by Julie Glover

When Christina Delay and I became critique partners, we didn’t imagine the deep friendship we’d develop. But even more surprising, and welcome, was becoming coauthors.

Could one of your writing friends become a valued writing partner?

Getting Started

We decided to cowrite a series out of frustration with our individual writing careers not yielding the results we’d anticipated. If we could self-publish a nine-book series within a year or two that made money, we’d have more options for our individual writing careers.

Very soon, we discovered that: (1) we weren’t willing to lower our standards and thus needed more time to produce our best work, and (2) life has a way of intervening. Many of you can relate to having your plans interrupted by a worldwide pandemic as well as personal challenges. C’est la vie!

Even so, we have published five novels together, with four more planned, as well as our most recent release, a nonfiction book for writers titled Together, We Write: An Author's Complete Guide to Cowriting. Throughout this process, we have learned a lot.

First of all, your coauthor should be a friend.

They don’t need to be a close friend, like we are, but you should enjoy spending time with this person, because you’ll spend a lot of time together when you cowrite a book.

Second, you should adore their writing.

You’ll be reading a lot of your coauthor’s words, so you should already enjoy their independent work before becoming partners. I’m regularly in awe of Christina’s viscerals and plot-twist brilliance, and she has often told me that my dialogue is spectacular. (I’m wincing at that characterization, but it is what it is.) That mutual respect has made it much easier to work together.

Third, you should agree that the prefix co means a lot.

You’ll each need to check your I’m right arrogance at the door and let yourself be edited and challenged by your coauthor. Such openness has made us not only better coauthors for our shared books but better authors for our individual novels.

Choosing a Process

Once you find The One—and wrangle them into writing with you—there’s still plenty to figure out. You must discover the how of writing together.

Will you write in the same room? Pass the manuscript back and forth? Divide up points of view? Lean on one of you to write setting and dialogue while the other focuses on internal thoughts and viscerals? Or something else altogether?

Coauthors have many options available. Take stock of your personality preferences, writing strengths and weaknesses, and time constraints to determine how to proceed.

For us, having a story structure was key. Even though I’m not a super-structured writer on my own, that framework helped us to navigate the path forward. We also discussed when we’d each write, with the happy coincidence that Christina wrote best in the mornings and I wrote best in the evenings. You’ll need to decide what software to use, what editing approach you’ll take (Track Changes or something else), deadlines, and all that coauthor jazz.

Navigating Challenges

While cowriting has been an amazing experience we’ve loved, we won’t deny that it comes with some challenges.

For one thing, you’re sharing profits with another author. Your per-book income won’t be as much. That said, you’re also sharing the work of writing, editing, and marketing with someone else. It’s half the work for half the profit, but we believe our profits are exponentially improved with an ally at our side!

Other challenges include working through different perspectives on plot or characterization, finding time to write and edit with one another, and deciding what promotion opportunities to embrace or let pass. But honestly, none of these has come close to insurmountable.

Because we respect one another, we’re committed to resolving any differences and embracing a third way that works well for both of us.

If you’re worried that cowriting will keep you from your solo projects, breathe easy. For us, cowriting doesn’t keep us from doing our own thing. Christina also writes psychological suspense that’s definitely darker than I write, while I pen novels about teen friendship and romance. We enjoy reading one another’s books! But we write in different genres—except when it comes to our shared series.

Loving the Story

What we’ve created with our supernatural suspense series is bigger and better than what we could have done alone. We’ve fallen in love with characters the other writer introduced, plot twists the other devised, and prose that kept us on the edges of our seats. Just the mention of Muse Island (the name of our series) takes Christina and me to a magical place in our minds and hearts—a world we built together.

But that’s not the only story we love. We love our story of writing together. It has deepened our friendship and helped us grow as authors. This journey isn’t always smooth, but it’s the sort of adventure you wouldn’t trade for anything. And we’re excited to tell others about it, knowing that some other authors would really relish the cowriting experience.

If you’re intrigued about cowriting, consider who you might want to take that adventure with! And then pick up our book, Together, We Write; this short read will walk you through everything you need to know to have a successful coauthor experience.

 What questions do you have about cowriting? Julie is here to answer them for you down in the comments!

About Julie

Julie Glover is an award-winning author of young adult and mystery fiction. She has also coauthored five supernatural suspense novels and two short stories in the mythology-based Muse Island series under her pen name Jules Lynn. With her coauthor, Christina Delay, she recently published Together, We Write: An Author's Complete Guide to Cowriting, currently available as an e-book and soon coming out in print.

Julie holds a master’s degree in counseling, has taught conference workshops and online courses, and served as sidekick and sometimes-host for Cruising Writers. A native of Texas, she now lives in Denton with her hottie husband, her loquacious cat, and her large collection of cowgirl boots.

Top image by GaudiLab via Deposit Photos

by Sarah (Sally) Hamer

Our imagination is one of the most powerful things we humans own. And, whether it’s a journal entry, a blog post, an emotional and loving email, or a novel, writing helps us make sense of who we are. It’s not just about putting words on a page. It’s about finding clarity, connection, and direction.

For many of us, writing is more than a task. It’s a way of showing up. It’s how we process what matters and how we pass it on. It’s opening up our imagination and allowing ourselves to take a deep breath. Too often, and for too many reasons, we squelch our artistic and inventive mind, stomping it back down into a reality that may not even be our own. It takes courage to be ourselves, to push back against what others think we should be.

The Page as a Place to Begin

For creatives of any kind, finding North matters. When we’re lost, whether physically or emotionally, we first have to establish where we are. Maybe it’s in a forest or in the midst of a chaotic family or even stuck in a sagging middle. But discovering North can be the first step to the first step out of a quagmire.

