collaboration | The Creative Penn

5 Critical Mistakes of Author Collaborations And How to Avoid Them

June 2, 2017 by Joanna Penn 5 Comments

In March 2017, I got on a train in Chicago with J. Thorn, Lindsay Buroker, and Zach Bohannon. We headed south to New Orleans and within a week, we had the first draft of a novel, published a month later as American Demon Hunters: Sacrifice.

It was an amazing creative experience as well as an adventure, and I was only able to do it because I co-wrote Risen Gods with J. back in 2015 and I trust him.

I've learned so much from collaborating with other authors, and I am now incorporating co-writing with different people into my author business.

In today's article, J. Thorn goes through some of the mistakes of author collaborations and how to avoid them.

Although collaboration has been a creative mode in other arts, such as music and film, it is relatively new for novelists.

The process can be confusing and difficult, but also rewarding and fulfilling. After completing many collaborations (and failing at many as well), I’ve identified five critical mistakes that can kill a project…and ways you can avoid those traps.

1. Moving too fast

Beginning a collaboration is much like a marriage. Getting engaged on the first date is probably not a good idea. It makes sense to get to know somebody, especially in a professional environment. Beginning a project without knowing the other person is one of the most common mistakes collaborators make.

Most of my failed collaborations ended because I did not take the time to get to know the other person. We did not discuss our work styles, our preferences, or the things that we had in common or didn’t have in common. Often, the initial excitement of the collaboration will push things along too quickly. Ideas fly, and the excitement soars, but when the real work begins, people fall into their old habits. Knowing what those habits are and how they affect each writer can make a tremendous impact on whether or not the project is successful.

2. Lack of proper planning

One of the main lessons we learned from the American Demon Hunters collaboration in New Orleans was that we should have had a plan. Whether you’re are a pantser or a plotter, planning can be the difference between languishing in an unfinished project and publishing a book. Whether you call it an outline, story beats, or just rough ideas, having a plan will be instrumental in making sure all collaborators are on the same page.

When Joanna and I wrote Risen Gods, we wrote most of that story without a firm outline because there were only two of us and because I was reading what she wrote before I started my writing session on that day. With Joanna in Great Britain and me in the United States, I was always able to see where she was taking the story.

However, for most collaborations, that would be difficult to accomplish without proper planning. In New Orleans, the four of us had to stop mid-week and come up with a plan. It was simply too difficult for us to know what we were doing with the characters at any given time in the story. Ideally, spending time world building and outlining is going to clarify what everyone needs to write, and what each person's responsibilities will be.

Also, the same type of planning and preparation should be done on the marketing side so when the book is finished all collaborators are clear on what their role is in both the publishing phase and the marketing phase.

3. Underestimating how long it will take to finish

The collaboration will always take longer than you think it will. If you do not set firm deadlines for the project, you will almost certainly fall behind. Incremental deadlines, as well as a final publication deadline, will help hold everyone accountable. It is human nature to procrastinate. Therefore, not having a deadline will almost certainly stretch the project out further than it has to be.

Also, things will happen in a collaboration. There could be a technical problem, somebody could get sick, or the collaboration itself can just simply take longer than you have anticipated. Again, it is important to recognize that there will be a tremendous surge of energy at the beginning of the collaboration, but that will most certainly tail off as the hard work begins. Even solo writers call the second act of a novel the “soggy middle” because it's hard to maintain the energy and momentum you have both at the beginning of the writing process and at the end of it. And while it's hard to estimate how long it takes to publish something, if you set the deadlines further out then they need to be, and you hit them early, no one will ever complain.

4. Lack of communication

We all have egos. We are all human, and we have tendencies to want to control our environment. While this is natural, and certainly comes up in many collaborations, there is a way to get around this issue. Keeping a direct and open line of communication with your collaborators will almost certainly guarantee that you'll be able to handle roadblocks. This trust is usually born out of a prior relationship, and it is not something that just naturally happens with everyone.

Therefore, if you are friends with your collaborator or you have a professional relationship before starting the collaboration, you are much better suited to address any disagreements that may arise. It is also important to note that we cannot be inside the heads of our collaborators. It is your responsibility to let your collaborators know when something is troubling you or even when you're not feeling well. Having two or more people writing a single story is not an easy feat, and if you're not communicating during the process, you will end up with a lot of wasted time and wasted words.

