour era in mediterranean europe. It was transcribed to text as it was originally sung. It moves faster than the average film at times, but the erratic premise of it at times, think a romance between royals turns into something wilder than a screwball comedy while raunchier than hardcore bondage porn then back nto a royal romance, make it very difficult to turn into a film . And make something like Beowulf, an epic poem not as fast or raunchy or romantic but more simple while straightforward chosen over it. Beowulf is one of many “rise and fall of a king” tales. 
3. Book sales don’t matter- yes, “the ninth gate” comes from a book called “el club dumas” which is originally in spanish from reverte. Shrek or Pitch perfect were once books. So, a book doesn’t need to be a financialy juggernaut or a financial juggernaut in the anglophone book world like Harry potter to be selected for modulation into film. 
4. Characters are critical- when you look at the two film adaptions of the short story, Farewell to the master, you see this point proven well alongside the power of character over special effects. In the first adaption the attache/servant to the master is skeptical to humanity and ends the story, unassured but with a slight hope. While the master is unknown in its truest power and offers a threat in frightful ignorance to humanity. While in the second adaption, the attache/servant to the master is a common laborer unconcerned to humanity and ends the story a hero who believes in humanity with the smallest of convincing to human merit. While the master performs the most grandiose feats but is thwarted in a way unbefitting the master , unknowingly. The original short story allowed for the film adaptions to have space to be, but the choice of characterizations is exhibit A. 
5. Author involvement and loyalty to book form- Ende extremely disliked the film adaption of Die unendliche Geschichte <the reason being that book wasn’t created as a children’s book as the film adaption suggests>. Stepehn King extremely disliked the film adaption of the shining from kubrick <King opposed that Kubrick made the characterizations or settings are other enough to not be considered the same or similar to the book> . And I can see the point from Ende or King. The adults are making the nothing, and the lone child to save all fantasy is being influenced by adults/his father to not believe. The evil , unimaginative evil ,in adults is missing in the film. The fear induced by the grandeur of imagination, ala the details of the ivory tower or the decaying emptiness of the land of the southern oracle’s fading voice is absent in the film. The journey of an alcoholic /depressed/not successful author by truly magical or negative forces in this isolated place with a strong wife or gifted child doesn’t exist in the film. 
And yet, who can forget the wonder of the dreamlike depictions of the ivory tower or the southern oracle. Yes, it wasn’t as frightful. It was depicted more safely , more gentle, as a Grimm fairy tale depicting the older unfiltered christian fables. But children loved it and the former children still do. 
Who can forget the psychological unwrapping of jack nicholson’s jack torrance. Who boldly stated he was empowered going into this isolated empty hotel with his squeeky voiced unoffensive tall wife or disquieted introverted child. The fear the audience felt watching ths little family degrade into thier pure selves in a large prison: an angry violent uncaring man, a frightened unfriended woman, a child deep in his own mind, frightened and still frightens viewers.
6. The relationship between producer or author is key- A bronx tale was started as a one man play, the thespian in it was offered by many producers to turn it into a film. He rejected them cause he wanted to play a specific role in any film adaption. Robet DeNiro accepted his condition and the film became highly successful. The two worked together , with deniro a producer or actor while palminteri was a screenwriter or actor. Both men are italian americans, new yorkers. But DeNiro knew what it took to make a film and that led the project. But he knew to delete what worked from the one man play was dysfunctional and needed palminteri.
In parallel, the movie international velvet. a screenplay sequel to a film, national velvet, originally based on a one and done book. Was written and directed by one person. But the original author of the book, bagnold, elizabeth taylor who played the lead character, bagnold’s daughter who illustrated the original book, the first films: direcotr/producer/screenplay writer were all alive in 1978. The writer + director of international velvet didn’t include any of them in the production. My proof is Taylor didn’t reprise her role from the original blockbuster film. her third film role and first starring role. 
I end with the relation between producer or prior creators is key. They are not dumb, they may be able to provide insight to the project you may miss. On the other hand, the producer needs to know the now. The fact that international velvet came out during star wars and after american graffiti proves the producer was not in touch with the trends.
7. Socal media in film production- to make greater connections authors can be known online not just intimately in private and that can aid in comprehending their stories plus the audience about their stories. When you look at how disney handled the star wars universe, it is clear, disney never intended the last trilogy to gain new audience members, the last trilogy was meant for the hardcore star wars fans, while the standalone films and streaming shows, like Rogue 1 or the Mandolorian were meant to get new fans and sate the encyclopedic hardcore fans. 

V.M. Sang

This is a most interesting post. I think it clears up a lot of questions I have about translating books to films.
I have often wondered if any of my books would make a film. Of course, I say they would, but then, I’m somewhat prejudiced.