Carving A Path To Success Pt.31 (Creative Control)

Creative Control is a very powerful word and a very important term and ultimately can determine whether you live high on the hog, not. Many a writer/creator has a tale in regards to creative control and how it effected their life. Famous examples; George Lucas, Todd McFarlane, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Joel Shuster and Jerry Siegel, J.K.Rowling and countless others. There are many tales of success and many tales of sorrow; and that's why I am choosing to talk about the importance of Creative Control.

Once you come up with an idea that for you is pure gold. You are going to want the ability to do whatever you like with it. Of course without the ability to produce it; that kind of leaves you with few avenues. You can A: produce it yourself; giving you full creative control or B: sell the idea and therefore possibly lose creative control. Depending on the nature of what you create; you amy want to go with A. However as a screenwriter your avenues tend to look a little bit different. Your idea/project may require a big budget to come to fruition. Once someone is interested; they may want to buy it.

Here is where things get confusing. As I have yet to sell a project; I can't really say what you should or should not do. I do have theories and ideas. Here is what you should think about.

Think Harry Potter. Think of how much J.K. Rowling would have lost had she sold the entire rights to Harry Potter instead of retaining them for herself.

Think Superman: Think of how much money it's original creators lost by selling the rights to Superman for a paltry $131 dollars; especially considering how much money Superman has racked the current rightsholder: DC comics. By 2004 it was $1 billion dollars.

Two classic examples of creative control or lack thereof.

fact: Image Comics was founded because of the fact that Marvel Comics would not let the creators own the intellectual properties they created. That is now one of Image's core provisions.

Control of Intellectual Property is a big business. Those who retain those rights often benefit from them. Those that sell them early often lose the ability to gain what the property is really worth.

Creative Control is a very powerful tool and a big opportunity; and truthfully you never know how much an idea is worth until th market decides it's value. If at all possible keep control over what you create. Follow your gut. If you are given the opportunity to market your property and due receive a option to buy...look over the numbers. Talk to an attorney. Figure out what you think it's worth and never see an opportunity as the only one.

Always try to retain at least some creative control; because you never know when your gold nugget will cause a gold rush.