Comments on: Two heads are better than one..

By: Sean Kennedy « ~Semplici emozioni~

Sean Kennedy « ~Semplici emozioni~ — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:30:15 +0000

[...] Two heads are better than one… in three Dollar Bill Reviews [...]

By: Cary

Cary — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:52:34 +0000

You may have touched the key there about friendship. The one person that I collaborated with off and on for a couple of years was a close friend. All the others were single project and now let’s move on experiences. And my dear friend was the only one I ever had the nerve to suggest a rule with, the one exclamation point per page rule. Co-authors definitely need a level of trust and good will that allows real back and forth.

By: Kassa

Kassa — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:48:18 +0000

LOL I hear you! When I work with others it’s never as natural or as easy. Well in a professional working sense. Apparently a key ingredient here is to work with a close friend. I didn’t realize these authors were mostly friends -first- then started writing. I’d think that’s a double edged sword vs just another author but it works for them. That kind of friendship would have to stand criticism, which makes me even more impressed.

I think I’m with you on this Cary

By: Kassa

Kassa — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:46:22 +0000

Thanks Kris! Nicely the authors all returned their responses right away (only had to wait on your friend Sean.. *taps foot* hehe).

I think the process is just really interesting and I always wonder how they do it. So it was really great to get a peek into their brains.

By: Kassa

Kassa — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:45:28 +0000

I agree! I had mixed feelings about the first D&D but I love the authors so can’t wait for the next one.

By: Cary

Cary — Mon, 17 May 2010 00:34:49 +0000

This was really interesting. I’ve always been curious about others writing in collaboration. As a reader, if it works, I’m happy. As someone who has collaborated professionally in writing (not fiction), I’ve had good and bad experiences in collaboration. I remember establishing a rule with one co-author that there could be no more than one exclamation point per page. LOL Usually, I handled it by splitting up sections between me and my co-authors, which was sometimes rather jarring when time came to paste the whole thing together (as with a plethora of exclamation points versus none). So, I’m impressed when two authors can create a unified work. It was fun to see how easy these authors make it sound. They must be much nicer people than I am.

By: Kris

Kris — Sat, 15 May 2010 23:15:09 +0000

When I come across a really good co-authored piece, the ability of the writers to collaborate to produce something so seamless amazes me. Similarly, whenever interviews or questions are asked on this topic, I’m always fascinated by the process. As an ‘outsider’ it just seems like it would be a really hard thing to do.

Great post, Kassa, and thanks to the authors for their contributions. Very interesting.

PS – I think you might have gathered that, yes, I read co-authored books.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 14 May 2010 23:02:49 +0000

hehe. Spiritual tea. Sean is pretty funny. I am so looking forward to the next Dash and Dingo!

By: Kassa

Kassa — Fri, 14 May 2010 18:27:16 +0000

Thanks for commenting!
I’ve read both of those examples you’ve given and thats why I think author partnerships are so interesting. Sometimes I get whiplash with the head hopping and sometimes it’s so seamless I can’t tell who wrote what.

Sometimes I read a book and there are chapters that really don’t work for me and then chapters that are fabulous. I can’t really tell why but all I could come up with is one of the authors clearly doesn’t work for me. But which one? lol.

I was really tickled and pleased the authors made an effort to explain how their partnerships work and was a lot of fun. Mini-interviews as it were.

By: Tam

Tam — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:51:39 +0000

I am always amazed by authors who can co-write because I’m really not sure how it would work logistically. I’m like Sean, I think linearly, I start at the beginning and go to the end. Hopping around in time would make me berserk. LOL

I read a book years ago by two authors and it was the first I’d read (that actually listed two authors, I know some use a combined pen name so you don’t realize it) but it was like one author wrote the first 100 pages and then boom, the second author took over and it was totally obvious and brutal. So the first time I read and m/m by two authors that actually sounded cohesive I was shocked and tickled pink.

I salute authors who do it successfully because I’m pretty sure it’s not as easy and fun as they made it seem in these questions, at least not for everyone.

Oh the question, do I like co-authored pieces? Sure. I don’t care, one author or two, whatever. Great piece.