Reader question: film rights?

Reader MS has a nice comment about my books and film rights:

“I have pretty much read all of your books to date and am up to date with most of the various saga’s. I was having a discussion with a friend regarding the rubbish and re-vamps the Hollywood is churning out these days and how there needs to be something new. I think the cloak games books would make a brilliant film series, have you ever thought to send some scripts to Film directors or netflix or Amazon prime. Would love to see a film version of one of your series.”

Thanks! Glad you think the books would work on film.

That said, I am unlikely to send scripts to film directors for three reasons:

1.) A book has to be really popular for a long time before someone wants to make a film version of it. Like, in the cultural mainstream or sitting in the Amazon Top 20 for a while kind of popularity. The last two books Amazon optioned to become film series were the Lord of the Rings and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, both of which have been famous for years.

While I wouldn’t mind if my books were that popular, it is unlikely. 🙂

2.) I’m not going to take the initiative to shop around scripts to directors and producers, for reasons I’ll explain below.

That said, I’ve gotten a few queries from agents about film rights, but I’ve ignored them because they weren’t serious offers. People who are serious about negotiating make contact themselves, they don’t send their assistants to do it. These were the sort of offers where an agency wants to bulk up its intellectual property portfolio valuation rather than actually do anything with the IP.

3.) I am deeply suspicious of the TV/film industry in general, in much the same way you should be suspicious of a shark that invites you for a swim, and I don’t watch much TV and only go to movies infrequently as part of social outings. (Before SEVENFOLD SWORD: SERPENT came out some people on Facebook were bemused that I had never watched the TV show Knight Rider, but completely missing a popular culture touchstone is not out of character for me at all.) So, I have absolutely no emotional investment in making a movie or TV series out of my books.

Like, a typical writer getting contacted about film rights would have a reaction like this:

Typical Writer: An actual agent wants to bring my beloved book to the glamour and magic of the silver screen! YAY! (starry-eyed emoji)

My reaction, however, is generally more like this:

JM: GET THEE BEHIND ME, SATAN!!!

(And I’m not the only one who thinks that way – check out this post explaining some of the perfidious tactics film agents employ.)

So if someone did approach me with a serious offer, I have to admit I would be a very hard sell. Any offer would be examined with the care of someone disarming a bomb, and my counteroffer would be probably sink the entire negotiation.

To sum up, any film version of any of my books seems unlikely at the moment. Though I might change my mind if the circumstances change – a few years ago I always said I would never publish my own audiobooks through ACX, and I have two of them underway.

-JM