Writing a book? Consider Co-Authoring.

Photo by Fang-Wei Lin on Unsplash

Have you ever seen a relay race? It is a race where the runners run equal distances and pass the baton to next person. It is not an event for an individual but a group event. So everyone participates and it is team work!

So is ‘Co-Authoring’. Have you ever heard this term? Similar to a relay race, a co-authored book does not have a single author but a group of authors. All of them contribute towards writing of the book and the end doesn’t seem so far away!

If you are looking to co-author a book, or are wondering how it works, here are the top 5 tips:

1) Sign-up:

Check out websites which provide platforms for ‘Co-Authoring’. Create an account on such websites. Have a look at the books which are open for contribution. You can contribute to a book you are interested in or become a ‘Lead- Author’ for a book based on your own interest.

2) Interest:

You can’t contribute to a book in which you are not interested. Check out the websites if they have any book which interests you. Unless it creates a spark in you, you can’t contribute wholeheartedly. Otherwise you yourself can become a ‘Lead- Author’ and start a book!

3) Community:

Check out online communities, which also share your interest. Join those groups. Whether it be on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Then when you want to write a book of your own interest, you can easily rope-in the community members for contributing to your book. You all will have same theme and interest!

4) Discipline:

For doing anything in your life you need discipline. ‘No pain, No gain’. If you really want to write a book then get up and do it! Don’t delay. Don’t procrastinate. Get to work! If writing a book is your dream, then work towards it. Don’t just talk about it!

5) Patience:

Just as in a Relay race, you have to wait until the last runner reaches the finish line. You can’t be impatient. You have to give your best to the book and wait for others also to give their best. It may take some time. “Rome was not built in a day!” It is team-work and you all will have to work together for the common goal!

These 5 tips will make ‘Co- Authoring’ a breeze for you. It will make your journey in writing, efficient and worth-while. Writing needs the same qualities which an athlete needs. You need to have determination and perseverance. ‘Fortune favours the Brave’! What are you waiting for? Just follow these easy tips and authoring a book won’t be an impossible dream!

LetsAuthor (https://letsauthor.com) is one example of a co-authoring platform. On their website, you will find books which are currently being written — books that have not been completed yet. You just have to sign up on their website and start contributing. You can also start a book of your own, become the ‘Lead Author’ and decide the structure of the book. If you are interested in a book already on their website, then you start contributing after discussing with the ‘Lead Author’.

We are moving into the age of the knowledge economy, and curation is the future of content. We have had access to so much information, it’s time we move from an algorithm picking up and deciding what’s relevant and worth broadcasting, to a real human being curating and deciding which is right information. At LetsAuthor, the Lead Author is that curator/moderator/editor.

With co-authoring, you become an author of a book so easily! Your efforts are minimal since everyone contributes. Within no time, a book is published in your name. You don’t have to wait for years to publish a book with your name. You don’t have to take the entire workload. Just as in the relay race, you can run in the start, middle or the end, you still contribute!