Sharing Documents Online for Collaborative Writing

[FeldGasden]

Hello,

Can I check with anyone who've had experience collaborating on writing projects, how to share drafts online?

I'm working with another writer on a project now. He's able to share his draft with me via a link sent via DM but I'm not able to share the draft I edited in return.

Can anyone please advise how I may be able to return him the draft I edited? Thank you.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Hello,

Can I check with anyone who've had experience collaborating on writing projects, how to share drafts online?

I'm working with another writer on a project now. He's able to share his draft with me via a link sent via DM but I'm not able to share the draft I edited in return.

Can anyone please advise how I may be able to return him the draft I edited? Thank you.

When I've collaborated, we swapped a Word file back and forth, via email. That is, offline from the Lit mail system, using our own email accounts.

 

[ColtonWrites]

I use Ellipsus. You can both share and edit the same documents online.

 

[FeldGasden]

I use Ellipsus. You can both share and edit the same documents online.

My collaborator posted a Google Docs link where I managed to access his draft but I'm not able to post mine. Does anyone know how I may do that?

I've asked for his email but it'll take a while because we're in different time zones.

 

[Actingup]

Google docs works really well, particularly if you both have gmail accounts. It's easier to edit the one document online than to have separate documents passing backwards and forwards.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

There are very privacy-focused services out there for various kinds of sharing, like Proton and Mullvad. (The Writing Group looked at them when we were talking about setting up this pseudonymous account.)

 

[FeldGasden]

Well my question is how to give him the link to my Google Document?

I'm intrigued by TheWritingGroup. Are you all working together on any stories? I see that you're publishing stories from 4 different writers in the same group.

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

Well my question is how to give him the link to my Google Document?

There's a Share button on the top right where you grant certain types of permissions (View, Comment, Edit). You'd need his email to share.

 

[alohadave]

Hello,

Can I check with anyone who've had experience collaborating on writing projects, how to share drafts online?

I'm working with another writer on a project now. He's able to share his draft with me via a link sent via DM but I'm not able to share the draft I edited in return.

Can anyone please advise how I may be able to return him the draft I edited? Thank you.

I created a Lit-only gmail account and uploaded the text into the Google Docs for that account. GDocs has version tracking, so it's easy to collaborate by adding someone to access the file.

 

[FeldGasden]

I'm talking about how to share the file here via Direct Message.

Good idea for that gmail account but does it allow different fonts. That's a way to make it easier to differentiate between his and my work.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

Well my question is how to give him the link to my Google Document?

I'm intrigued by TheWritingGroup. Are you all working together on any stories? I see that you're publishing stories from 4 different writers in the same group.

We collaborated on Benefactor, but mostly we just act as alpha and beta readers for each other.

--Annie

 

[EmilyMiller]

I’ve done a lot of collaborative writing. Google Docs is very useful. I worry about privacy, but sometimes utility is what you need.

 

[FeldGasden]

I’ve done a lot of collaborative writing. Google Docs is very useful. I worry about privacy, but sometimes utility is what you need.

The problem is how to share the Google Doc links via this DM. This is what I've been trying to ask.

I've been trying to paste the links here like my collaborator but I'm unable to get them to work.

@EmilyMiller, I saw a reference you made to Cantonese. Are you one? I am one so I'm intrigued when I saw you refer to my mother tongue.

 

[EmilyMiller]

The problem is how to share the Google Doc links via this DM. This is what I've been trying to ask.

I've been trying to paste the links here like my collaborator but I'm unable to get them to work.

Just add them as a contributor via their email in the document.

I end up editing and seeing @Djmac1031’s cursor in the document - we’ve had convos in the document while I’ve been writing it

 

[EmilyMiller]

@EmilyMiller, I saw a reference you made to Cantonese. Are you one? I am one so I'm intrigued when I saw you refer to my mother tongue.

Yeah, I’m from the Pennsylvania canton

 

[FeldGasden]

Just add them as a contributor via their email in the document.

I end up editing and seeing @Djmac1031’s cursor in the document - we’ve had convos in the document while I’ve been writing it

He only gave me viewing rights so I had to send the edited document back to him.

Question is how to do it via the conversations here. He gave the document to me in our conversation. I had to download it separately because I needed to edit it. Now I'm trying to return him the edited document. I don't have his email address.

 

[EmilyMiller]

He only gave me viewing rights so I had to send the edited document back to him.

Question is how to do it via the conversations here. He gave the document to me in our conversation. I had to download it separately because I needed to edit it. Now I'm trying to return him the edited document. I don't have his email address.

That’s kinda messed up. Get him to change your rights. You can be set up to just add comments if they don’t want you to make changes to the text.

