THE CAREER NOVELIST
them up now. Many collaborations have been wrecked by procedur-
al snags that could have been settled at the outset.
First, there is the collaboration agreement. Okay, you trust your part-
ner. Furthermore, you are not a lawyer. Your inclination is to let a
formal agreement go for now since, after all, you have not produced
anything salable yet. Plenty of time to write a collaboration agree-
ment later, right?
Bad idea.
Anything you have not calmly discussed ahead of time, believe me,
you could well wind up screaming about later on. Get it in writing
now. Your agreement does not have to be in incomprehensible
legalese. It does need to exist, however, and it should address all the
possibilities that might come up. There are a number points to cover.
Who will do what? How will proceeds be split? Usually the work
and the rewards are split fifty-fifty. However, there are exceptions. If
the work to be written is to be based upon a prior work by one of the
collaborators, that underlying work may have a value that you will
want to have reflected in the ultimate payout.
What about rights to sequels? Usually this is no problem: the
collaborators write sequels together. But that is not always possible
or practical. One partner may have prior contract commitments, or
may simply be bored with the project. What happens then? Unless
your agreement spells out a procedure, there could be delays, sore
feelings, and lost income.
So work it out. Be generous. If one of you wishes to continue but
the other does not, why not let the series go forward? Some authors
are afraid their children will grow up into monsters that they cannot
control and do not recognize, but if you are that hung up on control
why collaborate in the first place?
Others are worried about money. They feel they should benefit
from what they helped to make. Well, why not? Work out something
equitable. Cut your partner in even if she cuts out. That is a lot bet-
ter than not being able to profit at all.
It is a good idea, though, to keep it simple when it comes to
splits on sequels. Things can get pretty slippery when you start to
consider, say, down-the-road movie sales. For instance, suppose
you and your partner write one book together, but then your partner