1The Need for a Road Map
Imagine: Your agent calls to tell you that a producer recently purchased the rights to a book. She’s taking pitches from screenwriters looking to adapt the material. The basic premise is this: A man, falsely imprisoned, falls victim to the very worst in human behavior before finding his way to freedom and putting his life back together. Your agent asks, “Is this a genre that interests you?”
Of course, you say, “Yes.” You want the work. But think about the question: “Is this a genre that interests you?” If you get the job, you’ll be spending a year on this story. It will consume you. So consider the question carefully. You think about it, then you call your agent:
WRITER: Book the meeting. I love the genre.
AGENT: Really? ...
Get The Screenwriters Taxonomy now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
