We wrote a short film that turned into a feature script and then grew into a television show. After getting rejected by Hollywood we decided to turn it into a novel. Ask Us Anything!!!!

Whats the book about?

The Family DuMont is a high concept story with a large ensemble of characters. It's about a family that been secretly influencing the world for centuries. The modern family, which is who the story is about, have evolved from being agents of kings and royalty into an independent intelligence agency that anybody can hire if they are able to pay. The first book is the introduction to this large family and how they reunite after several years of internal drama. It's got great action and adventure, but it's also very much about the family and their relationships with each other. It's like if James Bond had a large family and they were all part of the spy business, but with a fair amount of Downton Abbey drama.

As the series progresses it is revealed that an ancient enemy is plotting against the family.

So The Da Vinci Code + Archer.

Thats hilarious! Can we use that in our pitch?

As this man's financial advisor, let's talk money. Dollars and cents.

I'm not really a financial advisor.

what is this "dollars and cents" you speak of. We have heard of such things.

Fine. Monopoly money it is!

As long as we get to be the thimble.

Yo-ho! You ought to pay an artist to redo your book cover. It isn't terrible, but it looks unprofessional. Upgrading your cover will do a lot to increase sales.

Thanks for the heads up. Working on the cover for book 2 right now. We will be keeping that in mind.

Indeed. I'd say another key element for you to work on is the family crest on the cover. A crest is a great idea, but an authentic one would never just have a D in it. To start, because the Du in DuMont only means "of" or "from". So, DuMont means "from the mountain". The fleur de lys at the top of it could work, since it's a french name and this icon has been on various french royal families' crests for many centuries. It was the icon of the Medici, in Florence, who married into the french royal family via Catherine de Medici.

Source: I'm francophone, and I'm a designer specialised in heritage brands.

Nationcrafting... Hello!! you actually hit on something very astutely! The family history actually has our family coming from Italy originally over Mont Blanc into France where they were given a new name by the French King of which they submitted themselves to protecting. Since they were people "of the mountain" they were called the DuMont's from then on! Well done for cuing into that tie in! We hope that you give the book a read because it will be a fun ride for you!! Thanks for the post :)

That is interesting!

For the sake of research, I would recommend you also read up on anything to do with Federico da Montefeltro, who was Duke of Urbino during the early Renaissance, and one of the richest men in Italy. He was what is called a "condottiere", essentially someone with a small private army that he would hire out to the highest bidder. Sometimes he fought on the french side, sometimes on the pope's side, etc. He was very clever indeed, and a very well read man (his studiolo was discovered in the palace of Urbino just a couple of decades ago, with tons of books and documents from his personal archive, as well as music pieces he commissioned, which I've had recorded by a local choir since then). I know millions of things about him, as my father was a professor there, and I studied there too (the art school was founded by Raffaello, who was born in Urbino, too).

So if you want to know more, feel free to ask away...

we will certainly keep that in mind! thank you very much!!

I don't know much about writing scripts but don't you need a single log line of what the story is about? What you wrote here does not make sense to me and I can't really gather what it's about by this description.

You are right about having a short log line for a screenplay, either one or two sentences. This is more of a teaser for the book. For the screenplay version of this it would read as such: The powerful and secretive DuMont family struggles to bring balance to the world as an ancient enemy plots from the shadows.

Or something like that.

Have you read or heard of the 39 clues? There are some striking similarities to the series in that description.

Not making an accusation. Just a comment.

We have not heard of it, but we'll check it out. Thanks!

Okay, so, I hate to be that guy, but isn't this essentially that 39 clues series, for kids?

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

The novels revolve around Amy and Dan Cahill, two orphans who, upon their grandmother's death, discover that they are members of the Cahill family, whose members have shaped the history of their world. The ancestors of the Cahill family are Gideon and Olivia Cahill, whose children created the branches of the family. The branches constantly compete against each other in a hunt for the 39 Clues, the source of the family's power. Amy and Dan, along with their au pair Nellie, enter the hunt for the Clues and become embroiled in the conflict between the Cahill branches. As Amy and Dan participate in the hunt, they unearth secrets about their Cahill ancestors, their parents, and the Madrigals, a mysterious organization.