5. No defined genre or outcome

Although you may think your collaborators agree about the genre of your project, you should not make that assumption. If you plan on marketing or selling your collaboration, you must address the issue of genre. It could be tempting to do a “mash up” of genres to appease all of the collaborators on the project. However, it will make it difficult for consumers to identify the product you want to sell them.

That is not to say that you cannot do genre crossovers or passion projects. However, you must realize that the way the marketplace is structured in 2017, especially on Amazon, it is difficult to sell a book that does not adhere to genre guidelines without a prior readership or fan base. And even fans of one author will not always buy the book. For example, Lindsay Buroker does not typically write in the horror or dark fantasy genre, and that made it an additional challenge selling the American Demon Hunters book to her core readership because it was not a genre her most rabid fans expected.

Collaboration is a risky venture even under the best circumstances. But creating great art is always a risk, and that should not stop you from making it. We learned a lot about ourselves and each other while in New Orleans working on American Demon Hunters: Sacrifice and I would do it again because the joint effort is always better than what could be accomplished alone.

J.F.Penn with J. Thorn in New Orleans

For writers: If you’re interested in a collaborative writers retreat, visit http://theauthorcopilot.com/retreat/ for more information.

You can also find our tips in Co-writing a Book: Collaboration and Co-creation for Writers

For readers: If you want more information about the product of our New Orleans collaboration, visit http://americandemonhunters.com/ for more information.

Have you ever collaborated with another author on a book project? Please leave your thoughts and experiences below and join the conversation.

J. Thorn is a bestselling horror writer and creator of Dark Arts Theater and the Horror Writers Podcast. J is also my co-author of Risen Gods, a dark fantasy/supernatural thriller.

How To Co-Write A Book. Collaboration And Co-Creation With J Thorn

November 9, 2015 by Joanna Penn 14 Comments

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:34:32 — 75.8MB)

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We all use a team when we self-publish – editors and cover designers, in particular. But co-writing a book is something quite different.

I've just co-written Risen Gods with J. Thorn and in today's interview/discussion, we talk about how the process worked, the challenges and what we learned along the way. We also produced a book about the process, Co-Writing a Book: Collaboration and Co-Creation for Writers.

In the intro, I talk about an update on my writing, plus my thoughts on an event with Seth Godin this week and Amazon's new physical bookstore. I announce that I'll be speaking in Denver at Digital Commerce Summit next Oct, which I am super excited about!

The corporate sponsorship for this show pays for hosting and transcription. This podcast episode is sponsored by 99 Designs, where you can get all kinds of designs for your author business including book covers, merchandising, branding and business cards, illustrations and artwork and much more. You can get a Powerpack upgrade which gives your project more chance of getting noticed by going to: 99Designs.com/joanna

J.F.Penn with J. Thorn in New Orleans

J. Thorn is a bestselling horror writer and creator of Dark Arts Theater and the Horror Writers Podcast. J is also my co-author of Risen Gods, a dark fantasy/supernatural thriller, and Co-Writing a Book: Collaboration and Co-Creation for Writers.

You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher, watch the video here or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.

On J's beginnings as a writer and his first few collaborative writing projects.

The benefits of accountability in co-writing.

The new cover of Risen Gods

The advantages of outlining when working with a collaborative partner. We both recommend The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne. Here's an interview with Shawn.

The challenges of co-writing including the need to compromise, which might not work for artists with a very specific vision, and the importance of working with a personality that is a good fit.

Knowing when to assert oneself in the partnership and when to pull back.

CLICK TO VIEW LARGE VERSION. Scrivener example. See right Inspector pane for polarity value shift and cliffhanger

The issues of trust and copyright that come up in a collaboration, including royalty splits.

Why writing experience matters when entering a collaborative project, as well as already having an established voice.

The importance of brand in a co-writing project and why it matters for each author that the co-written book be on-brand.

J's experience of the differences between working with men and women.

Leaning on the strengths of your co-writer.

The legal and practical decisions that need to be made before the project begins, including time-line, frequency and methods of communication. [Collaboration Agreement. Disclaimer: example only. This is not any kind of legal advice!]

How Scrivener helped in the collaborative process.

