Co-Writing Interview with Erik Scott de Bie and Amanda Cherry
Having recently edited a co-written book (Femmes Fatale, pictured) by these two authors got me thinking about co-writing in general, so I decided to talk with some folks who have co-written stories and books. Here’s the third interview, with the folks who inspired this series of blog posts!
DV: Tell me a little about each of you.
Erik: This is my last year of calling myself a “30-something” speculative fiction writer, which means I write fantasy, sci-fi, superheroes, and all things imaginative, and that I’m turning 40 next year. I live in Seattle with my wife and animals, along with an ever-expanding blade collection. My most obvious feature is my prodigious height, as I am technically 6’6.6″, but I usually just tell people 6’7″. I wrote five novels in the Forgotten Realms setting, and a goodly number of creator-owned and shared-world work since. You can check out my bibliography online at erikscottdebie.com/
Manda: Oh, I hate this part. I’m a queer, disabled GenX-er who somehow manages to make my living making things up. I live with my partner, our kid, an old puggle, and a baby spaniel in the Seattle suburbs. I have three published books (including FEMMES FATALE, co-authored with Erik), several short story sales, a TTRPG game writing credit, and a couple of screenwriting awards. In addition to the writing stuff, I’m a union actor, a hobby baker, and a novice sailor.
DV: Tell me about your co-writing process. (Do you send a file back and forth, work in a shared Google Doc (or other), take turns, work at the same time, etc.?)
Erik: We use a Google Doc, which allows us to write in it whenever we have time. When we started, it was very much a “I’m taking a turn, then it’s your turn,” and we each specialized in writing the scenes with our signature characters. I wrote Lady V, while Manda wrote Ruby. Then we’d go back and edit each other’s work, rework scenes and tweak the dialogue, especially where we had written each other’s characters, because we each understand our own character’s voice better, etc. I tended to write the ladies with a little more sleaze, and she writes them with a little more class–which is very appropriate, considering our signature characters.
But over time, we eventually wrote more and more of each other’s character POV scenes, until we became nearly as comfortable using each other’s characters as using our own. And we get to a point where I couldn’t tell you which scenes I wrote and which she wrote. Heck, Lady V even makes a cameo in Manda’s forthcoming second Ruby novel, and I have nothing to do with that one.
Manda: Erik started the story in a Google Doc and sent me the link, and so that’s just where we did all the work. Like he said above, we’d each write a bit then poke the other one to let them know there was new stuff. The other person would go in and make any tweaks they wanted to make (in the beginning, it was tiny corrections in the characters’ reactions mostly–by the end it was flare & detail) and then ping the other back- and so on, and so forth. It was really pretty seamless, although I will admit to being intimidated at first–I don’t usually share my hot mess first drafts with people. But Erik gave me lots of grace for the messes I’d leave him, and we wound up with a really lovely project, and I had a blast doing it.
DV: What do you love best about co-writing?
Erik: I really love collaborating. This usually takes the form of us messaging each other at random times–during a run, from the gym, while hiking, at a hockey game, in the middle of baking cookies, etc.–“OMG I THOUGHT OF THIS PERFECT THING.” And we’re almost always on the same page, even if we see things very differently at times. We just started out trusting each other and it has produced excellent results.
We also cover each other’s weaknesses and lean on each other’s strengths. I tend to be the horror and action scene writer, for instance, whereas she’s the intrigue and politics person.
Manda: A lot of authors at one time or another malign the fact that books don’t write themselves. But having a coauthor is actually kind of like having a book that writes itself! I can leave the document for a day or two and when I come back THERE’S MORE BOOK in it! And it’s all fantastic stuff, too. As Erik said above, there’s nothing like having someone who’s right there in the story process with you; whether I’m working in the document or just thinking about story while doing something else, and I get a thought that makes me cackle or squeal, I can share it with Erik, and he will be as invested in it as I am. That’s not something you tend to get when drafting a book solo. Highly recommended. And also, teaming up with someone who is top tier at the scenes that are your personal author kryptonite is amazing. I can leave [THEN THEY FIGHT] in the document and come back an hour later to a flawless fight scene that would have taken me ages to craft and still woulnd’t have been as good.
DV: What aspects of co-writing cause you difficulty?
Erik: I mean, sometimes she’ll write something in a way I wouldn’t have, but it’s HER voice, and that’s important. As an author, you’re used to having total control of your own creation (at least until the editor gets a hold of it), and in a collaborative writing environment, you have to be willing to compromise and move forward with things you didn’t intend. Discussion and communication are key, as is trusting your collaborator. If I had written this book entirely myself, it would have been very different, and an inferior story. We needed both our voices to make it work.
Manda: I should begin with the fact I was a FAN of Erik’s long before we were friends and colleagues, so at the beginning I was basically terrified to do anything in the document because what if he hates it. But once I got over myself and got to work, I think the biggest challenge was timing. This book took 4 years because we were both doing other work and out shared document was our playground. The good news is that it never felt like *work* but that really is a long development period for a novella :p
DV: Where can we find your co-written work?
Femmes Fatale is available now on DefCon One Publishing’s website.
Thanks, Erik and Amanda! I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention that you can currently back Erik’s latest project, Libations for the Dead, on Kickstarter. If you want Lady V in her days before Femmes Fatale, this is a great place to start! The Kickstarter runs through February 19th, so hop over there quickly!
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