Blogger: Rachel Kent
Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Books that include a collection of stories by different authors seem to be becoming increasingly popular. How are these projects planned? Who corrals all of the authors to create a single book?
I have worked on two projects like this recently, and they both came into existence in different ways. Over the next few days I’ll describe how various aspects of a multi-author project work.
The first anthology was A Log Cabin Christmas Collection with stories by Liz Johnson, Margaret Brownley, Michelle Ule, Wanda Brunstetter, Jane Kirkpatrick, Kelly Eileen Hake, Liz Tolsma, Erica Vetsch, and Debra Ullrick. This book released September 1, 2011 from Barbour. It was on the New York Times bestseller list and has been on both the CBA bestseller list and the ECPA lists ever since its release (through February 2012).
A Log Cabin Christmas was planned by Barbour. An editor at Barbour asked certain agents if they had clients who might be a good fit for such a collection, and the recommended clients then submitted writing samples (a couple of chapters and a synopsis). The Barbour editors selected the top nine stories to be a part of the anthology.
The second collection I’ve worked on recently is the 7 Hours project. (Find out more about 7 Hours here.) My client, James Andrew Wilson, came up with the idea and presented it to me. I loved it but wasn’t sure if he would find other authors interested in participating. He was looking for seven authors (including himself) to each write a novella to go along with the title 7 Hours. I told him to find the other six authors and then to let me know.
James pitched his idea to a hand-picked group of authors and found six who loved the concept. Those authors are Rene Gutteridge, Robin Parrish, Mike Dellosso, Veronica “Ronie” Kendig, Tom Pawlik, and Travis Thrasher. James organized all seven authors and put together a strong proposal, including a writing sample and synopsis from each author.
I took the job as “lead agent” on the project because the 7 Hours concept was James’s idea. It was my responsibility to shop the book idea to the different publishing houses. We received lots of interest, and Tyndale House is now the home for this unique, exciting idea. The stories will release in digital format in May 2012. We just saw the covers, and they’re amazing! Follow 7 Hours on Facebook to be one of the first to see the covers when the images are released to the public.
Have you written a book with other authors? How was your concept organized? Would you want to work with other authors on a book some time in the future?
Wow, that 7 Hours project sounds amazing . . .
I have to say, as a debut author, it has been a huge blessing working with other writers. We’ve been able to work as a team to generate buzz for our project. There’s a lot of energy when you have seven creative people putting their heads together. It’s been fun, and we can’t wait to share our secret stories with the world. 🙂
Great post, Rachel. I am now following their progess on Facebook.
My one and only experience writing with another author wasn’t a pleasant one, but I think I broke a couple of rules. I worked with a relative and despite my misgivings didn’t have a contract. I did a great deal of work, but it never panned out to much. I still hope to get it published one day after the edits are done.
I would still like to work with another author or authors in the future. I look forward to more posts this week.
Yes, yes is the answer to your first question. Last April my anthology Just Moms came out which I worked on closely with Melanie Mock as a co-editor. We pulled together writing from 28 different authors. We brainstormed our idea for Just Moms on a play date with our boys, fretting about how to children with our values in a world that was teaching them quite the opposite. We started with a small sampling of chapters and pitched our book idea to three different publishing companies. Two said yes, and we got to chose the one we wanted to work with the most, Barclay Press. I loved the collaborative process. I am very much a team person and enjoyed the community that this type of project fostered. I felt and still feel a connection to these writers, many who I have never met face-to-face. I also loved bouncing ideas off of Melanie, and believe we got the best out of each other. I would love to work on a project like this again. I got a lot of energy from this type of writing. Maybe because even though I am a writer, I am also an extrovert…surprise!
In total, our project took three years from brainstorm to publication.
I am presently working with multiple authors on a book about relationships and wondered what kind of contract we needed. We have decided the editor will represent us but how do we protect ourselves.
Phyllis, if any of your group has an agent, it would be a good idea to have that agent negotiate the deal. Some agents will sign unagented authors for just one book in cases like these.
Would these books be called anthologies or is there a different label for them?
Any idea why there is increased interest in them?
Peter, I’ve heard them called anthologies, omnibus editions, and collections.
Perhaps there is increased interest because authors have figured out that when they work together on projects like this they can share audiences. And I think readers are more interested in quick reads that can be read on a tablet or mobile phone while “on the go.” Just guessing though. 🙂