The lessons learned from co-writing failures and the psychological and emotional challenges of co-writing.

You can find J's books, Dark Arts Theater and the Horror Podcast at JThorn.net and on twitter @jthorn_

You can find our book on Co-Writing on all ebook stores:

The Self-Publishing Revolution Is Only Just Beginning. Reflections On My Stockholm Trip

September 21, 2014 by Joanna Penn 47 Comments

I spent a couple of days in Stockholm last week, and did three events in just over 24 hours for Lava Forlag, meeting authors at all stages of the journey. Here are my reflections on my time there.

Flying into Stockholm

The indie revolution is expanding… and it is incredibly exciting to see the light dawning in people’s eyes.

The Swedish publishing industry is still in the old traditional, print dominated way of doing things right now. Ebooks haven’t taken off yet, Amazon hasn’t opened its .se store and authors are still focused on the route of agents and publishers to reach readers.

I was told that the biggest publishers are integrated with the media companies – in the same way as Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp owning Harper Collins, the Fox Network, The Times and the Wall Street Journal.

When big media owns all the publishing channels, there is little chance for the independent voice against such established behemoths. But change is coming …

I was asked to Stockholm by the lovely Kristina Svensson, an indie author who sees the digital future coming to Sweden in the next few years. I spoke to the audience of authors about my reality, the world I live in, where authors are writing what they want, publishing what they want, and in many cases, making a decent living from their words.

In my world, authors sell books globally, in ebook, print and audiobook format, they are paid monthly and they have creative freedom and control over timing – all without a publisher.

Speaking passionately in Stockholm. Photo Credit: Petra Rolinec, www.8tiesbaby.com

When I spoke at a packed gallery space in downtown Stockholm on Monday night, I saw the light dawning in some people’s eyes at the possibilities.

Some of those authors saw their future in my current existence – and that is truly exciting.

We take for granted our incredible reality these days and it’s only by stepping outside, to those places where the change hasn’t come yet, that we can really appreciate how far we have come.

I didn’t enter this author life via the traditional publishing route. As a business woman and an entrepreneur, I only pursued this author route when it became a viable business option as a self-publisher.

Embracing the indie way was natural for me, as someone who doesn’t like asking permission, who has no patience with waiting, and no love for power imbalance.

I have stopped speaking at events where the industry tries to cut authors down to size, where they negate creativity and try to crush us back into the box where they once controlled the rules. I don’t want to speak to groups that aren't delighted at the explosion of expression that is happening now.

I don’t want to argue with people who don’t see my way of life as a valid choice. I don’t try to convince people that going indie is fantastic anymore. I only want to speak to those who are keen to learn about the new ways of being a creative in this exciting digital world.

Entrepreneurs create new things out of their heads – and the world we live in right now embraces entrepreneurs. It worships Silicon Valley startups. Well, we’re entrepreneurs too.

Writers are artists and creatives and entrepreneurs, just as the painter, the sculptor, the dancer, the dressmaker – and anyone who creates new things in the world.

Entrepreneurs don’t wait for permission, they try new things, they fail, they pivot, they keep going in the face of criticism.

The next big opportunity: Joint ventures with other creative professionals

Stockholm Old City

One of the sessions I did in Stockholm was a lunchtime seminar on “How to sell more books.” As none of the authors who were present actually self-published direct on KDP, discussions on metadata and keywords fell on rather confused ears. So I started with what seemed to me like the biggest issue.

There are 9 million people who speak Swedish. There are over 400 million who speak English. If you want to sell more books, then they need to be in English. Luckily, Swedes mostly speak excellent English but they still need help with translation and editing. I had the most number of questions about how this would be possible without paying half a years salary to a translator.

Here’s what you have to consider: the world has changed!!

Not just for you, but for everyone involved in the publishing industry. Editors and cover designers, who were laid off from big publishers, now happily freelance for indie authors. Many of them continue to work for traditional publishing, well as freelancing on the side.

In the same way, translators are discovering the joy of working in collaboration with authors. For years, they have been undervalued by publishers, treated as ‘workers’ rather than creatives in their own right. I’ve now partnered with six translators and I can tell you, translation is an art, it’s definitely a creative process.

You don’t have to follow the rules anymore. In fact, there are no rules!

