Let's Talk Coauthoring: Picking a Partner
Welcome to March, everyone!
I’ve been feeling the urge to do another series of posts related to the craft of writing. (Remember when I broke down how I wrote a book in a month, back in November? If you missed it, here’s Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3!) One thing that’s been on my mind lately, with the launch of The Thirteenth Circle, is…coauthoring. When we talk about the book we wrote together, my coauthor MarcyKate Connolly and I are constantly asked, “How does that even work?”
Then we get follow-ups, such as:
Who writes what?
Do you edit each other?
How did you decide to work together in the first place?
Did you ever disagree? How did you handle it?
How did you choose whose name came first on the cover?
And on, and on. When it comes to collaboration, there’s so much to discuss!
This month, I’ll be sharing a bit more about how The Thirteenth Circle came to be—specifically, coauthoring strategies that worked for the two of us.
Right up front, I want to say that every coauthor relationship is different. These are tactics MarcyKate and I used as we worked together. They might not be right for every set of collaborating authors. But, if you’re interested in writing a book with a partner—or in embarking on any sort of creative endeavor with another artist—these tips might help you navigate your own situation.
So, away we go!
Picking a Partner
The first step to a successful collaboration happens before any of the writing begins. It’s absolutely crucial to pick the right partner for this project. How do you find that person? There are a number of ways that a partnership might come about.
In The Thirteenth Circle’s case, I came up with the idea: middle-school take on “The X-Files.” I loved my idea! I couldn’t stop thinking about it! And the more I thought about it, the more sure I was that I didn’t want to write this book alone. I wanted to write with a coauthor, each of us handling one of the two main points of view. Moreover, I wanted to write the character modeled off of Dana Scully: the rational, skeptical, aspiring scientist of the duo. That meant I needed to find someone to write the character inspired by Fox Mulder: the alien-obsessed true believer.
What did I do?
I assessed my network of author friends. I looked at who wrote and published middle-grade novels. Whose work leaned toward sci-fi and/or fantasy. Whose writing I enjoyed and admired. And then, I looked beyond their books. Who did I get along with? Who seemed like they’d be pleasant—even fun—to work with?
All of that narrowed the list down considerably. But there was one more important factor to consider: who did I know, who fit all of the above criteria…who was also a fan of “The X-Files”??
Earlier, I said it’s crucial to pick the right partner for this project.
This project.
I was looking for a writing partner who was as much (or more!) of an “X-Files” nerd as I was, because I wanted to be able to riff on the show’s central characters and themes in our book. That point of inspiration and connection was really important to me; it’s what this specific project was about. I wasn’t just asking, “Do you want to write a sci-fi middle-grade novel with me?” I was asking, “Do you want to write the ‘Mulder’ character in a middle-school take on ‘The X-Files’?”
When it comes to collaboration, specifics matter.
Long story not-so-short, I knew MarcyKate from our 2015 debut author group, the Fearless Fifteeners. We’d only met in person twice, but we were online friends. I liked her, and I liked her writing (mostly middle-grade fantasy).
Then I saw her posting on social media about “The X-Files” revival in 2016/17. I bumped her right to the top of my list.
I worked up the courage to DM her to ask if she’d have any interest in teaming up…and she said yes! (Well, first she asked me to email her a slightly more detailed pitch, which I did. And then she said yes!)
So that’s one way a collaboration can start. One person has an idea, asks the other person to join them, and after a bit of discussion about it, off they pop.
Here’s a recap of some of the questions I’d encourage you to consider, if you have an idea and are searching for someone to help you make it a reality:
Do they write or create in this space? (For The Thirteenth Circle, the space in question was speculative middle-grade fiction.)
Do they write books (or create other work) you enjoy and admire? (I loved MarcyKate’s debut middle-grade novel, Monstrous.)
Do you know each other? How well? (We were casual online writer-friends.)
Are they a good fit for this project? (She’d posted on social media about “The X-Files”!)
Do your creative personalities seem like a good match? (More on this below…)
Sometimes you can’t know what it will be like to work with someone until you’re actually working together, but there are still questions you can ask yourself before you reach out. For instance, do you seem to share a similar work ethic? What about your attitudes toward your creative process? Does their “author persona” (or other creative persona) vibe with yours? How do they interact with their readers? How do they interact with other creators? Are they known in the community as a “giver”—someone who’s generous—or as a “taker”—someone who’s only in it for themselves?
If you like another author’s work, but aren’t sure about them as a person, do you really want to team up? Working closely together requires an alignment of style and vision. The best possible outcome arises when everyone is equally invested.
I’m hoping to get to write more books with MarcyKate. We’ve already pitched sequels to The Thirteenth Circle to our editor! Fingers crossed you get to read those books one day. But even if that doesn’t happen, I would absolutely work with her again, on something totally new.
I picked the right partner: step one toward a successful collaboration.
Quick aside: maybe you’re coming at collaboration from a different angle. For example, maybe you already have a friend you know you want to partner with…but you don’t yet have an idea. In this case, I’d urge you to think again about matching the right project to this partnership. What do you and this friend have in common? Do you share certain interests or passions? Do your writing styles complement each other? How? What would allow you to each play to your strengths? Etc.
A collaboration should result in something more than either of you could have created on your own. Perhaps that more comes from distinct worldviews or writing styles. Perhaps your partner has ideas for the plot and characters that would never have occurred to you, which expands the whole project’s potential. Perhaps you simply push each other to be better. To work harder. To commit more fully to your craft.
If I’d written The Thirteenth Circle on my own, it wouldn’t be the same book. It needed MarcyKate’s voice. It may have been my idea at the start, but it became OUR book.
Not mine. Not hers.
Ours.
How exactly did that happen? The next few Fridays, I’ll break down some of the nuts and bolts of our process, from early brainstorms to drafting to editing—and beyond.
So stay tuned!
Also, if you’ve worked with other artists on creative projects and want to share how you chose your collaborators, please weigh in, in the comments!
Until next week…
~Kathryn