I literally squealed when my marketing team gave me this as a blog topic. Collaborative books! OMG, you guys, it’s why I was born!
The specialty at Brave Healer Productions quickly became collaborative co-authored projects when I realized how powerful they were, for both my author-entrepreneur co-authors, and for our readers.
There are incredible advantages to being in one of these projects if you choose the right one. I want you to choose wisely and have such an amazing experience that you’ll want to do it again.
“One of the missions around here is to provide the best collaborative book experience on the planet,” I spewed to a prospective client one day. I could tell by her smile that she loved hearing that! Many people have had bad experiences. That so bums me out.
I learned the hard way. I was one of those people. A co-author alerted me that my last name was spelled incorrectly in one of the projects I invested $5000 to be in—after the book was published. Don’t get me started. That was a bad day. And it really motivated me, actually.
I knew what could go wrong, what was missing, and all the ways I was about to stay true to my promise. Just because a project seems like one of those shiny objects (is connected to an influencer, or other huge promise) doesn’t mean it’s all it’s cracked up to be.
Co-authorship (also typed into Google, and for the sake of my marketing team who is always trying to get me to use better keywords—coauthor, co authorship, and co-authoring) is exciting! Joining a project with multiple experts isn’t just about being a published author, it’s about quickly building a community that has your business-building back. It’s badass, y’all.
What is co-authoring? Or, what is co-authoring a book?
Co-author vs. contributing author—basically the same thing in my books. This is when you write one chapter or contribute a portion of the book’s content, along with your other co-authors or contributors. There are different variations and sizes.
At Brave Healer Productions, we don’t publish anthologies. We publish expert collaborations with a mission to wake the world up to what’s possible for healing and put real, effective tools in people’s hands. Our stories are real, authentic, and vulnerable, and they’re enhanced when our authors step up as the master teachers they are to teach a tool to our readers.
In our Brave Kids Books division, the authors stepping up to contribute are the same holistic health and wellness professionals who write for our non-fiction books, which makes our children’s books other-level amazing.
And for Brave Business Books, we attract business owners in these book collaborations who are doing business differently and have a holistic and integrated approach to entrepreneurship and the way we deliver our products and services to the world.
In each one of our collaborative books we aim to gift the world with all the very unique voices and tools, giving the reader an exceptionally diverse experience and the hope that there’s something specifically for them in each of our titles.
Is co-authoring a good idea?
We certainly think so! After participating in over five myself before producing them, I can tell you with some other-level confidence that they are life and business-changing if done the right way.
Here are five reasons you should choose to participate in one of these outstanding projects:
- You’re already an author and want more attention (and a very unique marketing strategy) for your current book.
- You’re actively building your business and want to attract new clients.
- You enjoy networking and want like-minded badasses to play in the sandbox with.
- You don’t have the time to write your solo book and want to get your feet wet with one chapter.
- You don’t have the writing, book, or publishing coaching or knowledge and you want to get expert help with all of it without breaking the bank or before tackling your solo book project(s).
How to Choose the Right Project
The publishing business is booming due to technological advancements and easier access to books and the world. Cool, huh? But this can make choosing the right project difficult. With so many companies and opportunities to choose from, you need to ask the right questions, do your research, and, if possible, talk to the CEO of that company.
Here are some tips and thoughts for making that decision easier:
- The CEO is willing to chat with you. The experience is personal, compassionate, inspiring, and connected. Trust your gut—the connection makes you feel good! You don’t feel like just another transaction.
- The coaching you receive not only helps you understand how to co author a book in the best way, but supports you before, during, and well after the book launch.
- The terms and conditions are clear, and are followed through on.
- You clearly see the return on investment. Recommendations tell you so.
- You feel cared for. You’re leaving your legacy in the world with your brave words, so the company should realize that your legacy is part of theirs. It matters!
Do your research. Ask great questions. Trust your instincts. Ask for referrals/recommendations and others to talk to.
By the way, the question I most often get asked is: Do I, as a co-author, get any royalties? In our projects, the answer is no; only our lead authors share royalties with us. Make sure to reach out if you’re interested in being a lead author! However, we offer an incredible paperback purchasing benefit to our co-authors to allow them to easily make their investment back, and then some, among other benefits that very much out way the 1/25 split that would be their royalties.
Our business model is a triple abundant win and is changing the way collaborations are done. We hope you’ll reach out with questions or to find out about our upcoming book projects! You’ll find most of those listed HERE.
