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How can authors improve their chances of getting adapted for film and TV?
When I read the one line pitch for J P Delaney's novel, The Girl Before, in a book scout's report in 2015, I was immediately riveted. A young woman moves into her dream home, an architectural masterpiece designed by an enigmatic architect, but soon that dream becomes a nightmare as she realises her fate is inextricably linked with "the girl before", a previous tenant who died within its four walls.
The book wasn't even finished yet, but had already been the subject of a heated global auction off the back of a partial manuscript. Even off a short summary, I could sense that this modern Gothic premise, reminiscent of the Daphne du Maurier novels I'd loved as a teen, would make an incredible TV show. The concept was emotionally compelling, and the dream home offered something visually arresting that would become a character in itself, defining the lives of those who were seduced by it. It would be five long years before I'd be able to prove that my hunch was correct...
So in a world where countless books barely make a ripple on publication, or even get as far as being printed, how do you best improve your chances of getting your story to screen? And what is the process that propels certain books to the desks of producers like me?
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'It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.'