I am very excited today to welcome Candace Robinson back to my blog with another interview!
You might remember, if you’ve been following my old blog, that I have first interviewed Candace in 2018 – you can read that interview here. Today, however, I wanted to chat to Candace about her co-writing experiences. She has co-authored a number of cool books with different authors, among the latest being the Faeries of Oz series, starting with Tin.
About Candace
Candace Robinson spends her days consumed by words and hoping to one day find her own DeLorean time machine. Her life consists of avoiding migraines, admiring Bonsai trees, watching classic movies, and living with her husband and daughter in Texas—where it can be forty degrees one day and eighty the next!
Interview
You are a very prolific author, and in addition to writing solo-authored books you also co-author. Among your most recent collaborations is the Fairies of Oz series with Amber R. Duell. You’ve already written four novels together – can you please share how your collaboration came to be? Who came up with the idea for the series?
I met Amber through a small press that we were both at. And I’m not sure exactly how it happened exactly but I know I had asked her would she want to co-author together and I had mentioned doing New Adult and Fae. She said she had a Wizard of Oz YA Sci-fi idea, and I was like how about we do Wizard of Oz Fae! She wanted Tin and Dorothy as our first characters so it progressed from there.
Can you describe your planning/writing process as co-authors? Do you outline together, how do you split up the work, etc. Do you edit each other’s sections?
So both of us are pantsers, but I usually come up with a very basic outline. Amber then reads over it and adjusts any areas she thinks needs to be. But even as we write, things change a little along the way. When we start the book, I’ll write a chapter, she edits and sends back, then she writes hers and we continue that process.
What’s your favorite part of co-writing books?
I love that you have someone to bounce ideas with back and fourth and also being able to basically edit as you go.
If you have disagreements about anything, from plot to narrative style, how do you resolve it?
We haven’t had any big arguments yet lol. I think we’re both pretty easy going so we generally are able to see where the other author is coming from or if what we are writing does need to be changed.
You have a new collaborative project on the horizon with a different co-author; do you find the way you work changes from partner to partner or does it stay the same?
So far the writing process is about the same since it’s also a dual POV book, but we haven’t finished that one yet.
As co-writers, is it more difficult (or easier) to manage deadlines?
The first draft is a little slower when I co-write, only because when I write solo, I write a first draft pretty quickly but it’s always pretty short. Then I go back in and plump it up. With co-writing, it’s basically a second or third draft by the time I send my chapter to Amber to read over.
What advice would you give to aspiring co-authors?
Do a test first to make sure your writing styles line up and also make sure the other understands that marketing is also a 50/50 task.
Thank you Candace for answering my interview questions!
You can read more about Candace and her books on her website; or check out her Amazon profile for her extended body of work.