You Can Have The Kids; I Want The Copyright: Sheri Blume

This first appeared as a post in July 2011.

My husband and I write fantasy novels—together. When people hear this, their reactions are usually a mix of awe and disbelief. Some exclaim that they could never work with their spouses, then ask: “How do you write together and not kill each other?”

Fortunately, we haven’t had to resort to violence (there was that one time Bill had a sword to my back while I was prone on the floor, but that was only because we were plotting a fight scene). That’s not to say we haven’t had our intense discussions. These have become less intense as we’ve learned how to work together.

Bill and I have been married for fifteen years. We dated for six before that. Through the years together, we shared a passion for writing, though not necessarily together. We did, however, create stories in the same fictional reality, with many of the same characters.

The idea to write together arose from a conversation with an agent at the James River Writers Conference several years ago. We asked the agent how we should handle the possibility of one of us being published before the other, and the potential issues this might create with copyright. Her answer was amazingly simple. Put both your names on everything. Wish we had thought of that!

This progressed to the idea that if my name were going to be on Bill’s books, maybe I should have more of a creative hand in them, and vice versa. A true collaboration.

Bill had a finished book. I had read it before we had decided to write together. When I read it the second time, I suggested a lot of drastic changes. This was almost the end of our collaboration before it really began. Bill was frustrated. He asked me where all this editorial advice was when I read it the first time.  I explained my reasoning. When it was only him writing it, I didn’t want to insert my style over his. But now, it was also my book too. We were both yelling by the end of it. I had to retreat. I left the house for some cool-off driving. When I got back, tempers had cooled, and we approached the book from a new and calmer direction.  That particular book is not the one we’ve finished together. After all that drama, we decided that we should tell a different story first.

We have had to learn to work together, just as we have had to learn to live together. Our strengths balance our weaknesses. Bill is logical. I am emotional. I have a knack for words and Bill is great at characters. We catch each others’ mistakes. Together we have built a world.

Our method is not unlike theatre. We each have characters that we write, and have discovered that we cannot trade. Bill tried to write one of my characters once. It didn’t work. His voice was not suited to that character. We also write in scenes. Laptop computers have made this process much easier. We pass the computer back and forth. There are times when after editing and polishing we can’t tell which one of us wrote a particular scene. That to me is the pay-off, when our individual styles blend to create a cohesive new voice.

There have been ups and downs in our working relationship. Our working style has developed by trial and error. Tears and raised voices have ensued, but also moments of exciting brilliance when we are literally thinking the same and the words are flowing. It is a work in progress as much as our writing projects are. We have our individual writing projects as well as other creative ventures; Bill does graphic artwork. I make jewelry.

I know my own writing  is better because of working with my husband. With one collaborative book completed, and more on the way, our working partnership is well on the way to becoming as strong as our marriage; and the question of who gets the kids and who gets the copyright will—hopefully—never arise.

Sheri Blume wears many hats: writer, jewelry designer and 911 dispatcher.  She has written online articles about jewelry making as well as fiction stories, both with her husband  and solo. She has also volunteered extensively with James River Writers in Richmond, where she lives with her husband Bill, their two children, a dog and a flock of plush dragons.  You can check out her own blog here.