Collaborate and Listen

We don't talk enough about collaborative writing and how to do it well. 

Some of my most joyful writing moments in the past few years have been collaborative ones. I’m hearing this especially from humanities folks who were trained to go it alone, only to discover later how rewarding co-authoring can be. 

Here are a few strategies that supported a strong working relationship and helped us get the work accepted:

𝟏. 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬

You don't need to be rigid about this; take turns, shift roles, check-in. But it helps to start from a place where everyone feels they have a part. It also presents an opportunity to share your strengths, how you like to work, and how you prefer to be supported. 

𝟐. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 

Schedule a Zoom or an in-person conversation to go over progress or review drafts together. My collaborator and I read our work out loud to ourselves during these sessions so we could edit and discuss together. And then we scheduled our next call. If you rely only on comments and drafts, collaboration slows down and fragments. Plus, it builds in time for genuine connection. 

𝟑. 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩

This is good advice for solo or collaborative writing. Never close the document or the meeting without a clear understanding of what you're going to pick up on next. I leave a little note to myself about where I'm going next. Otherwise, you risk getting stuck in what a friend of mine calls “opening ceremonies”—the time spent re-orienting before the real work begins.

𝟒. 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 

Working well together is as much about the writing itself as it is about how clear you are on the process you're going to follow to reach your goal. When something feels off, return to the process you’ve agreed on—timelines, roles, decision-making—rather than focusing on individual choices.

Collaboration shouldn't dilute your voice; ideally, it should expand it.

*also: we need to design a better platform for finding collaborators: OkCollaborators?