John August

Books

Tales from the script

Books, First Person, Writing Process


I’m interviewed in the new book Tales from the Script, which talks to a bunch of screenwriters about their experience working in the industry.

I just got a review copy, and I’ll confess that the only thing I’ve done so far is flip through to make sure my quotes are reasonably coherent. And they are — so kudos to the copy editor. As I turned pages, I noticed many things I want to go back and read, including bits by the always-entertaining Josh Friedman and Shane Black. The book also features Frank Darabont, Nora Ephron, Paul Schrader, David Hayter and more than 40 others.

The book is blurby and conversational, like listening to a film festival panel in which the microphone gets handed around a lot. That’s not a criticism, but an attempt to frame expectations. I think a lot of readers will like it, but it’s not a master class or anything.

The book is available in paperback
and [Kindle](http://www.amazon.com/Tales-from-the-Script-ebook/dp/B00338QETC/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2) editions. There’s also a companion DVD
coming, if you really want to see the giant world map from my old office.

On Amazon, Apple and dick moves

Books, Geek Alert

John Scalzi’s helpful write-up of this past weekend’s [ridiculous battle between Amazon and Macmillan](http://whatever.scalzi.com/2010/02/01/all-the-many-ways-amazon-so-very-failed-the-weekend/) can be summarized quite succinctly:

**Don’t pull dick moves.**

It’s okay to play hard. As an Amazon customer and fan of the Kindle, I want Amazon to keep e-book prices low. As an author and [Kindle self-publisher](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2009/kindle-formatting-for-web-geeks), I want writers to make money.

Conflict between these two goals isn’t a bad thing; it’s business. Business is good. I know Amazon is a huge and powerful retailer that can muscle around its suppliers. I also know the folks at Macmillan aren’t all rainbows and puppies. But as a customer, I should never be aware of their negotiations. I should simply buy books.

When Amazon suddenly yanked all of Macmillan’s titles, it not only exposed the behind-the-scenes conflict, but punished otherwise neutral parties, including customers and authors.

Dick moves, defined
—-

A dick move is an action which to an outside observer appears excessive or petulant.

Or, more tautologically, a dick move is something which, when performed, leads observers to note: “Wow, what a dick!”

Last weekend, Amazon pulled a dick move. It then took too long to admit it was wrong, and finally had to [accept Macmillan’s terms](http://www.amazon.com/tag/kindle/forum/ref=cm_cd_tfp_ef_tft_tp?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1D7SY3BVSESG&cdThread=Tx2MEGQWTNGIMHV&displayType=tagsDetail). It was a huge bundle of fail, and very much unlike a company that has done so much so well.

Many industry observers speculate that the announcement of Apple’s iPad precipitated this round of crazy. In the demo shots of Apple’s iBook store, book prices are significantly higher. Did Apple do this deliberately, trying to stir the pot? Maybe. And if so, was that a dick move?

Not really. Dick moves tend to be more obvious and punitive. ((Same with the exclusion of Flash on the iPad. You can be sure Steve Jobs knew there would be a blue lego popping up during his demo, but let it go undiscussed.)) But with the iPad, Apple is setting itself up for a series of awkward decisions, any one of which could easily become a dick move:

* **Will the iBook store include every book a publisher wants to sell?** And if not, what will be Apple’s criteria? Will they review every book the way they review apps? Will there be age ratings? If so, how will they determine those ratings?

* **Will Apple let individuals publish to the iBook store, the way Amazon does?** Trying to get an independent film sold through iTunes is tough. Apple will only deal with studios and aggregators, which not only minimizes its exposure to crazy filmmakers, but also helps ensure that copyright is valid. Getting an e-book sold through Amazon is comparatively straightforward.

* **Will Apple let users read any ePub file through the iBook reader, or does it have to be bought through Apple?** The iPod and iPhone will only run apps bought through Apple, but they will play any mp3 file you throw at them. Book files feel more analogous to music files than apps. Let’s hope Apple agrees.

* **Will Apple give third-party readers and sellers (such as the Kindle app and Stanza) equal access?** A book-reading application doesn’t seem like it would require magic and undocumented access to the iPad’s hardware. The iBook app should compete on a level playing field.

* **How will Apple set prices on books?** Apple has two basic philosophies on pricing: the App Store model, in which publishers have wide flexibility in setting price, and the iTunes model, in which tracks and albums are strongly pushed toward fixed price points. ((The App Store model has resulted in a race to the bottom at 99 cents. One could argue that price floors rather than price ceilings might better support the publishing economy.)) Will Apple allow free books? Kindle doesn’t, except through special arrangement with publishers.

For Apple, the best way to avoid dick moves on these five points is to allow robust competition. Apple doesn’t need to worry about selling every book to every customer as long as third parties can bring them to the iPad.

Can I use a book without permission?

Adaptation, Books, QandA, Rights and Copyright

questionmarkI’m currently writing a spec-pilot loosely based on a novel — not a best-seller, but one people have read. I plan on sending out queries to agents to try and get represented, but I don’t know if I need to ask permission by the author to use the ideas expressed in the novel.

The idea I’m borrowing is basically “the assistant works for the evil boss” and I don’t plan on using the same character names. I also intend on adding more characters and plots. But…and a big but, is I want to keep the title of the book as the title of the show. Seeing as nothing is really the same, I’m confused if I need to ask permission.

— Quentin
Essex, Iowa

There’s no gray area here. You are flat-out stealing, and brazenly at that. Stop.

You have a few options at this point. First and least defensibly, you can change so many of the details (and the title!) that the story feels like it’s “in the vein of” but not actually based on the book in question. National Treasure isn’t based on Dan Brown’s books, but it’s comfortably and legally within the same microgenre. It’s not the same story, but it’s the same kind of story.

In your case, there’s endless precedent for evil bosses. Do you own version. Don’t crib anything from the book at all.

A second choice is to actually get the rights. This feels like a longshot — why would a somewhat-successful author give an unproduced writer the right to adapt his book for TV? But it sometimes happens. I’ve [written about](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/book-optioned) how to do it.

A third choice is to simply acknowledge on the title page, “Based on the novel Title by This Author.” This doesn’t give you the right to make this pilot. You couldn’t sell it. You couldn’t produce it. But you could feel reasonably secure that no one would come after you, the same way legions of Buffy fan-fic writers don’t worry about Joss Whedon sending cease-and-desist orders. Particularly in television, there’s industry precedent for scripts that are simply writing samples. That’s what you’d have.

How I Became…on NPR

Books, Follow Up, Projects

I [tweeted it](https://twitter.com/johnaugust/status/4035360659) while it was happening, but if you missed it, author Steve Hely gave [an interview](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112883759) on NPR’s Fresh Air this afternoon. He’s the writer of How I Became a Famous Novelist, [the book I optioned](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2009/how-i-became-a-famous-novelist) a few months ago and hope to make my next movie to write and direct.

As it happens, I’m in New York and had breakfast with Steve this morning. He’s working long hours as a writer on 30 Rock. He spilled no secrets about the new season, but when pressed for details about how they break such dense stories I got this much out of him: colored markers.

Steve’s novel is very funny and [worth a read](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802170609?ie=UTF8&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0802170609). I’m just starting to figure out the movie version. Today’s conversation was about Boston, the BooXpo and where to place the disastrous wedding that motivates a large part of the plot.