Let’s face it. Writing is a lonely business. Pairing up with a writing buddy can be mutually satisfying and make your job easier. James Patterson has done this recently with Honeymoon, and Fourth of July, and may be a trend for authors who don’t need the money and enjoy writing with others. Many “how to” books are written by at least two authors: the Dummies series and Chicken Soup are two books you might have heard of.

I’d like to discuss with you an exciting project that grew out of a group coaching class on leading product and process groups for people and organizations. Our lab was brainstorming on providing information on retirement that would be serious, but fun and humorous. Come on now—how can one make retirement interesting? It’s like taxes and death: everyone will eventually come to terms with retirement. But the question begs: retirement from what? This got the group going until we were laughing like little children who had just come upon a stalled ice cream truck.

Here’s what I see are the advantages of book collaboration:

• It divides and conquers providing less work for everyone
• It allows expertise and interest to dictate who will do what
• Critiques are more palatable in that there’s an equal time investment
• Experience being more diverse allows for more creativity
• It’s more fun sharing work
• It provides accountability to the group
• Deadlines are more likely to be met
• It gives credibility to the group rather than the individual
• The group gains an identity as an author(s)
• Consultation is more likely with increased networking
• The same book can appear on multiple websites
• Book promotion is less intense with a division of labor

There are obvious other advantages, but the premise is that collaboration increases depth and breath of coverage because of the individual talents, skills, and experiences of the various contributors. Educational booksellers have known this for years and many college textbooks are a compilation of articles written by academicians in their respective areas of expertise with a common thread that the book editor provides with an intro and summary. A subtle, but powerful corollary to multiple authors is the combined years of experience and location of the authors, thereby giving the book an international audience if you have authors from all over the globe. Collaboration also works better on universal topics like parenting, retirement, weight loss, career transitions, etc. because there are a wide variety of circumstances and responses to life’s transitions. Gail Sheahy recognized this in her Passages series that universal truths speak to everyone.

So what does this mean for our Virtual Group Lab? We are seriously thinking about pooling our talents and offering a series of booklets, articles, books, pamphlets, and copy for radio, TV, and print media on a variety of universal topics. The energy created from any group effort is synergistic and engaging that puts “fun” back into the lonely task of writing on a blank computer screen. We become a support group for each other during the difficult task of writing and creating. The “me” approach is supplanted by the “team” which solves any ego problems. It’s also easier to market a “group” than an individual, and speaking engagements can occur simultaneously in different locales. Virtual teleconferences are easier to share the lead with each author speaking to their own area of expertise and experience.

It is my belief that successful coaching is closely aligned with good storytelling and everyone has a story to tell, even one’s audience. To be heard is a powerful motivational tool and any collaboration is essential to any creative endeavor.

 
4. Getting into Action

1. Find four people to each write a different chapter on a topic of mutual interest. Look at the first draft to see what new ideas are generated for future chapters.
2. Converse with one other person about an idea you’ve had for some time with the thought that the two of you will commit time to make it work.
3. Pick up a “how to” book and look at the acknowledgment section as to how many people really contributed to the author’s book.

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