What's Your Take on Collaborations?

My husband is also a writer, and we edit each other's stuff. We also help each other - bouncing ideas around, plotting, character development, world building, etc. We're getting closer and closer to a true collaboration, and will be taking that step with a novel I'm currently finishing my draft of. As soon as I'm done, he'll edit the crap out of it and otherwise make it better, and we'll pass it back and forth a bunch of times.

So, really, we're still in experimentation, but it's looking good so far. We've been increasing the amount we rely on each other steadily over the last four years, so it's been gradual. I'm curious to see how far we can take this and have it work well.


No advice, unfortunately. Well, except for one comment. I'd definitely give it a try and see what happens. Write out a contract beforehand between the two of you spelling out who's responsible for what and who will get what percentage of any earnings and so on and so forth. That's a lot less applicable to Fahim and I - since we're married and all money earned belongs to both of us, and we kinda negotiate responsibility on the fly, but with us, it works extremely well.

Good luck!

It is an interesting idea, but I think I would be horrible at collaborating on a work. I'd end up getting flustered and wanting to do all the writing. I think this stems from being an only child. I never worked well with others in school. I'm great at socializing, but I hover in a personal bubble that contains myself and my imaginary friends (read also, characters). No touchy inside the bubble!

I know that doesn't help you at all, but I'm bored and this topic looked interesting. I hope you get some helpful answers!

Collaboration

I've written two novels this way. It's a lot like marriage. The right partner can make it work, but there will probably still be squabbles. Lawrence Block said something like "Collaboration is twice the work for half the money, and almost none of the fun."

He wasn't far wrong.

Uncle Jim, if I'm not mistaken, has collaborated in a lot of novels with Debrah Doyle. And, if I'm not mistaken, this issue has already been addressed in his thread, so you could maybe go and have a look

Jamesaritchie said:

I've written two novels this way. It's a lot like marriage. The right partner can make it work, but there will probably still be squabbles. Lawrence Block said something like "Collaboration is twice the work for half the money, and almost none of the fun."

He wasn't far wrong.

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I just finished my first collaboration last week. This past weekend, I was paging through Block's book again and read that same quotation. Pretty funny, and true too. But he also said the obligation created by the 'partnership' helps assure the work gets completed (or something like that). In other words, each writer is less likely to abandon the project, because he/she knows the other writer is counting on him/her.

One recommendation if you want to try it: use an outline. Neither my writing partner nor myself usually do that, but we found out the hard way that we were heading off in two different directions.

Been there, done that lots of times, with varying degrees of success.

The one most important thing, from the creative standpoint, is to make certain you're both have the exact same story (not plot, not characters--base story) in mind and you're totally agreed on it. If there's much more than an iota of difference in your concepts, then the story will suffer and, probably, so will the relationship. It's very very difficult to find someone you're that in sync with on a base story level, so don't get discouraged if it doesn't work out the first time. My collaborator and I worked for more than 10 years before we found a baseline for stories that excited both of us (albeit for different reasons) and a process that worked well for getting it onto paper. While we haven't sold anything, since we've worked it out we've gotten no less than full ms requests and personalized rejections for every collab we've submitted, not to mention winning a contest or two.

On a non-creative end--do a "pre-nup" for rights, how any monies will be divided, who will own any pen name created, what happens if the partnership breaks up for any reason, etc. My experience is the vast majority of collaborations break apart at some stage and having it all decided (and preferably in writing) makes walking away a lot neater on many levels.

When you click with the right partner, collaborations are great because you have someone else who is as excited and committed to the book as you are, and that's a rare thing in my experience. You have someone who will sit for hours for brainstorming, who can pick up and carry the book when you're swamped, who helps you get over being burned out and gets you totally recharged again. It's mondo cool, but it's not a given.

Would I do it again? With the lady I've collaborated with the last couple of years? Without a second though, if both our schedules allowed. With anyone else, I'd be very skeptical but I wouldn't rule it out totally. At the moment, I'm being very selfish and concentrating on my solo work, but one never knows what the future might hold.

It's fun. Except for the bits where it's not. And, if you're me, it's a lot of conscious effort because otherwise I'd just wander off and do the whole thing myself.

I've done a lot of collaborative writing in RPG's and shared universe stories. Collaborating on a novel was easy and fun. I've done it twice, and I was lucky enough to have a very like-minded writing partner. We both came up with the worldbuilding, with the characters, and with plot points.

I enjoy it, because when I'm stuck on a scene I can get someone else's immediate input (and vice versa). We have similiar writing styles and enjoy the same books.

We plan to collaborate later this year. As others have said, you need to have the right partner for it to work.

DamaNegra said:

Uncle Jim, if I'm not mistaken, has collaborated in a lot of novels with Debrah Doyle. And, if I'm not mistaken, this issue has already been addressed in his thread, so you could maybe go and have a look

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I'm thinking a husband/wife team has an advantage living together and being able to shoot ideas off each other in real time.

Personally, I'm a loner when it comes to idea creation. I can't brainstorm in a group, my brain becomes less than a drizzle and I tend to just go with the group.

I doubt if I'd be a successful collaborator.

Collaboration

Some writing teams make it work extremely well. Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven come to mind.

But to echo Block again, I want the credit when something goes right, and the blame when something goes wrong.

I won't say I'll never co-write another novel. Things change, and sometimes opportunities come up that aren't easy to pass on. But I certainly have no plans to do so. I like writing my own novels without help or hindrance.

I've collaborated on writing for musical theater, but never on a book. In my experience, issues of ego and control always rose to the surface, no matter how friendly the collaborators were to begin with. Each is convinced that his/her vision is correct. It takes a lot to overcome that, or maybe it takes a perfect personality match, which is rare.

I basically collaborate full time with my partner, Vivien. I know I've mentioned all of this on the board before, so if you (the general reader) is bored with it by now, sorry!

Vivien and I have 19 books together, and we're writing number 20 right now. Only one of those is currently not sold (though it is submitted). We have a queue of about fifty ideas, I think. I know we could write a book a month for the next 3 years with our queue now. Everything is split 50/50. We make all major decisions together. We've always worked well together, but it's getting easier over time.

Writing is a lot like sex for me. I do a great job when I'm on my own, but it's more fun with a partner.

Sex

pepperlandgirl said:

Writing is a lot like sex for me. I do a great job when I'm on my own, but it's more fun with a partner.

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That's a good analogy. But I prefer sex with a partner, and I greatly prefer writing alone.

Yeah, that's why I said "for me." I know based on other threads and my conversations with other writers that collaboration really doesn't work for most people. So the sex analogy doesn't work for people who aren't interested in collaboration to begin with, or who have tried it but didn't like it. But for my purposes, it's the best way I can think to describe it...

There's probably a difference between collaborating with another writer whom you know primarily as a writer, and collaborating with a friend who happens to be a writer.
The thing about existing relationships, I think, is that if there are any weaknesses or cracks in the relationship already, the tension of critting and revising each other's work will exacerbate them.
-Barbara