How Common is Collaboration?

[usable001]

I like the idea of writing collaboration, but have never had any success writing a story with someone else's input, in practice. Since joining this forum, I've glanced at someone's profile from time to time to see what they have written, and the answer is most often nothing (not that my own catalog on this site is huge). While musing about story ideas can be fun in itself, is anyone actually visiting this forum with the goal of bringing someone else's beginning to completion?

For example, in my file of incomplete ideas, I have a 3,079-word setup for a femdom office story that stalls because I don't feel I (an older man who made other choices over careeer sucess in his life) can realistically convey the mental conflict of a successful woman seriously considering putting all she has worked for on the line over a potentially career-ending fling, even if that line of thought is a masturbation session in the privacy of her locked office. If I were to hand this over to someone else and let them take the wheel completely, I'd want to feel confident they could do a better job with my story than I could.

Given what I am looking for, am I entirely in the wrong place?

Edit: This was originally posted on the story ideas forum, but someone there suggested I repost it here. I didn't edit the post when I did, so some of the language (like references to the posted purpose of the story ideas forum) is confusing. My apologies.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I like the idea of writing collaboration, but have never had any success writing a story with someone else's input, in practice. Since joining this forum, I've glanced at someone's profile from time to time to see what they have written, and the answer is most often nothing (not that my own catalog on this site is huge). While musing about story ideas can be fun in itself, is anyone actually visiting this forum with the goal of bringing someone else's beginning to completion?

No. The vast majority of writers here are fully engaged with their own content. There have been some collaborations between AH writers, but not many, and none that I know of with the notion, let's finish someone else's story.

It's far more, hey, let's write a story together, because I like what you write.

For example, in my file of incomplete ideas, I have a 3,079-word setup for a femdom office story that stalls because I don't feel I (an older man who made other choices over careeer sucess in his life) can realistically convey the mental conflict of a successful woman seriously considering putting all she has worked for on the line over a potentially career-ending fling, even if that line of thought is a masturbation session in the privacy of her locked office. If I were to hand this over to someone else and let them take the wheel completely, I'd want to feel confident they could do a better job with my story than I could.

Why would you think that? It's your story idea, so the best person to give it a crack is you.

Given what I am looking for, am I entirely in the wrong place?

Not the wrong place, but the wrong mind set. Seriously, have a crack at writing it yourself.

In any event, you're not going to get much interest in a collaboration if you've got nothing to show. Having written with three other writers I can honestly say, it's going to be very hard to get started when you're a blank slate.

Start writing, would be my advice.

 

[usable001]

In any event, you're not going to get much interest in a collaboration if you've got nothing to show.

I have written, but very little of it has been erotica, so not here.

Edit: ... which also might explain why my example story stopped at the first spicy scene.

 

[SugarStorm]

For example, in my file of incomplete ideas, I have a 3,079-word setup for a femdom office story that stalls because I don't feel I (an older man who made other choices over careeer sucess in his life) can realistically convey the mental conflict of a successful woman seriously considering putting all she has worked for on the line over a potentially career-ending fling, even if that line of thought is a masturbation session in the privacy of her locked office.

I don’t know if I’d confuse realism with imagination... I’ve never been a sorceress, an FBI agent, a celebrity actress, or a twenty-year-old gymnast. Yet some of those stories seem to resonate with my readers.

Realism helps, sure, research helps, but imagination and empathy do a lot of heavy lifting too...

I’ve read plenty of technically realistic stories that left me bored, and plenty of wildly unrealistic ones that had me completely invested because the characters felt emotionally true.

Perhaps try to reverse their roles. Does that help? (Unsolicited advice - the best kind, right?)

In terms of collaboration, I think EB covered it quite well.

Good luck!

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Most collaborations around here come organically. People get to talking about a story, share ideas, and end up writing a story together.
That's how it has worked out for me.
You really need to establish a degree of compatibility with each other before you can jump into writing together.

 

[usable001]

Kelliezgirl, I love Terry Pratchett, and I love that quote.

 

[EmilyMiller]

is anyone actually visiting this forum with the goal of bringing someone else's beginning to completion?

As @ElectricBlue said, no.

We often get people posting here saying something like, “I’ve got a great idea for a story, all I need is an author to write it for me.”

A few times, someone has said, “OK, let’s talk.” My observation is that the person responding that way is seldom an experienced writer.

Most of the time people reply that they have enough of their own ideas for the next fifty years. Or that what the person posting thinks is a good idea may actually not merit that description when objectively evaluated.

