In 1985, Gipe was authorized to turn the screenplay for Back to the Future (written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis) into a paperback book, the Back to the Future novelization, published to coincide with the release of the film. Gipe, an accomplished freelance author, wrote two nonfiction works, The Great American Sports Book and The Last Time When..., and was a co-writer of the screenplays for two Steve Martin films, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid and The Man With Two Brains. In addition to adapting Back to the Future to book form, Gipe also wrote the novelization for Gremlins, as well as contributing to Sports Illustrated and MAD Magazine.