The Future of Fiction Writing is Bright for Those Who Work TOGETHER!

Are you interested in collaborating with other fiction writers on Medium?

The story I published recently, calling for fiction writers, has gotten a pretty good response in the community. The request I made, specifically called for stories about the sea.

I’m starting to see fiction writers come forward, anxious to have their stories entered in my upcoming anthology.

So far, one story has been selected for inclusion, and I’m looking forward to more quality stories just like it. The Creature Beyond the Tide — A Short Story by Kayla Hicks is exactly the type of sea related story that I’m hoping to fill the book with. I know readers are going to absolutely love it!

Unfortunately, not all the stories I’ve read actually fit the theme of the anthology book that I plan to publish.

But although some story themes and genres, might not be right for this particular collection of stories; there is clearly a lot of great fiction writers here on Medium.

What’s more, many of them are actually eager to work with other like-minded writers that are willing to share the spotlight.

What does that mean for budding fiction writers who are new to short story writing? It means that you don’t have to keep flying solo on your fiction writing journey.

If you decide to go ahead and team up with one or more writers; all of you could be self published in no time.

Surprisingly enough, sharing the spotlight with other writers might be just what you need, to help you become more illuminated.

Notice these interesting points about how a collaboration works when you use Amazon’s KDP system.

• During the publishing process, the names of all the authors can be listed and credited as co-authors of the book.
• Through the use of KDP, coupled with a service called: Abacus for Co-Authors, the amount owed to each author for commission can be calculated and detailed reports generated and viewed.

NOTE: A future story will discuss Abacus for Co-Authors in more detail.

How can you find fiction writers to collaborate with?

If you’re wondering what’s a good way to find other fiction writers to collaborate with, here are some smart suggestions that you can easily implement:

• Start letting other writers know you’re open to collaborating, by completing a fiction writer’s Questionnaire, and posting a notification in your details.
• Read fiction writer Bios that have been submitted to Exposure, and look for similar writers who also want to collaborate.
• Write a story on the topic of collaborations, and make a request for interested writers to leave you a comment so you can connect.

To learn more about writing collaborations, I suggest reading what the above mentioned writer had to say about them. To my sheer delight, Ms. Hicks knows everything about writer collaborations, and I discovered that there’s an awful lot to know!

Final Thoughts

Although I’m eager to compile the various sea stories from other writers, and start the self publishing process for the book, I must admit, I’m a little bit apprehensive now.

This will be my very first attempt at collaborating with other writers, so I plan to ease into it, and streamline things to my own liking.

So in reality, this is not going to be a collaboration in the truest sense, because I’m not planning on any group meetings or long drawn out discussions about what needs doing, or who needs to do it.

I have no issues with some of the responsibilities associated with self publishing on KDP, and I plan to carry them out on my own; I’m just hoping this doesn’t turn into a problem for anyone.

Of course I want some feedback on what the others may think about my selection of things such as: the title, the cover, the description and other meta data, but I definitely don’t want it to turn into a debate over the choices I ultimately decide on.

Additionally, by having writers submit relatively short stories, and making them be responsible for the initial editing of their own work, I’m hoping to prevent taking on too many unwanted tasks as the designated book owner.

I realize that some writers won’t want to get involved, not with these kind of conditions attached to the project.

To those writers, I suggest trying to connect with fiction writers who might want to have a little more group interaction, when it comes to a collaboration.

There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you don’t allow too many cooks to spoil the soup, or worse yet, prevent the soup from ever being made.

Stay tuned for more about the July release of the planned sea story collection.

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