Interview With
Pauline Baird Jones
Interviewed by Jenna Glatzer
Hailing from New Orleans,
Pauline recently sold her script, I LOVE LUCI--WHEN I DON'T WANT TO KILL HER to
IndieGals Productions through an e-mail query. She has also been a
playwright, novelist, humor columnist for The Lovell
Chronicle, and has had her non-fiction articles
published world-wide. She received a Fire To Fly
award in 1998 from Futures Magazine for an article she co-wrote on electronic
publishing and her first novel, Pig in a Park, was the first electronic book to
be nominated for Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice award.
You've just done what so many of us have dreamed of-- you sold a
screenplay through the Internet. Details! Details! How did you do it?
<g> Sometimes I'm not even sure how I did it, but I'll try to explain. I joined Margo Prescott's screenwriting
group on onelist.com and they were discussing pitching using email. It seemed like it was tailor made for me.
I'm lousy at phone pitching and I live in the other LA (Louisiana), so I wasn't on the spot to pitch. With help and input from friends and listers, I
put together a pitch that included the title, a log line of the script, a brief synopsis, an endorsement of the script from my mentor, Sally Merlin
(former producer, east coast editor of scr(i)pt magazine and script consultant). The list had
pulled together a list of email addresses and I got a few leads from there, but I got my producers, IndieGal
Productions, from the Hollywood Creative Directory (www.hcdonline.com).
I was lucky. At the time I sent my pitch, they were looking for a script set in New Orleans and they ended up liking my script enough to option it for
six months last June. Since then they have worked hard to pull the deal together.
Can you give us some background on your writing?
I've been a writer "as long as I can recollect" (<g>), but didn't start to seriously pursue writing until the 80's. I co-wrote a stage play that was
produced in a university setting, but then lost my "way" and started writing short fiction and non-fiction. I sold my first short story in
1987, but didn't finish my first novel until the Gulf War--which gave me the idea for
my first novel.
I'm pretty much self taught, though I took a few correspondence and internet courses along the way. I decided to explore screenwriting when agent Donald
Maas read a bit of LUCI and said it read like a script, not a book. He was right. It was the easiest of my
books to adapt to a script.
You've had several novels published as e-books, including
LUCI. Why did you choose this format?
I chose e-publishing because I got caught in the mid-list crunch. By the time my work was polished enough to
sell, the market for my blend of romance, suspense and humor had vanished. I realized it may not matter how
good my books were (plus they were multi-genre, which made them a harder sell anyway). I'd been
surfing the Net and began to wonder if there was a way to directly reach readers. I stumbled across a small
e-press decided to give them a try.
When they accepted PIG IN A PARK, I was able to join EPIC (Electronically Publishing Internet
Connection). A savvy bunch of people who taught a bunch about how to market my other rights (epublishers only license e-rights). I
eventually licensed the audio rights to PIG and my next book, The Last Enemy, then went on to license the hard cover rights to both books.
I was *very* lucky in that PIG got a great review from Jill Smith in ROMANTIC TIMES MAGAZINE and it was the first ebook to be nominated for their
reviewer's choice award last year. And of course, I sold my film rights to LUCI. Since the script sale, I've been
contacted by several literary scouts about the translation rights to my books. A pebble gathering moss. <g>
And the new ereader technology has helped, too. I LOVE my rocket ebook. As an addicted reader, its the
perfect meeting of addiction and technology. Mine has been upgraded to hold 100 books, has adjustable font
for my 40-something eyes and backlighting for reading in the dark.
I know I've seen LUCI mentioned in at least two contests. Can you tell
us more about the contests in which it placed/won?
LUCI tied for first in the First Draft Screenwriting contest and is presently a finalist in America's Best. THE LAST ENEMY was also a
semi-finalist in America's Best.
Any tips for writing e-queries?
Be brief, very brief, and use the subject line well. I found that when I used
"epitch" in the subject line, I got nowhere, but I LOVE LUCI - WHEN I DON'T
WANT TO KILL HER . . . let's just say it got their attention. <g>
You've been very involved with writers sites and mailing lists on the
Internet. How has this affected your writing?
Networking is the life blood of the solitary writer. The Internet has made it possible for writers to network world-wide and readers to find writers. I
have to be careful, because it's a time-eater, but it's also helped me connect with people who have taught me what I needed to know. I stay in to pass the
favor along. And I love hearing from readers. :-)
Do you have an agent?
Nope, though I am hoping to find someone to handle my translation rights for me.
Your script is going into production in January. That was quick!
Will you be involved with the production?
Writers are rarely involved in the production of their movies unless they produce themselves. I'm lucky that it will be shot on location here in New
Orleans, so I'm hoping to see some of it.
We often hear nightmares about "rewrite Hell"-- scenarios in which the
film ends up nothing like the writer's original "vision." Do you foresee major changes in your script?
I expected "rewrite hell", but IndieGal Productions has treated me and my work with enormous respect. I have done some rewriting already and it will
be different in some ways from the book, but I think, true to the spirit of the story I wrote. Mostly I had to simplify it. I tend to write complicated
plots with lots of twists. <g>
What's the first thing you did when you found out IndieGals was buying
your script?
I wanted to scream, but I'm from Wyoming. We're too uptight to scream. <g>
How would you answer the writers who constantly complain that you have
to be the twenty-something nephew of a producer in Hollywood to get a script produced?
There are no absolutes, even in Hollywood. <g>
What are your future writing goals?
To keep writing and hopefully selling my books and scripts. I love what I do and plan to keep doing it until my brain starts shorting out on me. <g>
Anything else you'd like to add for those of us who are both inspired
by and insanely jealous of you?
LOL! I'd say don't give up, BUT be willing to adjust your expectations to the realities of the publishing and/or movie worlds. There are a lot of
things you can't control, but you can control your attitude and your willingness to take chances. Try something different. Refuse to be stopped,
but not afraid to make a path around traditional obstacles.
I spoke with an agent who last week who said to me, "What you've done is very interesting."
It has been interesting . . . and its been empowering. And a lot of work. <g> And a lot of fun.
Visit Pauline's website by clicking here.
