Share This Story!

You’d be hard-pressed to find a published author who wouldn’t like to see a movie- or TV-based version of their book. Movie and TV adaptations of books bring added notoriety and popularity to a book, reinvigorate a book’s sales. Mostly, they are just plain cool to imagine for most writers. Midnight Publishing’s staff totally understands the appeal. We collaborate with hundreds of authors and entrepreneurs with incredible stories fit for the screen.

Taleflick Marketplace

Unfortunately, the chance of actually selling a book for a movie/show adaptation and pushing it through the entire process is one of the smallest in the industry. So, if you thought getting your book published was difficult, then you’re in for an unfortunate surprise with the movie. With the rise of self-publishing and an influx of newly published books, it only makes sense that a company would see the need for bridging a gap between stories and production companies that might never have heard of the book otherwise. TaleFlick Marketplace is a company that says they do exactly that.

What is TaleFlick Marketplace?

Taleflick Marketplace

This online platform is designed to connect authors with producers, production companies, and studios to bring stories from the page to the big or small screen. TaleFlick was launched in the summer of 2018 by movie producer and CEO Uri Singer. It boasts a 15-person “Reader” team of individuals with a background in reading for adaptation. According to the website, these Readers “are charged with reviewing the stories [submitted] and identifying the best ones in our library,” as well as writing “Pitch Pages” for the selected/best stories to share with clients (producers and studios) they feel would be the best fit. You can submit traditionally published works or self-published stories that aren’t represented by an agent or publisher. This can be an appealing factor in terms of “sidestepping the gatekeepers” that oftentimes still rule in publishing. You can also submit non-published scripts or screenplays.

An Overview of the Process

TaleFlick Marketplace has broken their process down into a few steps:

  1. Writers, publishers, or agents upload a book or script and complete a profile/questionnaire for the work. They then must choose an annual payment plan ($88, $399, or $499 based on services included) for their one submission into the marketplace per year. Additionally, the submitter must grant TaleFlick the Right of First Refusal (ROFR).
  2. Based on the Readers and other algorithms within the site, the submission is categorized and “curated” into TaleFlick’s database. This is where studios, producers, etc. can review them.
  3. Once a studio/producer finds a story they are interested in, they request the full script/book through the platform that TaleFlick provides.
  4. If the story is adapted, TaleFlick gives the ROFR to the production company and requests a commission and profit share from the production company upon their decision to enter production. TaleFlick does not have any ownership of any rights in the project.

Taleflick Marketplace

Thoughts and Criticisms for TaleFlick Marketplace

This might seem like a “dream opportunity” for authors and screenwriters hoping to see their work on the screen. However, there are skeptics who feel TaleFlick Marketplace is marketing itself heavily to authors while lacking much evidence on the production side of things. In this Forbes article several industry experts weigh in, with author and cofounder of publishing watchdog site Writer Beware Victoria Strauss observing that the books that have been picked up for adaptation so far are from TaleFlick CEO Uri Singer’s own production company, Passage Pictures.

Midnight Publishing’s verdict? If you have the money, consider this as an option. However, your time and funds might be better spent building hype about your work the old-fashioned way: by writing high-quality, edited books with great covers, and marketing yourself in the long haul. At the end of the day, an Amazon bestselling series can catch the eye of a producer just as easily as one in a curated database.

Have you written a book that you feel belongs on the big screen? Midnight Publishing has been assisting authors and entrepreneurs both in Phoenix, AZ and globally for almost ten years to bring them to life! Be sure to check out our expert-curated guides on the publishing industry here, and contact us today to discuss working together!