Either way, the writing process is not a mechanical one where you insert an idea into an author’s head and get a story regurgitated. Use ChatGTP if that’s what you want. The results will be awful.

You use the term collaboration, but the example of finishing your story isn’t collaboration, it’s wanting someone to do the heavy lifting for you as it’s gotten too hard.

I sympathize, writing can be really tough (as well as super rewarding). We all get stuck and can’t figure out what next. But my advice to you is to keep going. It’s highly unlikely that anyone will want to finish your story. And if they do it will be their story.

Take a break from what you have writtten and look at it again in a month with fresh eyes. You may see a way forward then.

 

[StillStunned]

The good news is that there's a support thread for people trying to finish their stories: "I'm going to finish my damn story!": a support thread.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I haven't collaborated with anyone on a single story, but I have collaborated with other writers on anthology episodes where we each wrote our own segment. Those were paid writing gigs and not something that interests me here.

While I don't collaborate when writing, I do collaborate with my alpha and beta readers by using their ideas and feedback to adjust a story in progress when I feel that it is beneficial to do so.

 

[usable001]

You use the term collaboration, but the example of finishing your story isn’t collaboration, it’s wanting someone to do the heavy lifting for you as it’s gotten too hard.

Haha, no, I meant an emotionally invested person adding their insights and a different point of view, not someone to write everything for me. I am also aware that I am the new writer here, which is why my initial question was more along the lines of how often collaboration occurs at all than specifically requesting someone to jump up and work on one of my tales for no reward. My femdom office story was only intended as an example of when assistance might be useful.

Either way, the writing process is not a mechanical one where you insert an idea into an author’s head and get a story regurgitated. Use ChatGTP if that’s what you want. The results will be awful.

For what it's worth, human ghost-writers on sites like Fiverr are really hit-or-miss (mostly miss) too. Years ago, in a burst of underconfidence, I tried to employ a ghostwriter to add new insights to a novel I had already completed. After spending way too much time weeding through semi-literate interested parties, from the best of the bunch, I still ended up with a novel manuscript which I felt was inferior to my first draft. The person in question got paid, of course, but I never actually used any of the pages I had been given.

I do collaborate with my alpha and beta readers by using their ideas and feedback to adjust a story in progress when I feel that it is beneficial to do so.

I have had remarkably poor luck with that. A story will have over a thousand views and not a single comment.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I have had remarkably poor luck with that. A story will have over a thousand views and not a single comment.

I understand that frustration.

I was referring to those friends and others that read my stuff before it gets published, providing feedback as the story develops which I may want to incorporate in the final version.

 

[PennyThompson]

Just chiming in briefly to say that I now have seven story collaborations in my portfolio with two different writers, so it's certainly possible and can be incredibly fun and rewarding!

But you need to publish some stories on your own first, and make some writing friends. Also, participate in the forums, comment on stories that you like, make yourself seen as someone worth interacting with, and you may form some lit friendships!

And as a side note, not intended to impugn you personally in any way... It's not uncommon to see guys (pretty much always guys) come here, or to the Story Ideas forum, and say that they're looking for a "writing partner," to help with a "feminine perspective," or something along those lines. And more often than not, it turns out that they are actually looking for a roleplay/sexting partner. Again, not saying that's you or your intentions! But it happens often enough that most fem-presenting writers on here are going to be skeptical

 

[usable001]

I was referring to those friends and others that read my stuff before it gets published, providing feedback as the story develops which I may want to incorporate in the final version.

I don't have those, either.

 

[usable001]

It's not uncommon to see guys (pretty much always guys) come here, or to the Story Ideas forum, and say that they're looking for a "writing partner," to help with a "feminine perspective," or something along those lines. And more often than not, it turns out that they are actually looking for a roleplay/sexting partner.

Eww.

 

[Bamagan]

Just chiming in briefly to say that I now have seven story collaborations in my portfolio with two different writers, so it's certainly possible and can be incredibly fun and rewarding!

But you need to publish some stories on your own first, and make some writing friends. Also, participate in the forums, comment on stories that you like, make yourself seen as someone worth interacting with, and you may form some lit friendships!

And as a side note, not intended to impugn you personally in any way... It's not uncommon to see guys (pretty much always guys) come here, or to the Story Ideas forum, and say that they're looking for a "writing partner," to help with a "feminine perspective," or something along those lines. And more often than not, it turns out that they are actually looking for a roleplay/sexting partner. Again, not saying that's you or your intentions! But it happens often enough that most fem-presenting writers on here are going to be skeptical

This popped into my head, sort of (I was imagining the Mickey Mouse version).

