Can you try to sell a screenplay & attempt to have the same story in book format published?

Question by : Can you try to sell a screenplay & attempt to have the same story in book format published?
What if you are able to have the book published before you hear anything back regarding your script? Can you still do both?

Best answer:

Answer by cla ro
i don’t think so. mostly because when a publisher buys your novel they buy ALL the rights to the novel, including foreign rights, translations and movie rights.

this means that should the book be made into a movie then the publisher will also make alot of money by selling these rights on.

also, should a studio buy the rights to the story they will usualy have it written in-house by thier own script writers.

that said, there are some novelists who wrote screenplays, such as raymond chandler and michael crichton.

but i think that kind of sway comes when you have a reputation and have earned power in the industry

also, selling one and the other to different companies can result in tricky legal issues, so your best bet is to do one or the other, or get an agent who hadles both and discuss it with them

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