Playing nicely with others on an anthology…
When Jami Davenport, Cristal Ryder and me decided to do an anthology together, I wondered what it would be like. Our stories didn’t interrelate, but they did all spring off
one of my stories, so they all had to make sense for that. Then we each had to do edits, approve the cover, write the blurbs, and set up the promotion. That’s a lot of things for three very busy authors to coordinate.
Yes, a lot of things to coordinate and still like each other at the end of the process.
Here’s how you do it: communicate, communicate, communicate. And then communicate. And communicate some more.
Oh, and pick a great publisher (aka Sybarite Seductions) and great editors (Michele Jensen and Lori T. Peaks). Those help too. 
How did we communicate? Well, since Jami lives in Washington State, I live in New York State and Cristal lives in Ontario, Canada, we communicated through e-mail. Your mileage may vary, but it worked for us.
What did we do if we had a difference of opinion. Well, being erotic romance authors, had we been in the same area we would’ve simply stripped down, gotten in the mud, and settled the problem. But we’re not in the same area, so we had discussions. Lots of them. And we usually took the advice of the person who had the most interest in the decision or the most at stake. That made things easier too.
In the end, we did what was best for the anthology. And now that it’s releasing, we’re totally excited about how it came out, and we hope you guys take a chance on it! You won’t be sorry (we hope).
GIVEAWAY!!!!
One lucky commenter will win a book from my (Cassandra Carr) back list. If you Tweet or FB the blog post, just leave the URL in a comment for another entry.
Sybarite Seductions: http://www.sybariteseductions.com
Cassandra Carr: http://www.booksbycassandracarr.com
Jami Davenport: http://www.jamidavenport.com
Cristal Ryder: http://www.cristalryder.com
June 29th, 2012 at 7:07 pm
I can’t wait to read this anthology. It sounds fantastic.
June 29th, 2012 at 7:19 pm
This antho sounds great!
bimmergrlmd at gmail dot com
June 29th, 2012 at 7:24 pm
As an author it always amazes me the process when authors work together on a joint project. Though not a complete story collaboration, things like this give me hope. Good luck with the antho!
June 29th, 2012 at 8:12 pm
I like anthologies because you get more bang for your buck! It’s also a way to get to read new authors. I have read both of your recent bull rider books and loved them. Thanks for the chance.
June 30th, 2012 at 7:24 am
I like anthologies.. I have found many new authors this way, because maybe a fav author I read all the time is in the anthology and the reason I chose it in the first place… But in this case all of the authors of this book will be new to me authors….I am looking forward to reading them all.
July 1st, 2012 at 10:44 am
mharvey816 is our winner but didn’t leave an email address! Can you contact me at AuthorCassandraCarr AT gmail DOT com? Otherwise I’ll try to get your email address from RJ.
July 4th, 2012 at 2:43 pm
I also think anthologies are great. You get to read a whole story while on the train or bus to work!!
Valerie
July 5th, 2012 at 7:08 am
I love anthologies! I think that it is a great way to find new authors!
July 5th, 2012 at 10:03 am
Anthologies can be perfect for me to get a quick bit of a break from my day. I can imagine that it could have been complicated to get a series of stories to come together when they are being written by different authors. Good thing that since you are authors, communication would tend to be good.