By Cara Putman, @cara_putman
Often as authors, we write in solitude. We might brainstorm a plot problem with other authors, but more the most part, it’s us with our keyboards and monitors. Alone.
Writing a collection or series with other authors is a unique experience requiring a different approach for the stories to hinge together in a way that fits for the reader. However, the extra work can be well worth it for the chance to work collaboratively with other authors. I’ve co-authored books with Tricia Goyer, but today, I’m starting a series that focuses on novella collections. Let’s start with the primary question:
Why should you consider writing a novella collection with other authors?
There are many reasons it can be a good idea. If what you’re writing doesn’t fit in this list, then maybe it won’t be a good fit for you. Let’s dig in.
- You want to help other authors. This may seem like an odd reason, but it’s a way to lend your readers to another author. You readers may pick up the collection and in the process be exposed to new-to-them authors. That’s a great reason to join a collection. It allows you to lend your strength to other writers. This is a fundamental focus for me. If I don’t feel like I can serve the other authors through my writing and fanbase, then I will say no. I always want to keep the focus on others and how I can help them.
- You’d like new readers to discover your writing. This may seem like the flip of the first point, but it’s really a separate consideration. The first focuses on your readers and how you can serve authors. This point focuses on the other authors’ readers and how you might find some new readers in the process. In both cases, you want to make sure that your writing (or the other authors’ writing) will appeal to the readers you’re targeting. I’ve done this several times when I’ve joined collections of romantic suspense writers. For you this might be point one, and that’s fine. I’m usually writing a brand new novella to join, and that takes time and creativity, so it’s good to gain something from that. But for me, it’ll be the second reason.
- You want to try something new. I could have easily listed this second. When I joined the Christmas in Mistletoe Square collection (OK, I begged), I knew it would be slightly off brand for me. It wasn’t historical WWII and it wasn’t suspense. However, I wanted to have fun and write something with a lighter tone ala You’ve Got Mail. To keep it a half-step from what my readers expect, I added a mystery. My readers had fun, while I let myself try something new. It was a win-win from my perspective. In Deadly Drive, my suspense novella for another collection, I wrote in first person because I wanted to try that. In both cases, I was trying a new way of writing and that made it a great reason to join.
There are other reasons to join, but I hope these help you think about what some benefits of banding with fellow authors are. Next time I’ll share tips for writing with others.
If they expected silence, they hired the wrong woman.
Caroline Bragg’s life has never been better. She and Brandon Lancaster are taking their relationship to the next level, and she has a new dream job as legal counsel for Praecursoria—a research lab that is making waves with its cutting-edge genetic therapies. The company’s leukemia treatments even promise to save desperately sick kids—kids like eleven-year-old Bethany, a critically ill foster child at Brandon’s foster home.
When Caroline’s enthusiastic boss wants to enroll Bethany in experimental trials prematurely, Caroline objects, putting her at odds with her colleagues. They claim the only goal at Praecursoria is to save lives. But does someone have another agenda?
Brandon faces his own crisis. As laws governing foster homes shift, he’s on the brink of losing the group home he’s worked so hard to build. When Caroline learns he’s a Praecursoria investor, it becomes legally impossible to confide in him. Will the secrets she keeps become a wedge that separates them forever? And can she save Bethany from the very treatments designed to heal her?
This latest romantic legal thriller by bestseller Cara Putman shines a light on the shadowy world of scientific secrets and corporate vendettas—and the ethical dilemmas that plague the place where science and commerce meet.
“Intriguing characters. Romantic tension. Edge-of-your-seat suspense. And a fast-paced ending that will leave you exhausted (in a good way!).” —Robert Whitlow, award-winning author of Promised Land
Since the time she could read Nancy Drew, Cara has wanted to write mysteries. In 2005 she attended a book signing at her local Christian bookstore. The rest, as they say, was history. There she met a fellow Indiana writer Colleen Coble. With prompting from her husband, Cara shared her dream with Colleen. Since those infamous words, Cara’s been writing award-winning books. She is currently marketing book 36 and dreaming up future books, not hard when she sees what-ifs everywhere.
Cara Putman is an active member of ACFW and gives back to the writing community through her service on Executive Board. She has also been the Indiana ACFW chapter president and served as the Area Coordinator for Indiana.
Cara is also an attorney, full-time lecturer at a Big Ten university, and all-around crazy woman. Crazy about God, her husband and her kids that is. She graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Go Huskers!), George Mason Law School, and Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management. You can learn more about Cara at www.caraputman.com.
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