So it's kind of like that. People influencing the world, minus the clue hunt, orphans, so it's the story of the family from the inside of the four sections. And they have an ancient enemy, the Vespers, who rise against them.

So sorry to disappoint you cheesy chipotle, but this isn't anything like that. Thank you for the excerpt though. But our story is nothing like that. Our references to shaping the world tie into events like being apart of the assassination of the Arch Duke Ferdinand, being present during France's annexation of Milan and dealing with Italy....Running covert operations for MI6 and the CIA during the Cold War, Vietnam etc. We have woven the "history" of our story through actual events of the world. 39 Clues does sound interesting though and we will definitely check it out. But from what you describe The Family DuMont is a far different story. And no worries about "being that guy" We appreciate you taking an interest. Hopefully you will give the Family DuMont a try so that we can take you on a much different and unexpected journey. Try the sample that is available on amazon and if your interest in not piqued then okily doily... But... I have a feeling you are going to want to keep reading. Thanks for the post cheesychipotle (now I am getting hungry.) have a wonderful evening!!

I see :) just the summary, I suppose, rang a bell with 39 & me

No worries. You actually were the second person to make that comparison so maybe we need to re think our summary:) thank you for the heads up but I assure you if you are a fan of action and adventure with some bigger story arcs you will love the read! Have a great night!

Hi. Aspiring hobby writer here. I wanted to ask about your motivation. I have huge problems with projects that don't get well received, and I end up pushing myself through the project instead of enjoying myself, despite loving the ideas behind them So I wanted to ask if you went through that too? And how do you manage to keep persevering?

Hey Flyachan, We both FULLY understand your plight. This can be a lonely, disappointing and very difficult road to travel. For us I can say that working in a creative partnership has been the key to not slitting our wrists. Not to say that it's all doom and gloom but it has been great to be able to share success with somebody.

As far as motivation for you I will encourage you to first of all write for yourself. Do not ever require the praise of others, especially ones wearing suits in glass offices. Belief is a strong motivator for people and if you don't give up and share your enthusiasm for your work with others you will find success and people will respond. Just hang in there and good luck. Don't ever give up on your dreams. For us we have not only chosen to follow this path, but we know instinctively that this is what we should be doing with our lives and won't let little things like 'no' stop us.

What is the best advice ever given to you?

If you want to do something (filmmaking, writing, etc) don't wait for anyone to give you permission. Just do it yourself.

What inspired you guys to get into this sort of profession?

We wanted to have a career where everyday would present something new and interesting.

Filmmaking started that pursuit as producing movies are basically one big problem solving exercise.

You could chalk it up to that internal driving force too. Well that... and Raiders of the Lost Ark

How did you get your script to HBO? Did you use an agent/contacts or did you just stick in the post like that one Simpsons episode?

What would your advice be to aspiring screenwriters/authors?

All the best with the books

HBO came through a long game of six degrees of separation.

Write for yourself first. And make sure you learn the rules of the different formats. Screenplays are very different from novels. Creativity on the other hand is an entirely different animal, but it, like a muscle, can be strengthened.

And Thanks!!!

Which of the writing projects do you enjoy working on more, hour-long TV episodes, feature length scripts, short scripts or the good ole fashioned novel? You obviously have to have a specific approach to each of these formats. What approaches did you take for each and which of them came the easiest? Also, what do you think is the most important thing to focus on while working on a screenplay (short or feature)? Great AMA too, as a filmmaker and writer myself I am always interested in hearing others discuss their work and motivations. Thanks!

Adam - before writing the novel I would have said feature screenplays. I wanted to make feature films and it was the story format I was most comfortable with. But after writing the novels and experiencing the freedom with detail that kind of narrative allows, I'm leaning in that direction now. As far as specific approaches, we always follow the same basic step by step process. Someone has an idea. We talk about it, sometimes for a very long time before we write anything to make sure major plot points are working. We then usually divide up the story and work individually to put it on paper, then we trade to do polishing. The story dictates what kind of format, be it a short or a feature or a book.

