How a Simple Medium Story Sparked a TV Show Deal No One Saw Coming

Let me start by apologizing in advance for the fact that, legally, I can’t give over all the details. I’ll be purposefully vague for now, but if the project gains more traction, I’ll be able to write about the whole thing with more specificity.

For the most part, I live a life of quiet seclusion. Everyone else has colleagues, and Zoom meetings, or interactions with customers. My work day is just me at home with my cat. Nothing eventful ever happens here.

I make my tea, I sit down at my laptop, and I type away. If I get up to go to the bathroom or the kitchen, I switch from big screen to little screen, as I check my phone. Things aren’t typically too exciting in there during working hours either — no friends or anybody reaching out at that time.

Mostly I just go to my email app, pull down from the top so that it’ll reload, and let the seven or so spam messages that inevitably populate each time flood in. I delete them and carry on with my day. But one day in April, things were different.

Somebody had done a form submission through my website. Honestly, this still tends to be a route for spam to hit my inbox — or even less enjoyably, hate mail. But much to my enduring surprise, this time it was a popular actor on a hit show reaching out about adapting one of my articles for the screen! Just like that, completely at random, in the middle of the day.

Here’s the message:

I still remember the surreal feeling of elation as I read it. I was cautiously overjoyed; I scanned it over carefully looking for any sign that it was a scam or some other faux ploy. I tried to settle my jumping spirit, and rein in my expectations, so that I could proceed with a clear head. I also had to restrain my burning desire to tell everyone I know!

Over the ensuing weeks, me and the person interested in buying the rights had a series of calls, and I reviewed over and over again the scary but exciting prospect of selling my story. It turns out my fear of commitment doesn’t just extend to…