Joanna Penn with Cas Blomberg, fantasy author, in Stockholm. Photo Credit: Petra Rolinec, www.8tiesbaby.com

I’m about to start working with a Portuguese translator, who has books of his own in a genre similar to my ARKANE series. He wants to translate mine alongside his, so together, we can mutually promote, and it will be quicker to have more books out if he translates at the same time as writing his own. He’s currently working on Terry Pratchett’s books – and we’re doing a 50:50% royalty split, as I have done with all my translators.

This is only possible in a world where creatives just try stuff, take risks and ‘play' together.

Other creative industries do this very well – look at musicians and dancers, film-makers, actors – most other creative industries collaborate in every work. Authors seem to default to timidity. They say “but I can’t do that .. no one would work with me.” Really? Have you actually tried asking?

Collaboration is a (not so secret) weapon for indies. When you own your own rights, you can do anything you like.

You can put 12 books in a box-set and together, you can hit the New York Times and the USA Today bestseller lists. You can co-write with multiple different authors. You can write a single book with multiple authors. You can do promotions together. You can write books that feature each others’ worlds. You can do anything you like when you own the rights. Other creative professionals work together collaboratively. It’s time for authors to do the same. Try asking and see what happens.

Stop waiting, stop asking, stop begging to be picked. Embrace the opportunities in front of you. Create!

Photo credit: Petra Rolinec,www.8tiesbaby.com

Why Indie Authors Need A Team

April 16, 2014 by Joanna Penn 13 Comments

People often ask me about how to be a successful indie author, or what's the best way of marketing. I seem to be replying in the same vein every time these days – it's all about collaboration and about personal relationships.

I have a team of people I work with in my business. I have editors, a cover designer, an interior book designer, a graphic artist, a transcriber, a book-keeper, outsourced contractors for specific projects, a creative mentor, a community of twitter & blog friends and many more. Without these, I would not be able to do what I do. This is also why I self-identify as an indie author, NOT as self-published, as I am far from doing it all myself these days.

Today, author Bruce McCabe reiterates the importance of concentrating on people. His indie-published debut novel, ‘Skinjob,’ has just been acquired in a two-book deal with Random House.

I’ve been privileged to spent most of the last twenty years hanging out with people vastly smarter than myself – inventors, mavericks, scientists and innovators. Here’s a lesson from these wonderful people that I’ve found helpful on the writing journey:

It’s always about the who.

By which they mean the most important success factor in Silicon Valley is not the earth-shattering idea, nor the technology, nor money, nor access to resources, nor a myriad of other things, it is the composition of that core group of people, often very small, who truly believe in a goal and are emotionally dedicated to bringing it to fruition. Good teams care. They roll up their sleeves and get things done, take bad ideas and remake them into something worthwhile, find resources where there are none. When good teams fail they pick up the pieces and start over. Good teams, eventually, break through.

The corollary being: put most of your time into getting the who right and the rest falls into place.

People are your best investment.

Deadly Dozen Hits The NY Times and USA Today Lists. Lessons Learned From The Box-Set

March 17, 2014 by Joanna Penn 38 Comments

OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn

I'm extremely excited to announce that ‘Deadly Dozen,’ the thriller/mystery box-set I am part of, hit the New York Times Bestseller list as well as the USA Today Bestseller list for the second week running!

It’s #13 for fiction E-book bestsellers and #19 for combined print and ebook, plus it’s also now ranking #42 on the USA Today list, up from last week. That’s a writing dream achieved!

I’m now a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, along with the other fantastic authors in The Twelve: Diane Capri, J. Carson Black, Joshua Graham, Cheryl Bradshaw, Allan Leverone, M.A. Comley, Aaron Patterson, Carol Davis Luce, Vincent Zandri, Linda S. Prather, and Michele Scott.

We also had a brilliant publishing partner in Phoenix Sullivan from Steel Magnolia Press who wrangled us into a team and coordinated the publishing side.

Thank you so much to everyone who bought the book and joined in the promotion. And if you’d like to read 12 bestselling mystery/thrillers for a great price, you can still buy the book from all ebook stores, or read more about it here.

Here are my lessons learned from the experience:

5 Critical Mistakes of Author Collaborations And How to Avoid Them