The most important thing to focus on is characters. If people don't like the them they won't care much about the story. To paraphrase Ron Moore, the creator of the new Battlestar Galactica series, he said when trying to come up with the end of the show that he realized its about the characters. Its always about the characters.

Good luck to you!

Do you think that working with another writer helped enhance the story, or made it take longer/more difficult?

Enhanced. Definitely. It is difficult to work in a vacuum and with us there is a lot of trust so neither of us have a problem telling the other that an idea is terrible and to try again. This makes the process a lot smoother and move a lot quicker because we can shoot down the wrong ideas immediately with each other instead of realizing a mistake down the road.

Cool. How long did it take to make the transition from a screenplay, into the standard novel format? Also how did the page count change?

It didn't take very long because we had been living with the story for so many years, and also we had a stack of 13 television scripts already put together. These scripts gave us our full outline for the book transition.

It is a difficult comparison to make when asking about a page count change from screenplay to novel. A word count change is probably more accurate in talking about this transition. From our estimates, the novel increased four fold in terms of word count from the screenplay versions for the first novel. Book two is already about 40,000 words longer than book one, so that number has gone up considerably.

Sadly don't be surprised when your idea suddenly shows up as a movie or a TV show. Anyone you showed it to. I hope you had a NDA signed in blood. Quite simply hollywood can be summed up simply. IP theft is rampant even amongst those that are considered icons in the industry.

"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."

Oh yes. Very very very true. However fearing theft can immobilize you and that is a risk every writer director, actor or just artist in general has to take when they share their work with the world.

Hi. Congratulations on your book. I want to get in the movie business, as a director preferably, but also as a screenwriter. Where do you get started? Do you have any advice for us who want to make it into this world? And what are the producers looking for usually, what sells?

Thank you! The first thing to do is write. It doesn't have to be great, and most likely your first few attempts will have lots of room for improvement. Ours certainly did! But the good thing is its a place to build from. We've written thousands of pages and can look back and see how we progressed and got better. Its like anything else. It takes practice and time.

Advice for making it? Develop a thick skin because some people will hate your work no matter how good it actually is. You can't please everybody. As far as what producers are looking for, Hollywood moves in cycles. Its all about determining what people want before it becomes popular, which is hard to do but it's possible. Our advice is to write in many different genres and keep throwing them at Hollywood.

Thanks for answering and for the good advice. Good luck in the future!

It was our pleasure! Thank you so much for the questions. And good luck to you as well

Opinions on film school ?

Advice to new writers ?

Austin here... For me, film school was problematic. I was surrounded with a lot of people that really shouldn't have been there. Making a movie is one of the hardest things to do, and yet it is also one of the coolest things to do. This attraction brought a lot of people that didn't really understand the full scope of what they were about to undertake. My advice for anyone considering going to film school would be to take the money that you would spend on tuition and put it towards making your own movie. The technology available to young filmmakers today is extensive and cheap. Also distribution of your work is easier than ever with YouTube and Vimeo and other online channels. I made a few close friends from my time at film school and have stuck close to them ever since I finished. That for me was the real benefit.

Your real education will come from working under other people and watching them work. I find the movie making business to be incredibly rewarding but it takes a lot of effort. You will find some of the most amazing people working on sets, and they are heartfelt and wonderful.

As far as advice to new writers or filmmakers, storytellers basically, is for you to do it. Set a finish line and aim for it everyday. Writing is the cheapest thing for you to do and with avenues for novels like Kindle, and Nook, and iBooks, you can get your work out there. After that it will take even more effort to get the word out. Also make sure once you are finished that you put your work in front of people that love and care about you and that will also give you honest feedback. You will sometimes get harsh critiques but take this as incredibly valuable input. And then once you feel you are ready, step off into the void. No matter what, it will be a fun, wild and unexpected ride.

Thank you very much !

You are very welcome!

May i also ask,how did you guys got the meeting with HBO ?

That connection came through a long line of relationships that moved the script into the right hands of a producer at the network.

What have you read? Which works of literature have influenced you the most? (Reading being the best tool for a writer.)

