The TV/film industry remains one of the more confusing rights areas—and overall businesses—for authors. And much of the confusion starts up front in the terminology you’ll hear used. Terms used in book publishing often mean something different when used in Hollywood. And that’s before you get to the many ways Hollywood operations differ from book publishing, even though both industries are in the business of storytelling.
In an informative session hosted by the Authors Guild, Eddie Gamarra, VP of literary affairs for Paramount Global Kids & Family (which includes Nickelodeon and Awesomeness branded content), offered an explainer on terms, deals, and processes in Hollywood—in particular, on reps that sell your book adaptation rights. But before we get into it, a disclaimer: Gamarra was not speaking as a representative of his company, nor can his guidance be considered professional advice meant for you. The one message that came through loud and clear: Every situation is different. Authors should have their own representatives or team to advise them every step of the way. (Also: Gamarra cannot and does not accept unsolicited pitches.)
When you sign with a representative, you have to be mindful of what that person is doing for you. If you’re an author, your key representative remains the literary agent, the person who sells your book to the publishing company. Some literary agents have co-agents or work with book-to-screen agents who sell book adaptation rights. Nowadays, Gamarra said, you might hear these people referred to as media rights representatives. Regardless of what they’re called, their job is to sell book rights, whether that’s to the talent (actors, screenwriters, directors), producers, financiers, or companies with money to invest.
There are also literary managers who work in Hollywood. They represent professional screenwriters and typically help their clients with everything from writing, developing, and signing—more of a close partner than even a book literary agent would be. In fact, managers can help their clients secure a Hollywood agent, so some screenwriters may have both. The role of Hollywood agents is to secure deals and earn commissions, but it’s transactional and deal-based and not career oriented. (Having both a manager and an agent means less money for the client, of course.)
Where things get confusing is that literary managers can do the same job as a Hollywood agent, in the sense that they’re functioning in the same way—but legally a manager is different from an agent. Agents have a fiduciary responsibility to their clients and can’t be producers. However, managers often can produce, and literary management in Hollywood is a growing field, Gamarra said. This means if you’re represented by a Hollywood literary manager, they may try to package and produce your film themselves.
On top of that, every major media company has media rights executives or literary affairs executives (such as Gamarra). These people scout for books and other kinds of intellectual property (IP) for their employer. Netflix, Apple, Amazon, Sony, Universal, Paramount—all have literary affairs executives looking for material. They find books for the talent, the producers, the production companies, the financiers, the studios, the distributors, and the platforms. They’re typically paid on a retainer (not commission) basis.
So who do book-to-screen agents actually sell to? They might sell IP rights to producers, the people who actually make the films and TV shows and see the project through from beginning to end. Or they might sell to executives. Executives work for studios (like Paramount), distributors (which might be part of the same company as the studio), or platforms like Netflix. Executives pay for the development and production of the project and work collaboratively with producers. Executives and producers read the book, help find screenwriters who will adapt the book, hire directors, work with casting directors, and work to produce, distribute, and market the project.
Media rights executives (sometimes called scouts) may get access to your material as early as the submission from agent to editor, Gamarra said. Scouts sometimes receive material from inside the publishers as well. When deals are announced at Publishers Weekly or Publishers Marketplace, executives, producers, and scouts read those announcements. They look at reviews appearing for new books and begin to follow authors online. Scouts will attend rights fairs in London, Frankfurt, and Bologna. And they have a lot of meetings. Gamarra made it clear that Hollywood is tracking you and your material at the very earliest stages, as well as evaluating sales figures. Bigger companies have subscriptions to Circana BookScan because the sales do matter. “We want to know the thing is going to become a success, on the path to being a success, or it’s already successful,” Gamarra said.
At any step along the publishing process, Hollywood might want to option a book. But why would Hollywood make an offer on a book that’s not even finished? (It does happen!) Gamarra said that culturally, publishing is voice- and executive-driven. When a publisher signs a book, they know with a fair degree of certainty that it will make it to market. Hollywood is the opposite. It’s idea-driven and developmental. “We’re playing with ideas over the course of many, many years,” he said, and only a tiny percentage of projects come to fruition. They’re looking at any kind of IP that can be adapted. (He pointed out there was even a movie about Blackberry. And of course look at the recent success of Barbie.) As many authors are aware, your book is more attractive in Hollywood if it’s high concept. That means people can understand the story and its tone right out of the gate—you can envision the world immediately.
If your book isn’t optioned, you may be offered a shopping agreement: The author grants another party the right to shop a project around, typically for free. It’s not an option or a purchase deal, and such agreements are only a page or two. Possibly you might receive a small fee as a sign of good faith.
How do you get discovered by a scout? In most cases, you can’t really engineer discovery, especially since scouts generally do not take meetings with authors. Your best bet, Gamarra said, is to have good representation—a literary agent, in other words. Aside from that, he suggested, “The best way to be discovered is to be present. Be present in the trades. Be present at events. I encourage people to think about your title. Have a great title with a high concept, have a great cover. Hollywood thinks in visuals … where the audience gets the idea in 30 seconds or less.”
Bottom line: Gamarra offered the following advice for all authors interested in TV/movie deals: “If part of your creative goals are to have your book optioned for film and TV, you want to begin vetting [literary] agents at the earliest of stages.” That means researching whether they have an in-house media rights rep or outside relationships with co-agents or other Hollywood players. “Who did they use to sell? What’s their track record of selling into Hollywood?” Gamarra pointed out most of that information is publicly available via Publishers Marketplace, Publishers Weekly, IMDB, and the internet more broadly.
Also important to know: Whereas an author’s literary agent will both sell the book and negotiate the contract (typically for a 15 percent cut of the advance), in Hollywood it’s possible you’ll work with an entertainment lawyer who charges by the hour or receives a commission on the deal. Gamarra said, “Because book-to-screen deals are so complicated and take so long, I have seen authors who end up financially underwater because their legal bill outweighs what they’re getting paid. Make sure your lawyer is on a commission basis.” He later emphasized that the money for authors for book options is not big—commonly in the four figures—but if the project actually gets made, there’s a bigger payday, usually in the six figures. Still, he said, “You may find that you’re making more money with books than you are with Hollywood.”
For additional reading on what attracts Hollywood to book IP:
- What Kind of Book Translates Well to Screen? (2021)
- There’s Never Been a Better Time for Book-to-Screen Deals (2021), related to production slowdown during the pandemic
- Current Trends in Adaptation (2019), with some evergreen tips
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