 

[FeldGasden]

That’s kinda messed up. Get him to change your rights. You can be set up to just add comments if they don’t want you to make changes to the text.

That's a bit strongly worded. He might be new to this but he was kind enough to offer to work with me on this story. I'll let him know when he comes online. We're in different time zones.

 

[Actingup]

That's a bit strongly worded. He might be new to this but he was kind enough to offer to work with me on this story. I'll let him know when he comes online. We're in different time zones.

Wrong permissions are an easy mistake to make when sharing in Google Docs.

 

[ElectricBlue]

He only gave me viewing rights so I had to send the edited document back to him.

Question is how to do it via the conversations here. He gave the document to me in our conversation. I had to download it separately because I needed to edit it. Now I'm trying to return him the edited document. I don't have his email address.

I think you need to sort out your file sharing protocol. If you're collaborating, you both should have equal rights to the document. I wouldn't do it through Lit, I'd use email to send links or versions back and forth.

I also wouldn't bother about different fonts - if it's a true collaboration, neither author should care which bit is your bit, which bit is his. It's the story that counts - you need to put your egos aside.

To be honest, I can't see how this collaboration will work. You've acknowledged you've not written anything, so that fundamental starting point is missing. All of the successful collaborations I've seen, both writers already have a body of work - that's what brought them together.

 

[ColtonWrites]

I'm talking about how to share the file here via Direct Message.

Then you'll hit Share in the corner of the document and get the link, and post that in the DM.

 

[FeldGasden]

I think you need to sort out your file sharing protocol. If you're collaborating, you both should have equal rights to the document. I wouldn't do it through Lit, I'd use email to send links or versions back and forth.

I also wouldn't bother about different fonts - if it's a true collaboration, neither author should care which bit is your bit, which bit is his. It's the story that counts - you need to put your egos aside.

To be honest, I can't see how this collaboration will work. You've acknowledged you've not written anything, so that fundamental starting point is missing. All of the successful collaborations I've seen, both writers already have a body of work - that's what brought them together.

Actually I did write a story I already published here. I don't really count that because I was writing that story as an experiment. It's called The Lustful Librarian P1. I just set it aside because I found something to write, which interested me more. However, I do plan on continuing the series at a later date, when I've become much better in writing.

Nah...It's not that. I'm just letting him know which parts I've changed or corrected. I'm fine with letting him be in the driver's seat or engine room. He's much more experienced than I am. He was interested in my idea and proposed his take. I then expressed my views about his take and he's done a wonderful job in combining the two.

I've written a bit outside Literotica, blogged for my opera hobby, written scripts for my YouTube opera introductions that hardly anybody watches, given testimonials in church so I do have a bit of writing experience plus I've got a feel for words from reading a number of classics. I admit I'm poorly read since I can use two hands to count the number of literary masterpieces I've finished (from front to back). Literature class in school doesn't count because I never read what I was studying. I'm just new to writing fiction, especially that of an erotic nature.

Then you'll hit Share in the corner of the document and get the link, and post that in the DM.

I've been trying to do that but the URL that's shown in the DM is truncated. That's why I started this thread to ask for help with this matter.

 

[ColtonWrites]

I've been trying to do that but the URL that's shown in the DM is truncated. That's why I started this thread to ask for help with this matter.

That sounds like an issue with the site. We wont be able to help you with that.
It really seems like you're just going to have to exchange email addresses. You can make a new one if you want privacy.

 

[jsmiam]

…I've been trying to do that but the URL that's shown in the DM is truncated. That's why I started this thread to ask for help with this matter.

try mutually agreeing on turning it into NOT a url.

For example take off the http and the :// and the www.goo parts and just send a long weird looking stream of letters/numbers beginning with “gle.com/whatever the url was minus the beginning”. Since it’s no longer a url it probably won’t get changed. Probably.

Then paste into a browser but don’t hit enter. Add whatever you took off.

Also neither of you should be using anything resembling your “real life” email addresses anyway. (Personally I don’t and wouldn’t trust Google docs either). You should both have secret email addresses you don’t mind sharing. Just not the one where it’s your first name middle initial last name @ somewhere dot com.

But. I and many others don’t understand what you’re saying: clealy you’ve acquired one version of the story through sharing. How did that happen? It would help to regroup, explain the current situation completely and clearly, then we can proceed. If they can share but you can’t, have the other person make two versions, one you can edit and one you can’t, if they’re not letting you touch the main one. But either way please unconfuse us.

There may also be a way to share the document with anyone who has the URL. A knowledgeable Google docs user can be more authoritative on theat. In that case revert to the first possible idea here.