6 Essentials for Co-authoring a Book

Tonight, I launch my third book!

Over the past couple months, I've written about a collaborative project--what I've learned from co-writing a novel with author, Christine Steendam. I'm very pleased to say we finished The High-Maintenance Ladies of the Zombie Apocalypse. Think The Walking Dead meets Sex and the City. We had it published and ready to go by our goal--Central Canada Comic Con weekend. We did some pre-launch sales at the con, so there are a few people out there who already have the book in their hands. But, tonight is the official launch. I can now look back on this completed project and tell you what I've learned.

Essentials for co-authoring a book:

1. Communication. The ability to convey ideas, especially during the outlining process is essential. No one can read minds, so if communication is poor there are bound to be upsets.
   
2. Flexibility. As with any novel, sometimes the story can go in a direction you did not anticipate, and this is compounded by more than one creative brain on the project. You must be able to roll with changes and adapt. 
3. Openness. This runs alongside communication. If you're afraid to be open about how you feel about story ideas, especially talking to your partner about an area of the book that needs to change, this would be a tough process. You must be open to sharing your thoughts and hearing your partner's thoughts in return.
   
4. Drive. We had a goal and were both driven to meet that goal. Because our drive to finish the book matched, we were able to work well together. Had one of us been more driven than the other, it might have caused problems.
5. Trust. I trusted that when I sent a piece off to my partner, she was working on her piece without prompting from me. I trusted my partner completely, which minimized stress.
6. A good editor. With two different people writing, we found there were multiple continuity errors. Thank goodness for editors! He caught those errors and brought them to our attention, while at the same time allowing us each our voices.
   

Now, on to collaborative marketing, but that's a blog post for another day.

Get your copy here: THE HIGH-MAINTENANCE LADIES OF THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

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Melinda Friesen writes novels for teens, but her alter-ego, Melinda Marshall, writes zombie fiction for grown-ups who still like to have fun.

Collaborative Project: Rough Draft is Complete, So Now What?

Over the past few months, I've been working on a collaborative project with fellow author, Christine Steendam. We come from very different backgrounds in terms of our writing and styles--she writes western romances and historical novels, while I write speculative teen fiction.

We've now completed a rough draft of our top-secret project, a novella different from anything either of us has ever written. We did a little happy dance last week when the final chapter was completed on our rough draft.

But, now what? Do we go in and start editing each other's work? Both of us edit for others professionally, so we're on equal footing in that regards. But, as I stated, this is a rough draft. I really hate anyone seeing my rough drafts, which was probably the hardest part of this whole endeavor--knowing that she'll be reading that primordial ooze that passes for my rough draft.

After some discussion, we decided on our process:

1. We will go through the document and work on a second draft of our own passages. 
2. Once both of our passages are brought up to second draft status, we'll edit each other's work. 
3. After revisions, we'll send it off to an outside editor.
4. Once the editor's changes are employed, we will each take a turn doing a copy edit.
5. When we feel it's ready, it'll go into format and from there each of us will do a proofread.

Because of the novella's genre and target audience, we plan to independently publish it, which will be a new venture for me as well.

So far, working collaboratively with another author has been a ton of fun and a great experience. Once the project is complete, I'll share what I've learned.

Have you ever co-written a novel? What sorts of challenges did you face? Do you have any great advice for me? I'd love to hear it.

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Melinda Friesen writes novels for teens and is the marketing director at Rebelight Publishing Inc. Her YA dystopian novel, Enslavement has been shortlisted for a Willow Award. Enslavement's sequel, Subversion, is slated for a September launch.