Alicia
asked
E.M. Jeanmougin:
Hello! I really love your book series! What is your process for working together as a two-author team?
E.M. Jeanmougin
Thank you for loving our series! Readers like you mean the world to us (and keep us in business). Sorry it took a few days to answer. We had to think about how to reply.
Our process is a little unique and in constant fluctuation, but we've been writing together online for sixteen years and we're used to working collaboratively. We usually discuss scenes and events we'd each like to see happen in brainstorm sessions as well as which direction we think each character will go, how they're thinking or feeling, etcetera. Then we do passes of each scene or chapter in Google docs, where we're both able to write and edit in the same document. Sometimes one of us will write a whole scene/chapter, but other times the writer changes paragraph to paragraph or even sentence to sentence. We rarely write the first draft in linear order. We can make comments and leave notes for one another to help keep the story and style consistent.
For us, two heads is better than one. We both have regular jobs to account for (the Hunter and the Spider books pay less than a $2 a day and all of it goes back into production). I have bipolar disorder and Jay has anxiety and depression, which can make keeping a consistent schedule or routine a challenge. Often times, we just try to squeeze in work where we can. Since we work so well together, when one is lacking ideas, time, or motivation the other can step in. It's very helpful to have someone else who is just as invested in the story and characters. We're usually each other's first audience and that helps with both positive and negative feedback. It's always good to have a second set of eyes.
Most of the time, we have to make multiple passes of each draft so it ends up edited by both of us a couple times before it reaches print, plus it goes through an editor we personally hire to check for grammatical errors. Some of the chapters also go through Jay's writing group, Fellowship of the Pen, to get additional thoughts and opinions from a wider variety of readers/writers, and to double check for reading comprehension.
Thank you so much for your question!
Our process is a little unique and in constant fluctuation, but we've been writing together online for sixteen years and we're used to working collaboratively. We usually discuss scenes and events we'd each like to see happen in brainstorm sessions as well as which direction we think each character will go, how they're thinking or feeling, etcetera. Then we do passes of each scene or chapter in Google docs, where we're both able to write and edit in the same document. Sometimes one of us will write a whole scene/chapter, but other times the writer changes paragraph to paragraph or even sentence to sentence. We rarely write the first draft in linear order. We can make comments and leave notes for one another to help keep the story and style consistent.
For us, two heads is better than one. We both have regular jobs to account for (the Hunter and the Spider books pay less than a $2 a day and all of it goes back into production). I have bipolar disorder and Jay has anxiety and depression, which can make keeping a consistent schedule or routine a challenge. Often times, we just try to squeeze in work where we can. Since we work so well together, when one is lacking ideas, time, or motivation the other can step in. It's very helpful to have someone else who is just as invested in the story and characters. We're usually each other's first audience and that helps with both positive and negative feedback. It's always good to have a second set of eyes.
Most of the time, we have to make multiple passes of each draft so it ends up edited by both of us a couple times before it reaches print, plus it goes through an editor we personally hire to check for grammatical errors. Some of the chapters also go through Jay's writing group, Fellowship of the Pen, to get additional thoughts and opinions from a wider variety of readers/writers, and to double check for reading comprehension.
Thank you so much for your question!
More Answered Questions
Sn0wr0se
asked
E.M. Jeanmougin:
When will you be writing another book? I loved the 3 spider / hunters.
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