Can a script be turned into a novel?

Question by David K: Can a script be turned into a novel?
I know novels are turned into screenplays all the time, but can it go the other way? If I wrote a screenplay and it got turned into a movie, would I be allowed to write a novel based off the screenplay? I dont exactly know how the rights are or anything, I know that with a novel, once you sell it to the publisher, they own the rights to it and the writer isn’t allowed to do a book that’s too similar to the one the publisher bought. At least that’s what I’ve heard. They can be turned into movies since a screenplay is very different from a novel and the screenplay can simply be “based” off the novel, which I guess makes it all okay.

I’m just wondering because I love both novels and movies, and generally yes, I like the books more than the movie because the book allows you to get inside the characters heads. That’s why I’d want to do both off the same idea.

Best answer:

Answer by S.K.
Yes, sometimes it goes the other direction. The novel’s writer will need to add material to make it long enough to qualify as a novel. Most often, such novels are not very good, but there are plenty of exceptions. Among the best of them is the “E.T.” novelization.

However, no matter which medium is being adapted for the other, the rights are not there for the taking. The novelist or screenwriter must purchase or be given the rights to do the adaptation. Usually this is done by a writer offered the job by a movie studio, whether it’s adapting the novel into a screenplay or writing a novel version of a movie.

If they’re both your original works, of course, you can do either one first. Be forewarned, though, that it’s relatively rare for a good novelist to also be a good screenwriter, and vice versa. The skill sets overlap only partially.

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