3 Things Most People Don’t Know About Hollywood

Going out to Hollywood for this pitch conference was a real eye-opener. The first thing I noticed was how eager these talented writers, actors, producers, and executives were to meet and share valuable information with newbies. We learned a lot in a very short time! I think the best-known person, to us, was Edward Saxon, one of the producers for “Silence of the Lambs,” who gave the opening talk. Everyone we met gave generously of their time and energy to help us succeed.
There were two conferences going on at the same time, in the same hotel: the Writer’s Digest Pitch Conference and the Screenwriter’s World Pitch Conference. My writing partner, Barbara Carson, Lucretia and I were there to attend the screenwriter’s conference, but there was a lot of mingling with authors from the other group, between talks. We all met in the huge downstairs lounge/”marketplace” where juices, muffins and croissants were offered, along with DVDs, CDs, flyers and other promotional material from self publishers, writer’s groups, filmmakers and more.
Barbara was delighted to find the latest Final Draft Version 8, at $100 off the regular price, but we didn’t spend much money in the marketing area; we’d grab a bite and head off to the next talk or panel discussion. We were focused on gathering as much useful information as possible, and honing our pitches.
The second thing I learned was how the words “based on a true story” caught people’s attention. Between the two of us, Barbara and I pitched to about 20 different producers. As soon as we mentioned that our screenplay MERCENARY TO THE SHAH was based on a true story, that is, on my memoir, Zehbel, The Clever One, people sat up and took notice. Hollywood is definitely interested in real-life stories. And the most popular genre is an action-thriller, so MERCENARY TO THE SHAH is well-positioned for today’s market.
The third thing I learned was that this process could take a while. Most of the producers who expressed interest in our screenplay said “we’ll get back to you in two weeks,” or “you should hear from our creative producer within six weeks.” So we’re in to the waiting game. Barbara followed up the pitch conference with a Skype pitch last week, with a big-name producer. His response? An email saying he’ll get back to her in 3 weeks. So we’re in the game, and in it for the long haul. We’ll keep everyone posted. Thank you for your good wishes!
Meanwhile, a new edition of Zehbel, The Clever One will be coming out on Amazon in a few days. We’re bringing back the original cover everyone liked so much from the first printing. It should be out on Kindle within the week.
So I’ll be out giving a few more talks to local groups and pestering the radio stations again. More on that another time.

From Hokendauqua To Hollywood

original cover designed by graphic artist Jamie Roman

Zebel, The Clever One, heads to Hollywood! Mike Roman’s book is being turned into a screenplay, highlighting selected scenes from the book along with new material never seen before. Now its time to finish up the script, check the beats, practice pitches and get everything ready in preparation for selling the screenplay. Sound like quite a gamble? So was moving a young family to a foreign country called Iran. Hollywood, here we come!

A Sacred Heart Nurse, 1960

Lucretia Gladis, Capping Ceremony, Allentown PA 1958

Paperback Zehbel, Amazon

Lucretia and I down in Beaufort last fall.

Zehbel: The Clever One is now available in paperback on Amazon.com. You may also order the book directly from Amazon’s Create Space site. #4024581

Lucretia and I enjoyed a sunny vacation in Beaufort, South Carolina last fall and updated the author photo on Zehbel’s back cover, using a photo from that trip. Zehbel is still available as an e-book on Kindle, but now our friends and fans will be able to order the paperback version directly from Amazon. It makes a great gift for friends in the military and anyone interested in the world beyond their front door. Books on the Middle East are always popular. Please let us know how you like it; comments are always appreciated!

Zehbel: The Clever One

(written by Barbara, Mike’s editor)
Mike Roman asked me to come down to the FAA facility at Philadelphia International Airport to get a better sense of what he described in his book Zehbel: The Clever One (now out and selling well on Amazon and other online book distributors). He explained primary and secondary radar, pulses, signals, glide slopes, mega hertz, pulse rate frequency — why changing PRF also changed coverage — something obvious, but new to me, two-way mile measures, elevation, orientation of antennae, IOS, Category 3 localizers, ASR, ASDI (the small radar on top of the control tower, detecting movement on the runway), the IFR room underneath the control tower, etc.  He and a friend from the FAA took me up into the control tower to observe the activity there, keeping an eye on my new friend, ASDI. Then, back down to the IFR room, to discover the new radar screens, showing every airplane across the country, with the ability to identify each one by simply hovering over that plane on the screen. Naturally, we talked about 9/11. The technicians there concluded it could happen again, but it would be much more difficult now, with better surveillance, locked cockpits, and tighter security.

