Be Visual In Your Thinking

Screenwriting is the adult version of “show and tell”. Unless your narration is a voiceover, you never, ever, get into the heads of your characters. Your biggest tool is dialog; together with basic action, you can flesh your characters and your story out. Your character must always be doing something, not thinking and not going over things we know already.

Get Your Script Registered and Think About Your Options

Once your script is finished, you must register is with your Writer’s Guild. This will cost but the fee is small. After that, you need to think about your options for getting your script some attention. If you don’t have a load of contacts you could consider these as your next steps:

Put your script into a contest. Large contests can cost serious money and you will be up against a lot of competition but you can be assured that producers and agents will be watching them.

Do Some Cold Queries. Start with those who work with newbies like you; just send them your work using the same tools as you did with your novel in the first place. A query letter, one page long; a synopsis, another page, and don’t forget the logline. The hardest part about this is finding the screenplay agents; they don’t tend to advertise as widely as literary agents do. Have a good search on the internet and on message boards; you should find what you are looking for.

Think About an Agent and Not a Manager. Agents are high up in Hollywood, the people who do the deals and the contracts. A script manager works to find jobs for their clients and gives them editorial guidance; if you have no contacts, this would be your best bet.

Directly Pitch the Production Companies. Forget the likes of Disney and Universal; look for the smaller companies and check what they specialize in if any particular genre.

Go to a Pitch Conference. Lots of agents and producers go to these and while many may be out of your price range, you may find some that will work with new writers that you can afford.

Think Local. Check for filmmaking groups in your area that want material. There won't be a great deal of money in it for you but you do get a better chance of seeing your book made into a movie.

These tips are just the starting point for anyone who is thinking about adapting their novel as a screenplay. There is much to learn and, when you start getting into it, you might decide that you are not ready. There is nothing wrong with taking a step back and learning more about the process before you take the plunge. It's not easy to take a lovingly crafted novel or work of fiction and cut it down, effectively rewriting it into a screenplay. Much of what you sweated over all those months and years will never even make it into the movie and that may not be what you want. If it is, then follow these tips and go for it.