Screenplay Option Cont'd
I want to amend slightly what I wrote yesterday. Upon second glance, I see that your posting is from England. What I wrote pertains to American copyright law - I do not know English law well at all.
That being said, from what little I know of English copyright law...
Film Options
Whether or not you may negotiate the screenplay rights turns on whether you own the underlying copyright in your book. The default position is that you own the copyright unless 1) you created the work as a "work for hire", or 2) you have assigned your copyright to the work to...