Many art forms would barely exist if it weren’t for collaboration. In music, there’s Lennon & McCartney, Simon & Garfunkel, Bacharach & David, Gilmour & Waters. In film, there are The Coen Brothers, The Wachowskis, Scorsese & De Niro. There’s even Gilbert & George in art, and Warhol famously worked with a team of artists to build his notorious portfolio.
However, we often consider writing a solitary pursuit. But if collaboration in other art forms is so well-established and fruitful, why can’t collaborative writing work?
This article will pick apart the myth that writing is a vocation of the loner, exploring how two heads can be better than one. We’ll examine the pros and cons of collaborative writing and investigate the relationship between writer, ghostwriter, and editor.
Ready? Let’s go!
Are there any famous author collaborations?
There’s a surprisingly extensive list of books written by two or more authors, and we will explore some of the ways they have worked together.
Some of the most well-known author collaborations include:
- Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Burrows
- All the President’s Men, by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward
- Mad Honey, by Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan
- The Talisman, by Stephen King & Peter Straub
- All Fall Down, by Mark Edwards & Louise Voss
You might be surprised by some of the names in that list because some are extremely well-known authors like Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, and Jodi Picoult.
So, if some of the bigwigs in the creative writing world are collaborating, maybe there’s something in it. If you haven’t considered working with another writer (or a ghostwriter), this article might convince you it’s a good idea.
What type of collaborative writing partnerships are there?
One of the most common writing collaborations is between the writer and editor (or agent). This can be one of the most fruitful relationships because:
Writing is a solitary pursuit
The editor is the first audience your new piece of writing receives. So, their response to the work is likely to be similar to the reader’s reaction.
A great editor wants the writing to be as tight and direct as possible, which can be challenging to achieve when you’re sitting alone at your laptop. Having an external set of eyes is a precious asset for a writer if they have any hope of writing the next big bestseller.
A writer isn’t always right
While this is a controversial statement to make, there are times when writers can write themselves into a corner with no idea how to get out of it. And that chaos is likely to reflect on the page. If you have a big story to tell, it can be challenging to get it onto the page in a logical fashion.
Try explaining your latest story. If you spend twenty minutes describing the story’s shape and find that you’re confusing even yourself, there’s a strong chance that the story you’re trying to tell is a little opaque.
Collaborating with someone else, such as another writer or an editor, can help bring clarity to overly complex plots.
How do writers work together?
Consider those joyful (occasionally painful) hours locked away in your office crafting your masterpiece. You might wonder how having another person around might help.
Surely, someone else in this relationship will only cause conflict and complications. Well, not necessarily.
Finnian Burnett and Andrew Buckley have been working together on a series of novels called Queer Tales of Shakespearean Proportions. Finnian explains how writing with Andrew helps them maintain their focus because each relies on the other to ensure the work gets done. Working together provides both of them with an ongoing deadline. While they don’t always work in the same room together, they do rely on their two-way feedback loop to keep the work on track.
Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman worked together on a range of projects, including the novel they wrote together, Good Omens. The project started with Gaiman’s idea to write a story about a demonic baby swap gone wrong. He wrote the first five thousand words and then sent them to Pratchett for feedback. Eventually, Pratchett got back to him, telling him he knew where the story should go, and wrote the next five thousand words. And from there, the to-and-fro writing of the book was underway. They wrote the first complete draft within nine weeks, during which time they had lots of long phone calls, reading their ideas to each other. They rewrote each other’s work and threw extra characters in as curveballs. And eventually, they came up with Good Omens.
Pros of collaborative writing
Working with one or more other writers can help the writing process in a range of ways:
- Adds structure: Perhaps you work in the room together. Maybe you don’t. Either way, knowing that someone is waiting for your input helps bring structure to your creative day.
- Instant feedback: It’s easy to crawl into a tangent and find yourself lost on the page. Your co-writer can help keep you from writing yourself into a tricky corner or straying too wildly off track.
- Discussion: It’s difficult to overstate the value of debate when developing and fine-tuning a creative idea. Two people are more likely to identify flaws and weaknesses in the central idea and are more likely to find a workable solution.
- It’s social: While you’re there to work rather than socialize, working collaboratively means there’s someone to talk to when you have a break. Solitary work can be lonely, after all.
- Slows down the writing process: This might sound counter-intuitive, but collaboration requires conversation, planning, and revision. And that can benefit a creative piece, ensuring your content is compelling and convincing.
Cons of collaborative writing
While there are lots of positives for collaborative projects, there are always drawbacks. It’s good to be aware of them before you enter into an agreement.
The cons of collaborative writing include:
- Conflict: There’s always potential for disagreement within a writing partnership. Small disgruntlements can quickly escalate into full-blown, project-breaking disagreements. Always ensure there’s an open policy on discussion, and make some ground rules before your project begins (read on for more info).
- Quality control: While two heads can be better than one, it can be difficult to control the work’s quality if there’s an inconsistency in style. Again, establishing guidelines from the start can help. Be sure to decide on the project’s tone before the writing begins.
- It can take longer: This is both a pro and a con. It can slow down the process, ensuring better quality, but working at someone else’s pace can also be a little frustrating.
- Privacy: When you work with a co-author or ghostwriter, you may find yourself disclosing intimate details about your own life experience. So, trust is an essential element of the process. It’s a good idea to start with a written agreement that safeguards each other’s information and personal security.
What is it like to work with a ghostwriter?
Not everyone has the time or expertise to bring an idea for a book to fruition. And in those cases, they hire a ghostwriter to do the legwork. The ghostwriter establishes the client’s intent through interviews and meetings and creates a written work to reflect that.
