Harnessing the Power of Coauthoring

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From Writers Helping Writers:

I always knew coauthoring had benefits – half the workload, and twice the platform to launch from are the obvious bonuses. Sure, you have to split your royalties, but you also share the costs. But I had reservations (how do you allocate who writes what? What if you don’t like each other’s ideas or writing?), so it was relegated to something other authors did.

Until a fellow author approached me, asking me to cowrite an urban fantasy series. I was nervous. I was intrigued. I asked some questions. I hesitantly agreed. Not long later, I approached another author friend wondering if we should do the same with an idea I had percolating. One that felt like it could be far better served if it was molded and cultivated by more than just one mind.

And so my coauthoring journey began.

And it’s been such a delightful adventure that it sparked the very words you’re reading. With a highly successful dystopian series (which may or may not have interest to option the film rights…), and a twelve book urban fantasy series releasing next year, I discovered the benefits of sharing the writing and marketing process. 

. . . .

At this stage, Amazon only allows authors to publish under a single name. That means one person from your writing duo (or trio, or septuplet if you’re feeling ambitious!) will be publishing your books on their KDP dashboard. It will be their role (aka headache) to split the royalties each month for the lifetime of your books. 

What’s more, another writer is going to see your work at varying stages of draft (personally, this was a challenge for my perfectionism tendencies). If I didn’t trust my coauthors to be positive and constructive, it would’ve been a much more difficult process. 

Ask yourself:

• Who will be publishing the books? How will you report earnings and costs? 
• Do you feel the feedback you’d be getting is valuable? Do you think it strengthens your writing?
• Are you willing to be tied to this author for the life of your books? 

. . . .

In the same way you’ll need differences and contrasts with your coauthor/s, you’re going to need similarities because these commonalities will be the foundation for your writing endeavors. A shared passion for the story concept and its characters. A desire to see your books succeed, even when life gets busy or the kids get sick. Ultimately, writing a book takes dedication and hard work. If you’re writing a series, then the workload and timeframes just multiplied. 

Link to the rest at Writers Helping Writers

PG read the article hoping he would see one word – contract.

Actually, two words – written contract, followed by by four more words – signed by all authors.

Partnerships, joint working arrangements, etc., can be wonderful as the OP indicates.

However,

• Somebody’s gonna die first
• Somebody’s gonna die second and the copyright to the jointly-written book will continue on and on
• Some delightfully normal people have weird heirs
• Not all relationships, working, marital, etc., endure over the long run
• Any lawsuit costs more than any agreement between two writers
• Even a slow lawyer is likely to finish a partnership agreement much sooner than a fast litigator can finish a lawsuit