BooksOffice: We’re waiting for your story

[Paul Whybrow]

In today’s Guardian, there’s an interview with comedy actress Leslie Ash (best-known for Men Behaving Badly).

Leslie Ash: ‘You go through a grieving process when you've lost your career'

Clawing her way back into show business, after a long period of illness, she’s started a new venture called BooksOffice with her scriptwriter friend Elaine Sturgess. Their website allows users to vote on which unpublished or self-published books should be brought to the screen.

I’ve joined and may well have a go. At least it’s a change from querying literary agents who ignore me!

What are your thoughts @AgentPete?

Login — BooksOffice

 

[Eva Ulian]

I'm going to do the same @Paul Whybrow. Sounds fun, so why not?

 

[Paul Whybrow]

I've spent the last hour looking through the BooksOffice website. First impressions are that there are a lamentable number of spelling mistakes, typos and punctuation errors, which creates a terrible impression to anyone thinking of joining.

Potential earnings from being successful in pitching a story for consideration as a film or series are opaque, with the only firm mention of money being for the cost of 'ticket's' needed to vote and gain influence.

Admittedly, it's early days for this venture, but one thing that's immediately apparent is that to get anywhere you'll need to have some sort of social media presence, be prepared to upload a 30-second video of yourself pitching your story and to have that story available for sale online. For me, that could be a good thing, as it will nudge me back to my 2019 masterplan of self-publishing on Amazon KDP Select. I did hundreds of hours of preparation for this move but was stalled by Hodder & Stoughton's interest in my Cornish Detective when they requested a full manuscript; they never replied.

I'm 95% prepared to join KDP Select, so will be girding my loins to do just that very soon, followed by uploading to BooksOffice. This opportunity is the most exciting development I've seen in publishing for years. Riding the wave of Netflix and other streaming services, I suspect that this is how most books will transfer to the screen. I'd always intended my crime series to be dramatised. Could something finally be going right for me?

 

[Eva Ulian]

Thanks for all that info. I've got to think about it... At any rate, I've signed up but it won't save my changes, so I have to start again... hummm

Later: Success, changes saved.