From Hollywood To Novels: TD Donnelly On Screenwriting, Adaptation, and Storytelling That Lasts

The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers

Joanna Penn

Self-improvement, Arts, Books, Entrepreneurship, Business, Education

4.8 • 745 Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2025

⏱️ 78 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What's the difference between writing a book and writing a screenplay? What are the different business models? If you've written a screenplay, how can you get it read? TD Donnelly talks about the challenges and rewards of screenwriting, as well as his first thriller novel.

In the intro, ProWritingAid spring sales 25% off; Key takeaways from the Future of Publishing conference [Written Word Media]; Curios for authors; Indie author’s scam survival guide [Productive Indie Author]; Writer Beware; OpenAI’s 4o image generation model launch [OpenAI];

Plus, check out Death Valley: A Thriller by J.F. Penn.

This episode is sponsored by Publisher Rocket, which will help you get your book in front of more Amazon readers so you can spend less time marketing, and more time writing. I use Publisher Rocket for researching book titles, categories, and keywords — for new books and for updating my backlist. Check it out at www.PublisherRocket.com

This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn

T.D. Donnelly is the author of the thriller The Year of the Rabbit. He's also been a screenwriter for more than 25 years, with credits including Sahara with Matthew McConaughey, Conan the Barbarian, and adaptations for the works of Ray Bradbury, Clive Cussler, Stan Lee and others.

You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below.

Show Notes

* Challenges of being a screenwriter

* The competitive nature of the film industry compared to indie publishing

* Payment structure for screenwriters — stages of payment, production bonuses, and residuals

* Regaining rights to old, unpublished screenplays

* Writing differences between screenplays and novels

* Craft and pitching advice for aspiring screenwriters

* Why Tom is not worried about AI in the film industry

You can find Tom at TDDonnelly.com.

Transcript of Interview with Tom Donnelly

Joanna: TD Donnelly is the author of the thriller The Yea...

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Creative Pen podcast. I'm Joanna Penn, thriller author and creative entrepreneur,
0:08.0	bringing you interviews, inspiration and information on writing craft and creative business.
0:14.7	You can find the episode show notes, your free author blueprint, and lots more at thecreativepen.com.
0:22.5	And that's Penn with a double N.
0:25.0	And here's the show.
0:26.9	Hello, creatives.
0:28.0	I'm Joanna Penn, and this is episode number 8001 of the podcast, and it is Saturday,
0:33.8	the 29th of March 2025 as I record this.
0:38.1	In today's show, I'm talking to long-time Hollywood screenwriter, first-time novelist,
0:43.7	T.D. Donnelly about the challenges and rewards of being a screenwriter, the different business models,
0:49.6	why screenwriters want to write novels, even if the money isn't so good, different ways to get your
0:54.9	screenplay out there, and why Tom isn't worried about the impact of AI. So that's coming up in the
1:01.2	interview section. In writing and publishing things, written word media has an article on the key takeaways from the
1:11.8	future of publishing conference that was in New Orleans last week run by Russell Nolte and Monica
1:18.6	Leonel. It is a small conference much more intimate than things like author nation and focused on
1:25.0	building sustainable author careers with lots of ideas on multiple
1:28.5	streams of income.
1:29.9	Now, I wasn't there, but I was interested to read about this.
1:33.3	The big takeaways included the expansion and popularity of special editions and how much
1:39.8	fans love them.
1:41.0	The article says one of our favourite conversations was about special edition books because, wow, do readers love them. The article says one of our favorite conversations was about special edition books
1:45.7	because wow, do readers love them? It's no surprise the books are beautiful with covers made from
	...

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