On the Joys and Dangers of Collaboration

Collaboration.

It can be the biggest joy or the most miserable headache-- sometimes both at the same time!

My earliest stories were collaborations. Me and my best friend, a couple of 4th grade girls who knew everything about everything (obviously!) We had a notebook to share, and the back and forth exchange of some super dramatic prose.

Literary gold.

I'm still shocked those works remain unpublished today.

Over the years, I've had the opportunity to collaborate many times with many awesome people: friends, family, colleagues, and even random, cool acquaintances met through the power of the interwebz. Sometimes I joined others on art projects, sometimes on magazine and newspaper articles, sometimes on novels and short stories. Many times our efforts developed into beautiful, fully formed works - other times they never really got off the ground. But each collaborative experience - good or bad - was unique and taught me something in the end.

Sharing ideas and merging styles can be such a thrill! I suggest anyone who is interested in collaborating try it... at least once.

That said, there are always inherent dangers to partnering in creative pursuits. Dramatic disagreements about the direction a story should take, tears and hurt feelings, financial and royalty issues, even the potential for an unfriendly end of the collaboration (if not the acquaintanceship/friendship itself in some cases!) are all real possibilities.

You may eventually find yourself in the sad position of asking: What happens to my work now, legally speaking?

Christopher Schiller wrote a brilliant article about the legal biz of collaboration. Read it. Absorb it.

Falling out with a collaborator can be lonely business. You never want to say anything publicly about your creative partner that might be unfair or make a bad situation worse -- and like your joined ideas, you may have a merged social circle, making finding a confidante difficult.

I don't write this to say, don'tcollaborateandrunawayasfarasyoucan! But just be smart about it. Draw up a specific collaboration agreement. Talk about the hard stuff. What happens to the stories if the collaboration ends? What about ideas you developed together? Works in progress?

It doesn't matter if you are the best of friends. In fact it might be even better to draw up that agreement if you ARE the best of friends.

A collaboration agreement won't take the sting out of the falling out, but having one can definitely go a long way to easing the uncertainty surrounding some of these situations.

In conclusion... Be passionate! Collaborate! Merge your ideas with others'! Make beautiful things together! Just be smart and careful while doing it.

With Kindness,

Raine

Positivity for Writers #4: I Almost Gave Up... And Why I Didn't!

My last post was in March.

March.

That's insane. That's insane because so much has happened since then!

So why?

Because for the last six months, I've been in the process of giving up. Quitting. Throwing in the towel. Saying F this! You may have wanted this when you were a little girl, but you were young and foolish then...

Writing is hard. Publishing is hard. Interpersonal relationships are hard. It's all hard.

If you've ever put fingers to keyboard, submitted a manuscript, collaborated, or been part of a community you know this particular struggle.

I quietly closed down my Facebook. I put away all my Raine trappings. I decided I would... or wouldn't... or maybe...

And it sucked my friends. It sucked ALL the butts. More than that, it hurt my spirit.

Because a life without writing is a million times harder than the other day-to-day noise... And that's what it is, it's just noise. And doubt.

I wish I could show you clearly how I got from Point A (Let's quit this shizz!) to Point B (OK, I'll just put it away for now) to Point C (You know what? I'm strong enough to handle this.) Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure I stumbled like a drunk person along the path. Here are some of the things that I totally donked up before kinda, sorta, getting it right.

• Acknowledge how you feel. I fought against the feeling of discontent without acknowledging it for so long that my psyche eventually went snap, crackle, pop! and I was forced to acknowledge for I felt. Believe me, if you can do it quietly and on your own terms, it's much better.
• Let yourself sit in it. Man, I fought it. Once my psyche broke and I realized how I felt... I was like, "MUST! DO! SOMETHING! ABOUT! THIS!" and that 'something' was to burn my writing house down. It took four incredible friends practically sitting on me to get me to stop flailing and just be.
• Weigh your options. But...but...this is the path I'm on. I have no other options! Not so. Going a different direction can be scary. And it definitely won't be easy. A new writing style? A new name? A new publishing house? Getting an agent? Or maybe becoming an indie publisher? Even stepping away from the publishing game? I didn't like all the options I came up with, but at least I finally realized I have some.
• Ask yourself the hard questions. Is it worth the shitty feelings? You'll probably start with that one. And if you feel half as miserable as I did, you'll say, nope. But you have to ask yourself this question as well: Will I regret quitting? And Can I be happy taking a break instead?
• Listen to the universe. Seriously. Don't ignore the kind words of your readers, your betas, your peers. Don't ignore the quiet opportunities that come your way, or the signs that point you toward your own contentment.
• Cut out the poison. Ohmygawd I have a habit of doing everything wrong when I feel bad! I eat too much, I'm too sedentary, I spend like a millionaire even though I only take home a librarian's salary. I seek affirmation from the wrong people and pack away projects that would make me feel good. So... I consciously stopped. I don't read reviews anymore, I don't read my the Facebook newsfeed. I try to be a good friend to people who are also good friends to me. And I chopped the shizz out of those credit cards. But it took over a year to get here.
• Be creative. Even if you don't feel like you can write, create. Draw, dance, sing, play, garden, sew, design, dream. This is one thing I did right. In the time I was figuring my shit out, I started drawing again. I started customizing dolls. I started doing decoupage. I made my own stamps and played around with calligraphy. I tackled color. Copics, prismas, and new lining techniques. I didn't let that creative energy stop.
• Try again. If you're going to quit forever, surely one more go at the keyboard isn't that much to ask? And if you can't manage that, at least read something you've written. For old time's sake? That way, you can say you gave it your all. 