 

[EmilyMiller]

Haha, no, I meant an emotionally invested person adding their insights and a different point of view, not someone to write everything for me. I am also aware that I am the new writer here, which is why my initial question was more along the lines of how often collaboration occurs at all than specifically requesting someone to jump up and work on one of my tales for no reward. My femdom office story was only intended as an example of when assistance might be useful.

Every single example of collaboration here (that I have seen), from bouncing ideas off someone, to alpha and beta reading, to co-authoring, to sharing characters, has been born out of a mutual respect and understanding of each other’s work and often a friendship developing as a result.

I’ve written the begining of stories, asked @Djmac1031 to contribute the middle, and then written the end. Then we alpha read pretty much everything the other writes and so are very much used to working together.

Even then, we have had some ups and downs and misunderstandings (mostly me being a drama queen - which my other co-author @PennyThompson can confirm ). Writing with someone with whom you have no prior connection sounds .

 

[Erozetta]

@WhiteTailDarkTip and I collaborated on a story for Halloween 2024. It was my beginning that I didn't know what to do with and two characters I absolutely loved. He found direction for them, we passed it back and forth and by his tally at the end, he wrote 55% and I wrote 45%
And I'm very happy with the way he helped me bring my characters to life.

We had no prior connections. The collab began through me offering up that beginning of mine to the chain story event. He liked it and reached out, offering to help me with it. I took him up on it.

One of the best decisions I've ever made.

 

[BeechLeaf]

The collaborations that get mentioned here are always, I think, between very well-established, skilled writers. I'm a big fan of the aforementioned WhiteTailDarkTip. I can see how two such people could negotiate with their strengths.

 

[Erozetta]

I also have a collaboration with voice artist @your_reverie_to_keep

And plans in the works for an audio collaboration with another writer here to rewrite and record my Collars and Cravings story.

Rev reached out to me randomly and I took him up on his offer to read I Love You (Link to his audio version is in the story as well.) and he knocked it out the fucking park.

He's also offered to read A Letter to my Readers but I haven't heard back so I kinda wonder if my reply landed in spam. I'll have to reach out again.

My new series will eventually be an audio collaboration as well.

The collab with the other writer on Collars came about through mutual respect and friendship being built up over the last few months.

Oh, and there's an audio collab with @PapaRomantic in Wicked Allure. He played my demon and my jerk of a date quite well!

 

[Erozetta]

The collaborations that get mentioned here are always, I think, between very well-established, skilled writers. I'm a big fan of the aforementioned WhiteTailDarkTip. I can see how two such people could negotiate with their strengths.

He is an absolutely marvelous writer!

 

[EmilyMiller]

The collaborations that get mentioned here are always, I think, between very well-established, skilled writers. I'm a big fan of the aforementioned WhiteTailDarkTip. I can see how two such people could negotiate with their strengths.

Precisely

 

[nudeblaqgirl]

Collaboration was more common in World War 2.

Too soon?

 

[BeechLeaf]

I don't actually want to imply that beginners can't cooperate. It might work out well. But a beginner has so many things to try to understand about their own skills and strengths and problems - it just makes it a lot more complicated if they're trying to accommodate someone else with similar problems.

(I once tried collaborating with someone, many years ago, and apparently our friends reported that we both made the same complaints about each other,)

 

[Erozetta]

I will say that I think it helps for an author to be very open to criticism and relinquishing control to a degree. A willingness to hear each other out is going to make things go much smoother in the end.

There's also an element of trust involved. I have collaborated with people I didn't know well enough to trust them or their skills, but I trusted that they wanted to put out the best work they could, and that made it easy for me to listen to their ideas. Particularly when they shifted greatly from my original plans.

 

[SimonDoom]

I have written, but very little of it has been erotica, so not here.

Edit: ... which also might explain why my example story stopped at the first spicy scene.

I endorse what ElectricBlue told you.

You are not at all alone or unusual in reaching out in this forum and inquiring about collaborations. Many others have done the same. But the way it usually works is that you write and publish your own stories and then get to know other writers in this forum, and once you have a bit of a track record you can connect with someone who is compatible and then collaborate. "Cold calls" don't usually work.

So, my recommendation is: first, write and publish your own stuff. Don't worry about the quality. We've all been there. Just do it, get your feet wet, see how it goes. Read other authors' stories, and figure out whom you like and with whom you might like to collaborate.