Hybrid Publishing: lessons from the realities of Documentary Filmmaking

It just occurred to me that my many years of working with documentary films and filmmakers may have given me an interesting perspective on the idea of hybrid publishing.

Writers and Filmmakers: One form of storytelling versus another

Documentary filmmakers rarely have the experience (or the financial comfort) of getting paid in advance to make their films.

Documentary filmmakers know they will have to raise all of the money or scramble around for in-kind donations in order to get their films made, to get their stories turned into the visual art form that is documentary film.

None of them are waiting for a the film equivalent of a book publisher to give them a $100,000 advance. Or even a $20,000 advance. They are also not querying the film version of literary agents to represent their work to potential editors and buyers.

Instead, they are simply figuring out how to get it done, how to get their stories visually captured, edited and then sweetened into a format that can be shared with others. Like writers and authors, most documentary filmmakers earn very little for their work.

And it’s exactly this understanding that no one will likely pay them upfront (unless they are lucky enough to get a grant or have generous relatives), that intrigues me.

That’s the attitude that I hope to channel as I cross over from documentary films to non-fiction book writing.

What drives a documentary filmmaker? Can that same drive be channeled into writing?

Why not?

What documentary filmmakers know to their bones is how confident or passionate they must be about the stories they want to tell: is that story worth maxing out credit cards and goodwill in order to transform it into a film others can watch or buy?

I come from this world and I understand this drive. But can I translate that formula to another genre? Do I believe in A Storyboard Life enough to front the costs of publication, to pull together and pay for a talented team of specialists just as I would have to do with any film project, hoping to get paid back at some point in the future?

I think so.

Thirty years in the world of documentary filmmakers, dreamers, visionaries and storytellers has given me hundreds of role models, all of whom understand and appreciate the confidence and courage needed to pay up front for the stories you want to tell.

Let me hear your thoughts.

Photo taken by me @ Asheville Community Theater’s Costume Drama in 2012