I was even treated to a wild ride across several runways in a company vehicle, to see the radar towers, plane de-icing equipment and note the identifying markers on each runway, up close. It was a wonderful tour of airport surveillance and the dedicated FAA staff that keeps everyone on course.

To my untutored brain, of course, the whole thing was best represented as a dance. Pulses signaling back and forth, each partner (hopefully) remembering their part in the dance and observing proper decorum.

Then I remember that Mike used to go up in a helicopter, in those pre-computer days, back in the 70’s, and make photographic maps, survey for RADAR placement, and design the equipment to keep an Iranian military airport, being used by the USAF, running safely. The equipment needed for complicated maneuvers now carried out by scores of FAA personnel, relieving each other in one shift after another, was often designed and built by one man, training a staff with little to no education in radar, electronics, communication,  with limited capability to comprehend the tasks at hand. That was one clever man, indeed.

Revise and Review

Switching to (less expensive) POD (Print On Demand) for Mike Roman’s book, Zehbel: The Clever One is a golden opportunity to revise and re-format those parts of the book where readers have asked for more information on stories within Zehbel. Sitting down with Mike and Lucretia last week, we went over the book with a fine-tooth comb, marking all the changes I’ll make. A reporter from the Doylestown Intelligencer was there, doing some fact-checking, so we chatted a bit and I emailed her some documentation on Mike’s work in Iran. Her article on Zehbel should be out soon, generating more sales. Mike has also arranged talks on college campuses this fall, on terrorism and the Iranian people. Once these revisions are completed, I’ll set up some interviews with talk radio stations. To that end, Mike and I spent some time recording videos on his experiences abroad. My assistant will be over tonight, to turn those rough videos into sharp looking MP4s. I’ll call and send out the edited videos to the radio stations, along with my cleverly worded press release on Mike’s book.

Marketing Dad’s Book — Zehbel: The Clever One

Shelly, Cretie,Carolyn and Sharon

URL

=

http://www.prlog.org/11922030

Zehbel: The Clever One has been officially launched on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony and a host of other online distributors. A limited run of print books are being sold, mostly by word of mouth. Mike’s assistant, Barbara has been touting the book through a selected list of top publicity venues. Mike and Lucretia are following up their successful talk at the Quakertown Library with a series of talks on Mideast terrorism, held at area colleges.

Here the Roman’s four older daughters gather to reminisce on the fun they had, growing up in Teheran.

What’s next? Pennsylvania bookselling conventions, more talks on terrorism, more marketing connections, generating more interest in Zehbel: The Clever One!

Book Distribution for Zehbel: The Clever One

It’s sort of like running a race, and I’m on the final lap. The crowds are standing up as I come around that last curve, cheering me on.

Yeah. In other words, the book is edited and done.  It has been sent to the book distributor to be formatted.  The cover has been approved. Sometime in the next week or so, the book will be available on Amazon.com as an ebook through Kindle. It will also be available for preview/presale through the Book Expo in New York City June 5-7th.

Within the next few weeks, it will also be distributed on Apple’s Ipad, Copia, Gardners, Barnes and Noble’s Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, Baker & Taylor and Ebookpie. Some distributors will take a few weeks to get this online, others can set this up in 5-10 business days.

But, it’s finally done. I’m speaking at Quakertown Library next Saturday, June 2nd. If you’re in the area, please come out and join us. We’d love to see you there. It will be an interesting talk. After that, my editor continues querying agents for regular publishers, so the book will eventually come out as a print book as well.

Look for Zehbel: The Clever One/An American Family’s Adventures in Iran, online soon!