You Want Me to Tell Your Story?

Last week I received an email message that was from a name unfamiliar to me.  The subject line just contained one word: "Inquiry". Well this could've been anything from a spam virus to a marketer attempting to sell me something that I have no use for.

So as we generally do with such messages, I proceeded with caution. It was from a Rob H. Rob explained in his message that he'd had this burning idea for a story concept and that he was hoping to find somebody with a creative mind and a flair for charter development to help him tell this story.  Rob went on to explain in the message how he had shared his idea with a few book publishers.  He said that one author was excited enough about his idea to base two books around it.  This writer has a track record as a courtroom thriller type storyteller, in the vein of Grisham.  As Rob explained it in his email to me, this already successful writer had agreed that his concept had merit and he was prepared to write a novel, or 2, based on this theme.  From what Rob explains, the writer's publisher did not like the idea of his contracted author taking on the task as it was out of his regular genre of work. The publisher felt that this project might somehow hurt his established readership.

So Rob H., a bit discouraged, but not ready to throw in the towel yet, was directed to another author, where a similar roadblock had kept his story from coming to life.  So the idea was shelved for a time.  At some point Rob was told that he might have better luck seeking out a good screenwriter and bringing this idea to life int he form of a film.  So after some time, and as Rob works as a professor at a Kansas University, the slower summer months apparently afforded him the time to begin his search for that screenwriter, who might bring his vision to life on the screen.  I don't know how long Rob combed through the resumes of possible scriptwriters for his vision, but somehow he came across my profile and was impressed.  This was flattering to me, as I wouldn't exactly consider myself an established screenwriter.  Though I suppose the ambiguous way in which I present myself on LinkedIn could make you think otherwise.

I was intrigued enough to send Rob a message, give him a call and listen to his amazing story for almost an hour. I have had a handful of email exchanges with Rob over the past several days. I was upfront with him regarding my rather limited experience as a screenwriter.  I explained that I have the one script, Martin Eden, that was adapted from Jack London's novel. I made it clear that I have not sold anything yet, but that my work has done very well in the competition circuits and has been requested by a handful of some high profile producers.  I do like Rob's idea - they need quite a bit of fleshing out and development, but there's a solid foundation there to springboard from.  I could use another screenplay for my resume. So, yes... I am considering going through the
process again....