Austin - For me I have grown up on the likes of action and adventure novels like Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, Dale Brown. Also diving into Vince Flynn now and Dan Brown. Chuck Palahniuk has also been a hugely guilty pleasure with Fight Club, Invisible Monsters, Choke, Lullaby, and all of his other fascinating novels.

Adam - Its not easy for me to point a finger an any novelists and say "This person influenced me." There are certainly novelists I have enjoyed over the years. Michael Crichton was a favorite when I was younger and Anne Rice as I got older. Screenwriters are still my biggest influences. Aaron Sorkin and Richard Curtis in particular.

Hey guys, Did you start this whole process with intentions of turning into what it has become or was it just a project you enjoyed doing and one thing lead to another?

For the DuMonts, one thing lead to another. We definitely did not plan on what it became. When it started as a short film, making it was our only intention. But as the conversation continued and the story and characters started to be invented it demanded something more. We always write screenplays with the intention of making them someday. More often than not it won't happen, but if you just write a script without intending it to be made you're probably not putting forth your best effort.

What are your favorite TV shows (besides the one you wrote of course)? :)

Austin - Battlestar Galactica (The new one), Breaking Bad, Dr. Who (The newer ones) Luther, Top Gear (the British one), Jekyll, and some others too

Adam- The West Wing, Star Trek (TNG), and I love Sherlock (The British one) I would have added more but Austin already took them.

What did/do you do when writing to ease minor boredom?

Well this is a little open-ended, but for us we had to be disciplined. Boredom does set in, there is no way around it. Set a routine so that you can actually finish your work. For us, we followed Stephen King's plan which is 2,000 words a day minimum. Don't tackle your project in one sitting, you will fail, just do it a little at a time and one day you will look up and have a finished piece of work. For example we finished the first book in about 7 weeks and that topped out at 98,000 words, we are nearly finished with book two and were able to get about 140,000 words in the same 7 week time period.

What inspired you to write this story?

I (Austin) called up Adam one night with a short film idea about a young mysterious woman who was in town for an evening and was more than she seemed. I don't want to give any more detail because it will give spoilers away for just want happens to her on that night in town.

This one small nugget of an idea quickly grew though as we needed to motivate her backstory properly. This gave way to exploring the question of what if she was not a lone assassin, but actually part of a larger entity such as a family. This then gave way to building out a family, but not just the modern family, we had to figure out how they started. And so for us (and this will play a large part of the overall story) this took us back to when Marco Polo traveled back from China. That basically is where our story begins in history. The universe of this story just kept going and it was such a blast to explore all of the different threads.

How long after you started your filmmaking careers did you start to see traction with the likes of HBO, CAA, etc?

I haven't been at filmmaking long. I just wrote/directed my first ultra low budget feature, and am now faced with the arduous task of post-production.

Good luck with the novels!

Adam here - I first started doing actual film work in college. I wish I had started sooner but such is life. I never tried writing anything until about a year after graduation because I didn't think I'd be very good at it. But once I started I really enjoyed it. It took a few years before I was able to raise enough money to make my first ultra low budget film. That was where I met Austin and a real creative collaboration began. It took about seven or eight years of working together before we started putting our scripts in places they could be seen by people in the industry. We had tried to stay independent filmmakers but as we wanted bigger projects to get made, we had to go where the money is. We submitted a screenplay to an actor and his manager liked us enough to take us on as clients. Through him, our screenplays began being to be read by the big agencies. For us, it took about eight years. For you it might be sooner. And we hope it is!

What's so awesome about it?

Shootouts, boat chases, romance, betrayal.... It's got something for everybody!

It sounds great, but I'm even more impressed with your determination - you've carried the idea across multiple genres, and successfully. Heck, you even find time to respond to semi-literate foreigners like me.

You've got something great going on, keep on writing, and good luck!

well we are only semi-litertate Americans so thank you so much for the kind words :)

Hi Dumont Authors!

I'm graduating with a degree in Digital Video and Cinema in two months, so I guess you can say I am a want to be writer, director (or production assistant, realistically).

