Do you make your own luck?

Do you really control what happens?

Or do you simply dump everything you can in the system, press the big green button, and then hang on for the hairy-scary ride?

Elan Mastai is the award-winning screenwriter and novelist behind one of my favorite books of last year – the incredibly fast-paced, head-twisting, and emotionally moving sci-fi epic All Our Wrong Todays.

I was crying hot salty tears when I reached its final pages and was delighted when Elan accepted my invite to share his three most formative books on our show.

And! Just to tease the very first story he shares.

Elan received a $1,250,000 advance for his first book. You read that right.

A seven-figure book advance for All Our Wrong Todays.

His first book!

How did that happen?

Well, I ask him, and you’re going to love the story he shares.

And then we get deeper into ambition versus contentment, how hard you push versus what you get, and whether or not we control the inputs and the outputs… or whether we all have to really learn to just practice getting comfortable dumping whatever we can into the system.

Pressing the green button.

And holding on for the hairy-scary ride.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

• How did Elan get a $1,250,000 advance on his first book?
• Why did Elan choose to make each chapter of his book 2-3 pages?
• Which book helped Elan become more grateful and gave him perspective at a young age?
• Why are our values less important than our actions when we’re trying to discover who we truly are?
• Which body part does Elan compare a writer to, and how is it considered a “documented form of pain”? 
• Which of Elan’s three most formative books was the only one he chose to read since he was forced to read the other two?
• Why did Elan, Kurt Vonnegut, and I all choose not to put semicolons in our books?
• How do you wrestle with book shame when you don’t love classic novels you assumed you’d enjoy?
• What book reminds Elan of listening to a Pink Floyd’s song? 
• What should aspiring authors keep in mind when looking for a literary agent?
• How do royalties and advances work in publishing? 
• How does an author entrench universal themes so deeply into their work that their stories stick with people and transcend time?
• What’s the process of getting another author to write a blurb for your book?
• How do you find your voice as an author?

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You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.3books.co/chapters/10

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Elan has worked in the film industry for years and is best known for writing the award-winning screenplay for What If? starring Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan and Adam Driver. All Our Wrong Todays is Elan’s debut novel and the film rights for the adaptation have been secured by Paramount and producer Amy Pascal (who produced the female Ghostbusters). Elan is currently writing the screenplay for film development. So the premise of the book? It’s 2016 and in Tom’s world, technology has solved all of humanity’s problems – there’s no war, no poverty, no under-ripe avocados. Unfortunately, Tom isn’t happy. He’s lost the girl of his dreams. And what do you do when you’re heartbroken and have access to a time machine? Something very stupid indeed. Want to know more - you'll have to buy the book.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome back to Business of Film podcast, episode #78. Screenwriter and now novelist, Elan Mastai, is our guest. On this episode we talk about Elan’s first novel, All Our Wrong Todays, and how Paramount Pictures ended up optioned the film rights with Elan adapting the novel for the screen. ELAN MASTAI is the screenwriter behind ...

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