I have had the pleasure (and continue to have) of collaborating with several extremely talented people and I have learned the key to successfully collaboration.

Another ‘C’-word: Communication.

Without proper communication, any project will likely fail. When you are working with another person who is also busy, that failure is practically guaranteed.

Take, for example, the Action Pack Podcast, which is scheduled for release the end of this month. Scott Roche, JR Murdock and myself are each writing a story in serial form with a new episode every month. That means writing, recording and production of the podcast each and every month. If even one of us fails to have our individual story element finished, the whole thing falls down.

That means we need to help each other and the best way to do that is by talking, emailing, and Tweeting each other regularly.

Now, that may sound like a big enough challenge, but we also have thrown in the other elements of music, artwork and eBook publishing. We must ensure that the people who are helping us, like Dan Absalonson (artwork) and JP Losier (eBook) know what’s going on and when we have to hit deadlines. Expectations must be set and results must be guaranteed or the project, once again, falls down.

Then there are the ancilliary elements of the project. For example, the website must be up and the promo must be created. That means we all have to spend more time talking and sharing with each other. Oh yeah, and that promotion piece doesn’t just happen on its own either.

Every step of the way there are potential pitfalls that could stop the project cold. That makes communication between all the contributors, whatever their capacity, key.

It’s important to have the right people on the project, but if no one knows what the others are doing or when things need to be done, the project will fail. So, make sure that, if you are collaborating with anyone, you have your communication plan set out at the very beginning.

Tags: action pack podcast, artwork, collaboration, communication, Dan Absalonson, dandantheartman, eBook, jp losier, jr murdock, michael plested, Michell Plested, mike plested, music, podcast, Publishing, scott roche

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Last episode, I mentioned The Action Pack Podcast. Everything is just about ready for release. The first episodes of each of the three stories have been writen and recorded for the podcast and the scripts have been sent in for the eBooks. The website, www.actionpackpodcast.com, even has teasers for you to read. We’re all getting pretty excited to see and hear the first episode.

I’ve also been making some good headway in my GalaxyBillies edits AND JR Murdock and I have the second book in our collaboration series about half-way plotted out. We’re just finishing the final edits on the first book so we can send it out to our Alpha readers.

All that and I expect to see the final edits for Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero any day now. Lots of great stuff to share with you all.

In this episode, my special guest and I talk about anthologies. As you may know, Jeffrey Hite and I have are co-editing an anthology called A Method to the Madness: A Guide to the Super Evil. I thought it would be fun if we talked about the anthology, how it came to be and what we have learned thus far.

I’m also delighted to have my friend and co-author, JR Murdock, do another Unorthodox Writing Tips for us. This episode he talks about visualizing the places you have been and how it can help your writing.

That’s the lineup for today. I hope you enjoy the show.

Show Notes

Tags: a guide to the super evil, a method to the madness, action pack podcast, flying island press, Get Published, jeff hite, jeffrey hite, jr murdock, mad scientist anthology, mad scientist handbook, Michell Plested, sonic society, unorthodox writing tips