How to Collaborate on a Tween Book

The author's cybersurfer books were collaborations, with each partner writing alternate chapters.

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Writing is generally considered to be a solitary occupation, but it does not have to be. Collaborative writing can often lead to books that are richer and more complex than those produced by individuals. However, writing with others may make the writing task more complex. But writing with a partner is not as easy as choosing your favorite author and inviting them to jump into your fictional world. You need to set a few ground rules in mind before you jump in alongside another creative mind.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Writing tools such as phone, email or web-based collaboration software

Step1

Agree on the writing objectives. Decide who will be responsible for writing each portion of the story or novel. Will you write this together? Will it be during phone conferences, in person or through Internet chats? Will each person write a chapter at a time? Will one partner do most of the writing and the other partner do clean up and any rewrites that the story requires?

Step2

Set a timeline for writing each portion of the book. When one member of the team falls behind, it can be frustrating for the other to wait until they catch up. Alternatively, working too far ahead of the deadline can be just as frustrating as lagging behind. This must be a joint effort.

Step3

Any editing or alteration of the manuscript or characters should be agreed upon up front by both authors. Integrate the components of book project so that it reads like a coherent whole. Allow extra time to assemble and integrate the components.

Step4

Decide in advance who has control of the finished work, who will be responsible for marketing the work and where. Choose who will find an agent, editor or publisher for the book.

Tips & Warnings

Have a written agreement for how payment for the novel will be divided. This should be decided up front and before any writing is done. If this can't be agreed upon then there is no point to writing together. You won't be able to market the work without a legal battle.
Writing with a partner isn't suited to everyone. If you are the type of writer who needs to control every aspect of your writing and don't want to share your plotlines or characters then you probably may not be able to work successfully with another writer. If you find it difficult to accept suggestions and changes to your work, then working with a partner may be more frustrating than rewarding.