I watched Andy Weir’s interview with David Perell expecting to pick up a few things about writing science fiction. And I sure did!
One thing that Andy Weir mentioned stood out for me: the concept of film rights options. I had never heard of this before. In short, a book can earn its author money without ever becoming a film.
That caught my attention!
Studios and producers pay for an option: the exclusive opportunity to buy a book’s film rights within an agreed period. While they work out whether they can get the project made, you cannot sell those same rights to someone else.
Andy Weir gives an example of around $25,000 for 18 months. You keep that fee even if the studio never buys the adaptation rights. For the studio, it’s a relatively small sum to secure a potential project before a competitor does.
The $25,000 is an example, not a standard cheque waiting for every novelist. The Authors Guild says typical option fees range from $2,000 to $25,000, with deals sometimes falling way outside that range.
If the studio exercises the option, it pays you the agreed purchase price. If the option expires, you can offer the rights to other studios and producers.
This is where it gets even more interesting. Depending on the deal, the studio can just keep extending, extending and extending, earning you pretty decent dosh.
The outcome: renewed options = $$$$$$.
There you have it, my fellow writers. Does this give you a little more motivation to finish your draft and get it out there?