From Wattpad to Screen – Getting a Movie Deal!

When I posted those first three chapters of my novel The Kissing Booth here on Wattpad back in 2010, I was pretty terrified. I remember obsessively refreshing the page to see how many reads I had, how many votes, were there any new comments? It was a book I wrote for fun: the kind of book I wanted to read. I spent hours sitting on my bed writing, often late at night, not telling anybody I was posting on Wattpad. Back then, I was worried people would think writing was a weird hobby.

I could never have imagined what would happen from posting those first three chapters to now. Actually, okay, that's a little bit of a lie: I did imagine. I thought, what if this got published? And then I'd laugh at myself for being so farfetched and I'd bring myself back down to earth.

But it was only about two years later I had a message from an editor at (Penguin) Random House. By the end of 2012, I was officially a published author, with the Kissing Booth already out as an ebook after getting 19 million reads here on Wattpad, and due out in paperback in April 2013.

Shortly after the publishing deal, I started getting interest in the movie rights to The Kissing Booth. I had a message from an agent in Hollywood (Hollywood!!!) who wanted to take on and represent the film rights. I had other interest too, from a British production company, Komixx.

I met the guys from Komixx, and loved their vision for my movie. I was advised by a few people that my book could get lost in Hollywood amongst much of the same – but going with the smaller company was definitely the right choice. They took my book on because they were as passionate about it as I was (am).

I'll be honest: the whole movie-deal thing still baffles me when I think about it. Sometimes I'd get a comment back when I was still uploading The Kissing Booth onto Wattpad that said 'You should make a movie of this', and I'd think, Ha! Yeah, right. I never thought that would happen. But now, it's looking pretty likely.

Another little bit of honesty: I'm definitely no expert in how the film business works. Contracts were drawn up and signed, granting Komixx the rights to produce a movie based on my book. I've met up with the guys from Komixx a few times for updates, and they're brilliant: they're still as passionate about my book as me. I actually met up with them recently in London –

(Side note: is it something in the literary world that everyone meets at Carluccio's restaurant? I swear to God, half the meetings I have with people in the book world have been in a Carluccio's.)

- and things are progressing with the movie! Now I can't actually divulge all the details, but I can tell you that there is a script. I have seen it. I have read it and sent back some notes on it. I have absolutely freaked out reading it on the train home thinking, 'This guy writes my book better than I do'. (Honestly, it was that great.) The scriptwriter, I can also tell you, is Vince Marcello. He wrote Teen Beach Movie for Disney, if you've ever seen that.

I know that's not an awful lot of information to give you guys, but I hope it's enough to make you as excited as I am about this. I mean, considering I started writing The Kissing Booth for fun, with no ambition for it whatsoever, this is all pretty crazy. (I am unbelievably excited about the idea of having a soundtrack to the movie of my book. The thought of opening Netflix one day and it popping up on the screen as a recommendation. Can you imagine???)

Now I don't want you guys to think this is me doing just some shameless plugging, like, 'Go see my movie! Whenever it's out! Fly, my pretties, fly!'

What I'm hoping you guys will take from this is that even those crazy daydreams you have that you think are never going to happen, might happen. And you shouldn't give up on those dreams. If you're passionate about writing, pursue it! Don't put yourself down about it. Sure, maybe you're your own worst critic; but don't forget to be your own biggest fan, too. Believe in yourself. And, most importantly, don't ever stop writing.

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