On Apr 13, 2012, at 11:55 PM, Tim Hickey wrote: > Ray, > Two questions... > I may have missed it, but how did the opportunities for your collaborations > come up and how did the mechanics of the collaborations work out (who wrote > what, did you have overall decisions on what was written, etc)? > > Thanks! > The first collaboration with Janny was my idea. I asked and she said no, and after I worked on her for almost a year, she finally said OK. That series was 100% give-and-take. I'd write something and send it to her; she'd edit and rewrite, and the reverse as well, she'd write, I'd rewrite. Etc. There are parts I can point to and say, "That was Janny's. That was mine." But there are parts I can point to and say, "I have no idea who did that."
The other three came about because another publisher wanted me to do a series written by other writers from my outline. Harper said "No one else publishes Feist," and gave me a three book deal. I refused to do a "big name/little name" or "I direct while they do the work," and insisted it would be a full collaboration. I visited Bill, Steve, and Joel, and we came up with ideas. Then they went to work and did the 1st draft and I did the rewrite. Different results from different writers. Joel, God rest him, handed me a murder mystery where the three guys got the right results the wrong way, so it was a lousy murder mystery but otherwise a fun book. Steve handed me something that looked absolutely nothing like the book we agreed to, two weeks before deadline, and I scrambled like crazy to beat it into submission. Bill handed me a book that read like something I would write and it was as easy to work on as revising one of my own first drafts. Of the three, I'm happiest with Honored Enemy. Best, R.E.F. ---- www.crydee.com Never attribute to malice what can satisfactorily be explained away by stupidity.
