Book Collaboration FAQ

The answer is obvious if you know your prose can't do justice to your ideas. But what if your friends and colleagues admire your writing? Say you've written for trade magazines or technical journals. Maybe you've published an academic book or articles. Do you really need to work with a writer?

Maybe not. But realize that a popular book requires a different writing style. Also, commercial publishing involves expertise beyond word craft, such as knowing how to find an agent and how to present a book idea effectively in this competitive marketplace.

For example, when I work with an expert who doesn't yet have an agent, I arrange for us to meet with several agents who would be appropriate for our book. In part because I'm selective about the experts I collaborate with - and in part because I can write strong book proposals - five of my six books have received six-figure advances. My experience and connections are also useful after the book is published, when the focus turns to marketing.

If you'd rather work on your own, start by learning about the profession. For a quick overview, have a look at So, You Want to Write a Book! elsewhere on this website. Read the recommended books and check out the links. Join a writers' organization and attend classes and workshops. Develop a track record as a commercial writer by submitting articles to popular publications.

All this probably sounds like a lot of work - and indeed it is. Do you have the time to develop a second profession as a writer? Is this the best use of your energies? If not, collaborating with a writer might make more sense.

If you're an expert with a high profile in your profession, a writer might find you. I contacted Miriam Nelson of Tufts University after reading an article she wrote for the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA); we subsequently collaborated on three books.

A writer might interview you for a magazine or newspaper article, and then ask if you've thought about writing a book. Peggy McCarthy, a patient advocate who was a source for two magazine articles I wrote about lung cancer, later called me with a book idea and we became coauthors.

Sometimes experts are contacted by someone in publishing - an agent, an editor, or a book packager - who sees a potential book idea in their work. Any of these people can recommend writers.

Another approach is to look for a writer yourself. Go to a bookstore and browse through books similar to the one you'd like to write. Look at the bylines and read the acknowledgments. Also check magazines and newspapers for popular articles on your subject. When you've gathered some names, plug them into Google or another search engine. Many writers have websites, so it's easy to find them and learn more about their work.

You can also find a collaborator through writers' organizations. For example, the American Society of Journalists and Authors has a writer referral service and a searchable database of their members; the National Writers Union has a job hotline.

Relevant experience is valuable in every profession, including writing. The ideal co-author is someone with experience writing collaborative books on a subject similar to yours for the same target audience as your book. A writer with an excellent track record is not only more likely to do a good job, but will also be an asset when selling the project to a publisher.

Check references. Ask the writer if you can call experts with whom he or she has worked in the past.

Get together and talk about your project. Do the two of you communicate well? Does the writer ask intelligent questions? Understand your answers? Offer good suggestions? Personal compatibility counts too. Collaborators work closely over the time required to write a book.

Definitely! Before you begin working with a writer, both of you should sign a collaboration agreement. This is true even if you decide to write your book with a friend. The collaboration agreement covers the following:

- Description of each person's responsibilities
- Monetary issues, including compensation and expenses
- Credit, copyright, and control
- Provisions for the unexpected and the unpleasant

For information on collaboration agreements, see the following books, all of which include other valuable information for writers:

- The Writer's Legal Companion: The Complete Handbook for the Working Writer, Third Edition, by Brad Bunnin and Peter Beren (Perseus, 1998)

- The Writer's Legal Guide: An Authors Guild Desk Reference, Third Edition, by Tad Crawford and Kay Murray (Allworth Press, 2002)

- Business and Legal Forms for Authors and Self-Publishers, Revised Edition, by Tad Crawford (Allworth Press, 2000).

You might also ask an agent, literary lawyer, or a writers' organization for advice.

The American Society of Journalists and Authors collects data on collaborative splits from its members. Their reports indicate that the single most common arrangement is for the writer and expert to split the advance and royalties 50-50. But these deals are negotiated individually. Variations in both directions are common.

Even with a 50-50 split, specifics differ. For example, the writer - who usually must live on the proceeds, while the expert normally has other professional income - might receive a greater share of the advance, while the expert collects first royalties to make up the difference.

In most cases the writer receives an up-front fee for writing the book proposal; this ranges from a minimum of $3,000 up to $10,000 and much more. Sometimes the fee is considered an advance against money earned from the book, but not always. All financial arrangements should be spelled out in a written collaboration agreement before work begins.

Credit is determined by mutual agreement. When peers collaborate on a book, they may flip a coin to decide whose name comes first. I receive a "with" byline on the jackets of coauthored books, signaling that the expert is the lead author. My expert collaborator's name is printed first and in larger type. Similarly, the description of the expert that's printed on the book jacket flap, is longer than the description of me and may include a photo, which mine doesn't. By the way, all these details are spelled out in our collaboration agreements.

Some experts prefer not to credit the writer. But I'm proud of my books and would hesitate to collaborate with someone who was unwilling to acknowledge my work.

This too is negotiated. I normally share copyright with my collaborators.

Co-authors work in many different ways. Sometimes the writer does all the writing; sometimes the expert produces the first draft and the writer polishes - and those are just two examples. Part of the challenge of collaborating is devising a congenial and effective process.

Some collaborators prefer to meet in person; others work via email or telephone. Often, there's a combination. For example, at the beginning of my collaboration with Rick Bradley, I traveled to Washington DC, where he works, for a two-day meeting to plan our book, Quick Fit. After that, telephone conferences and emails sufficed. In my experience, distance is not an obstacle to successful collaboration.

Have a look at my chapter about collaborations in The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing: A Professional Guide to the Business for Non-Fiction Writers of All Experience Levels, edited by Tim Harper for the American Society of Journalists and Authors (St. Martin's Press, 2003).

Or contact me - sarah@sarahwernick.com - and I'll try to answer.