But ghostwriting isn’t only about using someone else’s ideas and putting words on the page. Indeed, in successful ghostwriting collaborations, the ghostwriter offers insight, helping clarify the original idea that the client might not have achieved independently.
Having a ghostwriter allows the client to articulate and clarify their thoughts, often through the interview process.
How does collaborative writing work?
The word “collaborative” perhaps implies that writers would work together at all stages of the process, but in practice, it sometimes demands individual work. And while each project might necessitate a different approach, there are three critical stages: planning, drafting, and revising.
Stage 1: Planning a collaborative project
You might be a planner or a pantser. Either way, it’s crucial to make meticulous plans when working collaboratively. This is an excellent opportunity to assign roles, discuss logistics, and define the essential project elements. It’s also the best time to agree on what should be written and how you’ll do the actual writing.
The planning process is particularly important if your project involves more than two writers. This helps prevent work duplication and helps define the project’s “voice.”
As well as assigning roles, deciding who will follow up on missed deadlines is a good idea. And remember to agree on how the work will be credited.
Stage 2: Drafting your project
Most writing projects require revision after the first draft, so consider the first stage of the writing “drafting” rather than “writing.” It might seem like the same thing, but drafting implies an impermanence. The first writing stage is finding a starting point—something you expect to develop.
At this point in the process, you’ll decide whether you’re going to write individually or together.
Writing together
If you’re working together, you’ll likely craft each sentence in partnership. You might be in the same room or online. While it sounds a little painstaking to work like this, it can ensure that the work is well-researched, reasoned, and balanced, especially if you’re writing something that might be confusing for a reader.
Writing comedy collaboratively can be an excellent way to gauge whether a joke or a sequence is funny. If only one of you laughs, then consider fine-tuning it. If you both laugh, it could be a good sign!
Writing individually
Some writing projects work best when writers plan together but complete the first draft apart. So, this is a good option for writers who balk at the idea of writing with someone else in the room.
Writing individually is also worth considering if you’re writing in a team; especially if people’s daily schedules clash. Additionally, having too many voices in the room at the drafting stage can be distracting.
Stage 3: Revising your work
You probably know the adage: writing is rewriting. Often, the first draft comes relatively quickly, and the real work comes with the edits. This is where a collaboration can be a particularly effective setup because the piece receives an outside eye before it ever gets onto a producer or agent’s desk.
You might go through line-by-line, revising the content at a sentence level. Or you might consider the global structure, perhaps taking it apart and putting it together again.
This can help those who struggle to receive feedback. While it might initially sound like hell to receive early feedback, you’re offering feedback on each other’s work, which can normalize the process for both of you.
Keeping things on track
In revision, you’ll work together to create a draft that satisfies your project’s objectives, often more precisely than if you were to work alone.
Revisions require conversations and democratic decisions, although one of you should take the lead for the final say. Note, you should decide who will have the final say at different stages before you start. Again, you might revise together or individually—although together will probably speed up the process more effectively.
Remember, verbal feedback is often less open to interpretation than feedback on the page, which can come across as abrasive if you’re not careful with the wording.
Recommendations for effective collaborative writing
Whether you’re working as named authors or collaborating with a ghostwriter, it’s essential to establish the ground rules before the project begins.
Establish the project rules
This comes down to effective planning. However, before the planning stage begins, it’s a good idea to establish the rules of working right from the start. This will help each writer feel comfortable contributing, discussing, and revising the work confidently without bruising any egos.
Your duo or group will likely experience creative friction at times—it’s almost inevitable. So, it’s essential to determine how you’ll overcome those conflicts early on in the process.
For example, decide who will manage the project timeline and determine your approach if one of the writers can’t meet deadlines. Consider how you might adjudicate creative disagreements—who has the final say, or do you drop an idea if you can’t agree?
Work to your strengths
Part of the rule-making process relies on understanding each other’s strengths. Perhaps one of you is particularly diplomatic and able to handle tricky negotiations with agents or editors. Maybe one of you is a faster typist.
Consider how you can pool your strengths together. Otherwise, those strengths could become a project weakness.
Be prepared for discussion
Collaborative projects collapse without open discussions. So, expect plenty of talking, and don’t worry if they occasionally escalate into arguments. Disagreements are often driven by creative passion, so be prepared for some passionate discussions and know when to compromise.
Have regular check-ins
If you don’t work in the same room, plan regular meetings away from your desk, even if those meetings are online. And while there can be nothing worse than having too many meetings, it can be helpful to have regular catch-ups. This helps address issues before they escalate into problems.
Use an application designed for collaboration
It can get confusing if you’re emailing multiple versions of Word documents to-and-fro. Consider using a word processing application built for live collaboration, like Google Docs. Or use co-authoring in MS Word or collaboration mode with Apple Pages to ensure that you’re working from the same live document.
While you might choose not to work simultaneously on the document, using a live writing platform means that the writer and editor are always working from the most recent version.
How Relay Publishing works with ghostwriters
Relay Publishing has published hundreds of books over the past decade, most of which have been produced collaboratively. We bring ghostwriters together with editors to create the type of fiction people love reading.
And we pride ourselves on bringing out the best in our creative teams. Our countless top-selling publications are a testament to our belief that working together makes great things happen.
So, if you’re a writer looking for a ghostwriting project or an editor looking to work with great writers on exciting projects, we’re listening. And we’d love to hear from you!
Find out more about Relay Publishing, and get in touch. It could be the start of a beautiful new relationship