I will definitely be downloading the book(s), as it's not often that a story is written for the screen and the adapted into novel form. Major props for following through with your story, despite having to change mediums.

Was it difficult to decide where to end one book and begin the next, being that the original format was thirteen separate episodes?

Another more general question, while making short films and documentaries, do you utilize other sources as income?

I produced a minidoc and a short last semester and am working on a feature length narrative now; here is a link to the doc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veDbicCrJSg

Thanks for staying true to yourselves and for persevering in the field, it's very encouraging!

Congratulations on your upcoming graduation!

First, don't "want to be" something. Just be it. Based on the fact you've already produced means you are a producer/writer/director. We're both graduates of film school, and we can honestly say you will learn more on your first real world shoot than you did in school. But most careers are like that.

We only wrote 13 episodes. We had story ideas and outlines for four seasons of the show. We wanted to know where its was going before anyone in LA even heard of it. Deciding where book 1 ended was not that difficult, and even book 2 was not that hard. But due to the volume of material we had envisioned for the TV series it was a challenge to decide the appropriate arcs for books 3 through 5.

And yes, we do have other jobs. Don't be prideful about paying your bills while pursuing your dreams.

Why?

42, because that is the meaning of life

I would like to get into TV myself. Any tips on getting started and/or steps to take now in high school?

First of all know that it is a tough tough road. I don't say that to discourage you though. Quite the opposite. If you know this going in ahead of time, then you can be prepared. Work your butt off and save as much money as possible. You will be doing your craft a disservice if you are worrying about paying bills and not doing what you should be doing which is writing.

Second thing, read everything that you can get your hands on. Read scripts, read books, read everything you can and across multiple genres. You will be surprised years down the road when an idea or a line of dialogue that you heard once or read once long before comes back to you. I would recommend you being disciplined in reading one book a week. That isn't a huge task but it would help you tremendously.

Third thing, is to write. Write anything. Just do it. See if you can tell a short story with a beginning, middle and and end all in three sentences. If you can do that, and elicit an engaged response from a reader, then you will have a a great control over story.

Don't ever stop writing and I promise that you will get better. Its just like anything, practice can get you close to perfect. Once you have found your own voice, which will come with time, then after you have had trusted editorials from people that believe in you and will give you honest criticism, find a tv show that you want to write for and write what is called a "Spec" script. create your own plot lines for a that show and then start sending it to the agents that are involved in that show. Write several other spec scripts for other shows to show that you have versatility and you will be prepared to get representation. There is a longer discussion here that is needed but you can find further answers by doing some more internet research, but the last bit of advice that I can give you is that if this is what you want to do, don't give up. It won't come over night, but if you work hard you can get where you want to go.

I often hear about scripts being rejected by Hollywood, but my question is, how do you get the script to Hollywood in the first place? How do you get a script to a producer? Lets say you're an aspiring filmmaker who does not live in LA. How do you get it to Hollywood? Lets say you move out to LA. Then what? What do you need to do to get your project in the hands of a producer or even a script reader? How?

That particular set of questions is a very difficult one to answer. The quick response is that it just takes time.

The more involved answer is one that we can only speak to based on our experience. The way that we got in was putting a small noir script together, a serial killer movie set back in the late 1970's and started approaching actors. One of the actors that we approached responded really well to the script and so did his manager and through that relationship we were taken on as clients and then able to get our scripts out to CAA WME and ICM and a few other agencies. We have been knocking on doors for many years and finally one of them opened up for us and so we are pushing as hard as we can through that avenue. In the mean time though we keep writing, and this shift to publishing on Kindle has been a great experience. No one stood in our way to get the book out there and so we went after it. We are still pursuing contact with LA, but are focusing on this particular story at the moment. And we were doing that all from Texas. Each person is going to make their own way but for you we just encourage you to keep pressing and pushing.

Are there perks to having an agent or manager that a writer otherwise wouldn't have on his own? I've been working on what I feel is shaping up to be a mind-blowing sci-fi story, but despite getting really positive feedback, it's still getting lost in the shuffle, no matter how many different websites I post the material on.