Writing is challenging. Same with publishing and collaborating and interpersonal relationships. They are all challenges.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by those challenges, give yourself a moment to breathe. Allow yourself to see your options. Change directions if you need to. But don't quit.

I promise you, there's someone--probably many someones--in this great wide world who will be worse off for not having read your words.

But more than that, you will be worse off for not having written them.

With Kindness,

RoRo

Positivity for Writers #3: Don't Let Others Dictate Your Pace

I can't believe it's already week three of the positivity posts! I hope you've found them helpful. I'd love your feedback. :)

--Raine

With the current culture of ebooks, indie-publishing, and small-press publishers, the pace at which it seems authors want to (or more often, need to) write has really changed. Growing up, I had a favorite Harlequin author, Jessica Steele, and on the very best of years, when her releases fell just right, she put out two books in a calendar year. That was fast. That was insanely fast.

Now, it's almost as if two books a year is standard, if not a little on the slow side. I know authors that release every two months. I know authors that seem to release every month. I know authors who do this *and* have full-time jobs. Is your head spinning yet?

I admit it, I lost myself to the pace for a while. People cheered me on. You can do it! Write more! Write faster! And so I did, and I felt good. Faster, faster, faster... Until my fastest wasn't fast enough. And then I didn't feel good at all.

Between April and December 2014, I will have put out six works. But those works were percolating for YEARS and many were in various stages of drafting and editing before 2014! They just happened to get clumped together and published in a relatively short span of time. So what happens in 2015...?

A very dear friend gave me a piece of advice that I wrote down in journals, on my hand, on scraps of paper, anywhere I might stumble upon it. It's, well, pretty much everywhere. I have to keep it nearby because if I don't, it slips right out of my brain.

Simply put, she said:

Your Creator didn't give you a lifetime's worth of stories, so that you could write them all today.

Write at the pace that works best for you. If a release a month WORKS for you and you are happy--keep doing that! But don't feel like you have to. We want you to take the time you need to craft the story in your heart with love and care. (Except in November: November is NaNoWriMo. Mwahaha!)

Remember: this is not a race, my friends. It's an art. :)

Until next time!
Raine O'Tierney

Positivity for Writers #1 : The Year of Writing Dangerously

This is the first in a series of positive thoughts for writers. I think the best thing we can do in this community is build each other up and support one another as creative individuals. These are some of my thoughts, some of the things that have worked for me. I hope they will speak to you as well.

--Raine

Last year, on my birthday, I set off on a journey. I called it The Year of Writing Dangerously and I was guided by one principle: write bravely. No matter what, don't let the fear (or in my case, the obsessive thoughts) rule you.

Be bold, be true, be lionhearted in all your writing endeavors.

Exactly one year later, I released my very first ever published novella.

I'm not saying that setting off on a 365 day journey of brave writing = publication. Besides, publication is not always the end-all goal. But I am saying that writing despite a head full of little demon doubts is the greatest feeling in the world!

I kept a journal of each brave day and it's interesting now to go back and re-read it. The doubts and the successes, the frustrations and the excitement. The day I'd given up hope that Dreamspinner Press would ever want me and the day after when I got to write: I signed the contract.

Writing bravely isn't about not having those fears and self-doubts, but instead, moving through them, for yourself and for your goals.

I proved to myself that I could be brave. Now, I'm trying to decide what my next journey should be. The Year of Writing __ ? I'm excited to see what I can do with another 365 days. What will you do with your year?

For the Low, Low Price of NO DOLLARS...Some Advice on #Writing and #Creativity!

This was originally written for Wedbriefsfic.com on my Under the Table and Into His Heart blog tour. Published Mar 25th, 2014.

In my day-to-day life, I am a library lady and as such library things interest me. In a meeting with our programming department, we jokingly asked if we could get Neil Gaiman as the author for our NaNoWriMo after-hours party this November. Mr. Gaiman’s appearance fee is a well-earned $30,000—so, no go. But have you heard the man speak? He is SO motivating.

I am no Neil Gaiman.

But in my 20+ years of writing, I have developed a small set of advice that I keep close to my heart. For the low, low price of NO DOLLARS, I want to share it with you now.

Be brave in all things.

Writing is scary. Writing can be downright terrifying even. If you aren’t scared of writing, there is always sharing your stories, editing, soliciting for publication, blurb writing, release day, promo, reviews, self-doubt, and the NEXT story. There’s always something to be nervous about. That’s why you must be brave to pursue your dreams.

Write boldly.

The bolder the better. Don’t let anyone set limitation on your story. Write with the graceful wordcraft of an adult and the imagination of a child.

Write for yourself.

Money is awesome. Writing and getting paid to write? Awesomely awesome. But writing FOR money? It’s taxing. It’s draining. I don’t care if you are following trends or not as long as, at the heart of it, you are saying something meaningful for yourself. Speak with your voice, not the voice they want you to have.

You have a lifetime of stories, they don’t have to all be written today.

This is not my advice—it is my friend Lisa’s. She drilled it into my head. When you craft, craft with precision and care. The goal is not to write 100 mediocre stories when a little more effort and a little more time would produce five AMAZING stories.

You are a creative being.

Prove it! Write, draw, sing, knit, garden, dance, bake, design, sew, anything. Get your fingers moving and your brain flowing. Be creative in all things!

Dream, dream, DREAM!

We’ve all been told at one point or another that dreams are for babies and dreaming is pointless. SCREW. THAT. Dream big! Dream bold! Dream in defiance! DREAM. And then do something about those dreams.

I believe in you,
Raine O’Tierney