Want to Collaborate?

In today’s Journal

* My New Adjusted Goal
* Want to Collaborate?
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

About My New Adjusted Goal

On October 12, I posted a new adjusted goal for the year.

At the beginning of the year, I’d planned to write 24 novels. That’s basically it. Since I typically turn out a novel in 14 or 15 days, that was not an ‘easy’ goal, but it was do-able. It would require me to experience very few non-writing days, forced or voluntary.

But as of October 12, with only 14 novels published this calendar year and only 8660 words into my new novel at the time, I adjusted my goal to write six more novels including the current one at the time during the last quarter of the year.

I also set a goal to write 13 more short stories (one a week) during the quarter for a total of 30 on the calendar year. (I also hope to continue in the Bradbury Challenge through 2025, so the upcoming annual goal will be 52 short stories.)

Since Blackwell Ops 29 wrapped yesterday, the goal remains to write 5 more novels plus 12 more short stories this year. But for today and probably a couple more days, I’ll be working on editing a novel for a client.

Anyway I don’t post all this ‘personal numbers’ stuff to challenge you to meet or surpass my numbers, although I’d be tickled pink if you did.

I post it only to inspire you to challenge your own numbers.

Want to Collaborate?

Just throwing this out there….

First, there is no cost.

You do not have to be an established writer.

You do not have to be previously published or even to have written a novella or novel before.

You only have to be a writer who loves to tell a good story in English. If you’re intrigued, please read on.

Over a decade ago I sort of collaborated with a traditionally published novelist. I wrote a few of the characters and major scenes so the author voice would be different. And yes, that was several years before I wrote and published my own first novel.

That novel was published by Delacorte Press, which has since been absorbed by Dell and then Random House. I won’t name the novel or the novelist, so please don’t ask.

But in retrospect, especially from the viewpoint of practice, it was a wonderful learning experience for me. Today (October 25, 2024) I’ve written and published 97 novels, 10 novellas, and over 250 short stories.

But ever since that quasi-collaborative experience, I’ve often wondered what it would be like to truly collaborate with another novelist.

The way I envision a true collaboration is this:

1. I will partner with another writer in writing a novel in any commercial genre: mystery, thriller, SF, western, horror, or psychological suspense… even ‘high fantasy’ or romance.

If you have other genres in mind, please email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com and ask.

Please, no ‘splash and gash’ horror and no erotica. Nothing wrong with those; they are just not my personal cuppa.

2. We will alternate writing major scenes.

A major scene might take a chapter or it might take three or four or more. My own chapters will typically be 1100 to 1800 words long. Yours can be shorter if necessary.

So either I or the other novelist will write the novel opening and the first major scene, then send the manuscript to the other writer, who will write the next major scene, and so on.

3. No time requirement or limit in days, weeks, or months. The novel will wrap when it wraps.

4. Each writer will read the whole story from the beginning each time the exchange is made, but each writer will cycle over only his or her own scenes.

5. Each writer may suggest additions (no deletions) to the other writer re settings or scenes, but no ultimatums. The final decision for any setting or scene is up to the writer of that scene.

6. Absolutely no conscious, critical-mind revisions or rewrites.

Conscious, critical-mind revisions and rewrites can affect future scenes and force the other writer to resort to the conscious, critical mind in his or her scenes as well.

7. The novel will be suspenseful.

This doesn’t go to genre. I mean only that the reader will be enticed to keep turning pages. This is a requirement of any good novel in any genre. Yes, even literary.

8. Barring any unforeseen emergencies or major or minor life rolls, my partner will write every day until the major scene is finished or s/he writes to an intentional break in the story. We each owe that efficiency to the other.

For example, if my partner writes a great, anticipation-evoking cliffhanger like “The door squealed open,” and then sends the manuscript back to me, I will assume that’s an intentional break and launch a whole different scene.

I will not complete the other writer’s scene and s/he will not complete mine. (See #2 above re chapters and the length of scenes.)

9. I write almost every day anyway.

So for me this will be in addition to and apart from my writing of other novels, novellas and short stories. It can be the same for my partner or not. That’s none of my business.

10. No royalty split. The copyright to the novel will belong to my partner. Period.

Upon completion of the novel, the partner will publish the novel (I’ll help if s/he wants me to) under the partner’s own name or pseudonym.

I will require only that somewhere on the cover and in the front matter, we state ‘written in collaboration with Harvey Stanbrough, author of’ and whichever of my series or other novels (my choice) comes closest to matching the genre of the novel we wrote together.

11. I might mention the collaboration and what I’ve personally learned or am learning from it in TNDJ from time to time, even during the process.

If I do that, I will not mention my writing partner’s name or even his or her initials unless s/he wants me to and gives me explicit permission to do so.

12. Finally I’m really anxious to make this happen, so…

I’ve also published this notice separately to a page titled Want to Collaborate? on the Journal website and on my author site.

Just in case you don’t feel you’re ‘ready’ or ‘experienced enough’ to do this or that our ‘author voices’ don’t match or some other silly thing, you can check either of those links to refresh your memory in the future.

And I say ‘silly thing’ not to be demeaning but because good writing is good writing no matter your previous experience.

This can be a great learning experience for both of us. I hope someone will take advantage of it.

So there it is. Any takers?

As I said at the top,

  • This is open to anyone who writes in English.
  • There is no cost.
  • You do not have to be an established writer.
  • You do not have to be previously published or even to have written a novella or novel before.
  • You only have to be a writer who loves to tell a good story.

If that’s you, email me at harveystanbrough@gmail.com with a general, overall story idea (one or two sentences will do) and what you believe the genre will be. (I don’t lack for ideas, but this will be your novel, not mine.)

Also, whether or not you want in, if you have any questions about this that I didn’t answer above, please feel free to email me and ask.

This offer will remain open until I say specifically in TNDJ that it’s no longer open.

Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

How to Start a Publishing Company: Legal + Strategy

1440 Daily Digest, an unbiased news newsletter, is almost always chock full of story ideas.

The Numbers

The Journal……………………………… 1290

Writing of Blackwell Ops 29: John Quick

Day 1…… 1781 words. To date…… 1781
Day 2…… 3792 words. To date……. 5573
Day 3…… 3087 words. To date……. 8660
Day 4…… 3545 words. To date……. 12205
Day 5…… 2667 words. To date……. 14872
Day 6…… 1665 words. To date……. 16537
Day 7…… 3073 words. To date……. 19610
Day 8…… 5593 words. To date……. 25203
Day 9…… 1963 words. To date……. 27166
Day 10…. 3557 words. To date……. 30723
Day 11…. 3235 words. To date……. 33958
Day 12…. 1937 words. To date……. 35895
Day 13…. 1885 words. To date……. 37780
Day 14…. 5339 words. To date……. 43119
Day 15…. 3297 words. To date……. 46416 (done)

Fiction for October……………………. 77902
Fiction for 2024……………………….. 819410
Nonfiction for October……………….. 25100
Nonfiction for 2024……………………. 328690
2024 consumable words……………… 972139

Average Fiction WPD (October)……… 3246

2024 Novels to Date……………………….. 15
2024 Novellas to Date……………………… 1
2024 Short Stories to Date………………… 18
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………..……. 97
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………. 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………..… 255
Short story collections…………………….….. 29

Disclaimer: Whatever you believe, unreasoning fear and the myths that outlining, revising, and rewriting will make your work better are lies. They will always slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.

On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Because of WITD and because I endeavor to follow those Rules I am a prolific professional fiction writer. You can be too.

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