How Will the Writers' Strike Affect Publishing

At a book party last night, I was talking to an agent about this very subject and she brought up an interesting point: that unlike literary agencies, who at least generate considerable revenue stream from the backlist, Hollywood talent agencies depend heavily on frontlist and new proposals - and a strike, especially a long one, will bring about a significant drought in salable materials.

The LA Times' Josh Getlin gets into this a bit but concentrates more on how the strike affects publishing proper:

Some observers already see signs that the books-to-film pipeline has been affected: "I don't think there are going to be any major negotiations concluded, maybe not even any offers tendered, while the strike is on," said Richard Curtis, a New York literary agent.

The one exception, he and others suggested, is that studios will still be in the hunt for the rights to literary blockbusters, should they come on the market during the strike. Given the potential payoff, Curtis said, "someone will always find a smart way to get around it [the strike]. It will be a handshake between a studio and an agent, an understanding that basically says, 'We'll have a deal [on optioning film rights] subject to the conclusion of the strike.' "

If all else fails, many Hollywood writers may be looking to New York for steady work. Indeed, the publishing world is gearing up for an influx of proposals for new book deals from screenwriters.

"Writers are writers, after all, and there's nothing stopping them from dusting off that novel they've meant to get back to when they had time," said Simon Lipskar, an agent with Writers House in New York. "Obviously, they now have the time."

This is where I wish I had an active Lexis account or that Publishers Marketplace existed back in 1988. Was there a similar flux of novel submissions from screenwriters back then? What books might not have been published had a strike not happened for so long? More to the point, how else could this strike affect the book industry?

Comments

[Bryon Quertermous]

I don't know how many books were published by screenwriters during the strike, but I don't suspect many. Screenwriters, for the most part, are different writers than book writers and would probably stick with what they do best even during a strike. I think this is verified by the fact that after the 88 strike ended there was a HUGE influx of spec screenplays that writers worked on during the strike.

[Jeremy Lynch]

This is very much true. Already the focus has gone to remakes, with word of Death Wish and High Noon being reworked.

As if there was not enough reasons to want the strike to be a short one, Stallone directing and starring in Death Wish makes me want to dig into my own pockets to help out.

[Mark Haskell Smith]

I agree with Bryon, I wouldn't expect a big influx of book proposals or novels from striking screenwriters. Putting aside the fact that screenwriting and novel writing are two totally different muscles, the publishing cycle might take too long for writers used to the relatively quick gratification of TV work. Expect a boatload of original spec scripts to surface after the stike. Which could be a good thing. Maybe that will put an end to the monotony of the superheros, sequels, and remakes that the studios keep dishing up. (Yeah, I'm a dreamer.)

Of course for me, if I'm out walking the pickets, how can I finish my next book?