Yes. Hollywood is a very political game. It is very much about who you know. An established agent or manager that has built inroads with those who make decisions can be a powerful ally. Our manager put us in the room at CAA out in LA to take meetings. He was the one that had the relationship, but more importantly he believed in us and was comfortable putting our work out there. I am excited for you and your "mind-blowing sci-fi story"!! Keep working at it and start sending query letters to agencies in Los Angeles. There are a slew of examples for how those letters should look so pay attention. Especially to the queries from movies that have sold. Websites are great, but If you want it to get seen in Hollywood they need to be the ones reading it. Send it to all of the agencies that you can and be prepared to wait. Do not pester agencies with follow ups every week. If you haven't heard anything in a month then send a nice, and thankful email or letter. Everyone always has these "tricks" about how to get your foot in the door. The simple fact is, determination and hard work will take you the distance.

Knox - What's it like have the most awesome best friend in the world?

Well I am glad that one of us is getting some reddit love....-Wright

Find some good artists and maybe get a scene with your characters on it for the cover. Cause people will judge a book by its cover, and if you make grab peoples attention you will likely have more sales. I'm interested. May consider buying a hardback if your selling them.

Those are great points and ones that we will definitely consider. And we are thankful that you are interested. You can like us on Facebook and stay connected to upcoming news like when the next book comes out and also when we do a print run. In the mean time you can still download it for pretty much any digital device you have on the free kindle app. Thank you so much for you thoughts about the cover. We are already coming up with some ideas!

Hi guys,

Not sure if you're still on here, but I wanted to congratulate you guys for staying on the ball and continuing to push your ideas. A lot of people break easy in Hollywood, so it's refreshing to see something like this (so excited to check out the first novel!).

hey there the barking duck!!

we will be responding to posts as long as people are putting them out there. Thank you so much for your words of encouragement and we would love for a honest review back on Amazon when you finish up. Book two is only weeks away so you won't be on the cliffhanger for too long :)

Wow. Welcome to my world. Such is the lonely struggling life of a writer. I am just glad I found an alternative career while I bang away at the keyboard. Keep at it! The overnight success sometimes takes 20 years of preparation.

Thankyou for the encouragement CyborgCmdr. Nice to know that we are not alone in our struggles. Keep at it yourself!

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hmmmm... interesting. I am all for people working and earning a fair wage. I have spent many years waiting tables to fully believe in that.

Does this book come in print or is it only digital?

Its only on the kindle right now. Hopefully we can gain enough traction to move into a print run

In this IAmA: zero questions answered so far.

Just started, working through it. Looking forward to your questions.

How was your experience with hollywood?

Watch Entourage. Subtract the sex drugs and alcohol, add in a pinch of self loathing, a swift kick in the junk and that is about right.

We have met a few very good people in a town that traditionally only looks out for itself. However when you do find those few very good friends that you can trust, hold on to them tightly.

Wow, what a great tale of perseverance. Your story sure is a great tale.

How did you find the will to push on after rejection like that?

Thank you so much. It has been a long and crazy road of slammed door after slammed door. Adam and I decided long ago that if we were going to go down, at least we would go down swinging. So it basically boils down to our stubborn will to not be beaten that moves us forward. I typically wake up each morning, look around my bedroom and say to myself "well... not dead yet... might as well do something."

Adam wanted to add that it also helps when you DON'T have a backup plan. It is easy to fall into them when things get hard.

Hello. From the book description on Amazon it looks like another cheesy pulp fiction written by an alcoholic to kill time. I mean, how it is possible that your book is being praised so much, but you were unable to write a clear and concise synopsis in a couple of paragraphs?

I still have no idea what your book is about, after reading that bubbling of a three years old instead of a real synopsis. Would you be so kind to write a real synopsis?

His name is Timmy and he just turned four actually. After seeing his great work with crayons and the letter "q" we decided to enlist his help in writing the brief for our book.

And as far as his drinking, we are aware of the problem. Given that he has just started to learn how to walk (he's a late bloomer) we do have him in a program. He's on step 9 right now. Thank you for your concern about Timmy.

so if this was rejected by several producers then why would we want to ask any questions

isn't this... a question?