Costs of Adaptation.

[inkmonkey]

Hi, I'm a short story writier and novelist. I've just finished a new novel and had it signed by a top agent and want to work on something different for a while. I've got the chance to apply for a grant to adapt my first novel into a screenplay, which, though I've taken on board the pitfalls of writers adapting their own work, I still fancy trying. I've got my package together and am about to send off.
I've won quite a few grants and awards before (bigish ones from the British Arts Coucil twice) and am quite good at the dreaded application process! However, I'm not sure what money to ask for. (I know as much as you can get but...).
I think to adapt then edit my novel is going to take at least three months - probably longer. I don't want to put in too large a figure so the Film Council say no; equally, I don't want to end up abandoning the project because I need to concentrate on something more profitable in the short term.
Are there any of you wonderful guys who have a rough guide as to what would be a realistic figure to do this type of adaptation?
I'm a Brit but any guidelines would be a help.
Inkmonkey

[dpaterso]

If we're plucking numbers out of the air? A grand a month wouldn't be unreasonable. Can't expect you to exist on recycled tea bags and soggy digestive biscuits. Or, you could calculate your monthly budget and use that as a basis instead? Or even how much wages you're losing out on by choosing to suffer for your art instead of actually working. That'll pluck their heartstrings, all right.

Sounds as if you have the knack for applications, all right. I remember looking at the Arts Council site and not being able to figure out where the hell to even begin. :) Good luck!

PS - adaptation, not adaption.

-Derek

[inkmonkey]

Derek, Thank you for the reply. I'll tug their heartstrings okay!
Let me tell you, you need a grant to fill in the application forms from the Art Council! Also thank you for the spelling correction. If I'm going to use this site I'll have to set up the spell check or I'll betray my ignorance too often, alas.
Best,
Neil

[NikeeGoddess]

can you live on a grand a month? i don't know brit economy so maybe you can or maybe you live with a family that pays the bills. but i think you need to ask for atleast 15% over what you need to live on for those 3 months and maybe add a 4th month for rewriting.

that's my 2 pence. now, i'm broke!

[nmstevens]

Hi, I'm a short story writier and novelist. I've just finished a new novel and had it signed by a top agent and want to work on something different for a while. I've got the chance to apply for a grant to adapt my first novel into a screenplay, which, though I've taken on board the pitfalls of writers adapting their own work, I still fancy trying. I've got my package together and am about to send off.
I've won quite a few grants and awards before (bigish ones from the British Arts Coucil twice) and am quite good at the dreaded application process! However, I'm not sure what money to ask for. (I know as much as you can get but...).
I think to adapt then edit my novel is going to take at least three months - probably longer. I don't want to put in too large a figure so the Film Council say no; equally, I don't want to end up abandoning the project because I need to concentrate on something more profitable in the short term.
Are there any of you wonderful guys who have a rough guide as to what would be a realistic figure to do this type of adaptation?


I'm a Brit but any guidelines would be a help.
Inkmonkey


It's a very difficult question to answer because to some degree it depends on what your normal monthly living expenses are -- and on what your general financial situation is, because when you are a professional novelist and you write a novel, at the end of the process you've got something that you are reasonably confident that you can sell and the income from which can then sustain you for some time.

With a screenplay -- who's to say? It may be that you'll be able to sell it, or maybe not. That's not to say you shouldn't do it as a way to expand your writing skills, but I think you have to figure that there's a certain chance that, having written it, you'll come to the end of the time with something that isn't going to be saleable. That's not uncommon for a first effort in any form.

How fast a writer are you? What is your general daily page rate? Some writers average two pages a day, others ten.

You ought to aim for a screenplay between a hundred to a hundred and ten pages. At two pages a day, that would take you, say sixty days for a first draft and another month to revise it.

If you write faster then it gives you that much more time for revision.

So three months is not unreasonable if you're not doing anything else but working on your screenplay (by the way, I'd probably set aside three or four days at the beginning for outlining purposes).

As to how much you ask -- figure out your current monthly expenses -- multiply times three. That can't be unreasonable, because it can't be unreasonable to ask them to pay you less than you currently need to live on.

NMS

[RainbowDragon]

If this is your first script ever, add 2 months to the time estimate if you're a full time writer -- 1 month at the front end to learn the discipline and 1 month at the back end to redo the bits you'll probably miss. That's a conservative estimate if you're working on other projects simultaneously. Good luck!

[inkmonkey]

Thank you for the replies to my query. They are full of good advice and very helpful. I'll let you know how it goes.
Kind regards,
Neil