The biggest Challenge is to Pitch your Story to Producers

I have been writing books and screenplays for a while and it's been a process of learning and re-learning. In this interview with Namrata of Kitaab.org, I share my experiences with regard to writing scripts, pitching and book to screen adaptations. 

Team Kitaab: Your career began as a business journalist before you transitioned to fiction writing. How has your background in journalism influenced your approach to writing screenplays and adapting books for the screen?

Adite Banerjie: Journalism has shaped my career as a writer – both in non-fiction and fiction. First of all, by working on news stories, specially those with a human interest angle, I got the opportunity to observe first hand various situations and events and how they impact lives. It provided me with invaluable experience of the entire spectrum of issues that shape, impact and change people’s lives. At some subconscious level this stayed with me. So, when I started writing fiction, my journalism experience did come into play at a subliminal level.

To give an example of how it has influenced my approach to adaptation, I can speak of writing one of my first screenplays. I was hired by a filmmaker to adapt the true story of a very powerful and inspiring lady activist for a movie project. Her story was akin to that of Erin Brockovich. My entire approach was one that I would have taken if I were told to write a story for a newspaper article. I interviewed the lady and her family, researched articles written about the events, explored it from various angles. The difference however was that while in a news story, the focus would have been simply on the facts of the incidents that occurred, in the screenplay, the focus was on the dramatic and emotional impact those incidents had on the lives of the protagonist and other key characters.  

During this time, I also read books, online articles and did a course on how true stories are adapted for the screen. This further helped me write a story that was both “true” to the experience of the persons whose lives were being adapted for the movie, but also fictionalize certain elements to bring out the dramatic and emotional power of the story.  

The craft of such adaptation is in blending facts with fiction, in a manner that resonates with the audience and stays true to the essence of the real story.

Team Kitaab: You’ve successfully published several books with Harlequin/Harper Collins India and have experience writing screenplays. What challenges and opportunities have you encountered in adapting your books into screenplays?

Adite Banerjie: Until now, my writing for books and screenplays have stayed on two different tracks. So, while the books that I wrote for Harlequin/Harper Collins India are mostly in the romantic fiction genre, for my screenplays I have chosen to write in different genres. Apart from the script that I have talked about, I have written another short script (which has been produced and is streaming on Amazon Prime Video US) – 7 Lives – which is also based on true events and deals with the issue of organ donation.

For screenplays, I have focused on the genres of thrillers, supernatural thrillers and drama. I have not really adapted any of my books into screenplays, though I have been pitching them to producers. The reason for that is, if you have written a book, a producer generally prefers to buy the rights and then have his own writing team adapt it for screen. In such cases, the writer of the original work has a limited role to play unless the producer signs on the writer to pen the screenplay. 

The biggest challenge is to pitch your story to producers and get them interested in adapting it for screen.

On the flip side, there is an opportunity for adapting screenplays into books. That way, if your book does well, you have created an “IP” and an audience, which would then attract producers. And at that point, you can also offer them the screenplay that you have written. The second advantage of this approach is that if there is a book attached to the script, it becomes that much more difficult for your story to be plagiarized.

Team Kitaab: In your experience with book-to-screen adaptations, what do you believe are the key elements that need to be preserved from the book to ensure a successful adaptation?

Adite Banerjie: That’s a huge, big area that really can’t be simplified into dos and don’ts. Writing is a creative process, and every writer perceives the original content through his/her own individual creative lens. If I have written a book, some storylines, themes, ideas in that content may be close to my heart and I would like those to be preserved. To another writer who is adapting the same story, some other aspects of the story might be more important, and they might choose to highlight those.

Secondly, books and cinema/TV are different media. Certain things have per force to be changed when adapting a book to an audio-visual medium so that they lend themselves to cinema. In that process, a lot of things get changed and might digress from the original story. Again, when books are adapted for web series or OTT content, there is the commercial need to stretch the story into multiple seasons, and new characters or plot lines are added to the story which changes the narrative. Either way, it could be a plus or minus. Depends on how skilled the writers are and the vision of the director or showrunner.

 

Team Kitaab: Given your background as both a novelist and a screenwriter, how do you balance the creative demands of maintaining the integrity of the original book with the necessary changes required for a screenplay?

Adite Banerjie: Once the book is taken up for a screen adaptation, then it is no longer in the hands of the original writer. The team expands and other writers, the director, other creative people including the DOP, etc. contribute to the process of adaptation. If there is scope for the original writer to be part of this whole exercise, perhaps he/she does have a say in how the new version of the story unfolds. But in most cases, this doesn’t happen. Because most novelists are not screenwriters.

A recent example is the Bridgerton series where a large number of fans of the original books by Julia Quinn are upset at the creative liberties that have been taken in the adaptation of the books. But then, there is another group of viewers who love the series. As with any creative work, you can’t please everyone.

 

Team Kitaab: What role do you think indie authors play in the landscape of book-to-screen adaptations, and how can they leverage their unique position to influence the adaptation process?

Adite Banerjie: I feel indie authors can benefit the most from book to screen adaptations. Because they are dealing directly with the producers. As long as they have a good IP/entertainment lawyer to ensure that their interests are taken care of right from the time they sign the contract. Producers are also keen to talk with authors directly rather than go through a publishing house. 

Every time I have approached a producer or production house, the first question they ask is: do you own the rights of your book?  As for influencing the adaptation process, it all depends on the kind of rapport an author builds with the producer and his team.

Team Kitaab: How do you handle the differences in narrative structure between novels and screenplays, and what strategies do you use to translate the essence of your book into a compelling screenplay?

Adite Banerjie: Brevity is at the heart of a compelling screenplay. Less is more. So, you have to ensure that every scene and the emotions therein can be conveyed through action. It’s all about understanding the structure of a screenplay and conveying your story within that framework.

Team Kitaab: Can you share any insights into the process of pitching your book adaptations to studios or producers, and what advice would you give to other authors looking to adapt their work for the screen?

Adite Banerjie: Practice pitching as much as you can. For some authors, pitching is easy, but it’s been one of the toughest things for me. Pitchfests are a great networking opportunity for authors. You need to do your research, check out sites like IMDB for professional credentials of people you connect with and trust your gut. 

On the creative side, it always helps to see how popular books have been adapted for screen. And how much they deviated from the original story.

This will help you to be prepared for potential changes they make to your story. If you don’t like the changes that they are suggesting, decide on which elements of the story are non-negotiable and worth fighting for. It’s best to keep an open mind about the changes that are being suggested and see what works best for the story.