Only then, can we create a route out of the problem, no matter what it is.

As we find ourselves, we get to be honest and shape our ideas into something useful, turning lived experience into something that supports our creativity. And, we find the ability to go in different directions –East, West, South, around the bend, up a hill -- based on a strong foundation of what we really, truly want to say. 

A blank page can be intimidating, but it’s also an open invitation to forge our own path. We may not know which way North is when we write the first words on that page, but just the act of beginning can open doors in our writing soul.  We don’t need perfection. We only need presence.

When we write, we slow down. We listen. We begin to notice what’s underneath the surface—what’s been waiting to be named. The page becomes a safe place instead of a scary one.

Using the Compass

We each have a personal compass, a tool that helps guide us and keep us focused and aligned to our true North. It could be almost anything that can bring us from a safe (or uncomfortable) spot to go forward. Some ideas are:

• A set of words or phrases that remind us why we write. 
• A visual symbol, maybe a compass or a flower or a review that reminds us that we are appreciated. 
• A audio symbol like a playlist that helps us to feel stable.
• A olfactory symbol. I use different essential oils that help me concentrate.
• A text or phone call from a supportive fellow writer. 

Tools don’t need to be fancy. They just need to be meaningful, to help us stay connected to our values and our voice, especially when the work gets hard or the message feels unclear.

Letting Go of Perfection

One of the biggest blocks to writing is the pressure to get it right. But the truth is, writing doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful. In fact, the most impactful writing often comes from a place of honesty and vulnerability. It’s okay to write a messy first draft. It’s okay to not have all the answers. And, ultimately, it’s okay to throw everything you’ve done that day away and start afresh in the morning. You are sovereign and get to decide. 

When we let go of perfection, we make space for authenticity. We give ourselves permission to show up as we are.

Writing as a Way to Leave Something Behind

Writing is a way to pass on wisdom. Doesn’t mean that every story must have a moral, of course. We’re not required to force a change on our readers. But it’s certainly okay to present an experience in our own lives or imagination that might be helpful to a future reader. A lot of classic stories do teach. For instance, I learned courage in the face of a friend’s death in Charlotte’s Web and the ability to stand up to evil in A Wrinkle in Time when I was a child. Both books still resonate with me. 

Remember, books don’t have to be long or formal or morality tales to make a character come alive. They just need to create a sense of reality in a reader’s mind. 

Writing becomes part of our legacy. It’s how we share what we’ve lived and learned. It’s how we make sure our voice continues to support others, even when we’re not there to speak it.

Staying on the Path

Bottom line, becoming aware that we do indeed have the power to forge our own path and determine our destiny is not only the first step, but one of the most important. I don’t care what you write. It’s a good thing for writers of any genre or style to make a living at it, of course. But it’s more about the creative expression than the monetary gain, in my humble opinion. Money is easy, compared to a lot of things in this crazy world of ours. I believe that satisfaction with what we do and how we live our life is much more important. 

Do you know what your path is? Is it joyful and satisfying? I wish that for you!

Sally, Lisa Norman, Jenny Hansen, and several others of our amazing WITS folks will be presenting at a Virtual Writing Conference on October 24th and 25th, called "Creating Creativity: The Soul of the StoryTeller. http://www.penandpotential.com 

There's still time to sign up as an Early Bird for 50% off (until October 1st). 

This is on GoBrunch, which will give you a glimpse of some of the new technology Lisa has been raving about!

(If you sign up after the symposium, you won't be able to join live, but you will be able to view the recordings.)

About Sarah (Sally)

Sarah (Sally) Hamer, B.S., MLA, is a lover of books, a teacher of writers, and a believer in a good story. Most of all, she is eternally fascinated by people and how they 'tick'. She’s passionate about helping people tell their own stories and has won awards at both local and national levels, including two Golden Heart finals.

A teacher of memoir, beginning and advanced creative fiction writing, and screenwriting at Louisiana State University in Shreveport for over twenty years, she also teaches online for Margie Lawson at www.margielawson.com and for the No Stress Writing Academy at https://nostresswriting.com.  Sally is a free-lance editor and book coach, with many of her students and clients becoming successful, award-winning authors.

You can find her at info@mindpotential.org

Image Credits

Featured Image by p2722754 from Pixabay

by Lisa Norman

Less math, more magic

I left the panel feeling horrified. A talk meant to inspire had been hijacked into a cascade of numbers: list size, open rates, categories, schedules. The room grew quieter and quieter. Writers weren’t scribbling ideas with excitement. They were sinking under the weight of all the shoulds.

Afterward, several people came up to me, the quietly encouraging one, not with praise but with trust. “Could I pay you to just do it for me?” one asked. They weren’t encouraged. They were overwhelmed.

I walked out angry.

Common newsletter advice had left writers so swamped they wanted to hand the whole thing over to someone else. That panel went against everything I believe in. The voice of should had drowned out quiet encouragement. The statistics of one author’s experience had overridden every other perspective.

I have statistics too—drawn from hundreds of authors across genres. I’ve watched beginners get their first subscribers and seen bestsellers with huge lists.

And here’s what I know: numbers often obscure the real value. Tiny lists can outperform massive ones. Accidental lists sometimes succeed where years of shoulds have failed.

The Promise and the Pressure

Numbers aren’t bad. They can give you insight into how your readers engage. But when we elevate stats into commandments, they become overwhelming, and sometimes misleading.

I once had a newsletter show a 97% open rate. Impressive, right? Except… it wasn’t real. Metrics glitch. Privacy settings block tracking. Numbers can’t tell the whole story. There's a lot more to having a newsletter than just a marketing tool.

A 10,000-subscriber list might work for one author. Another might have greater success with 200. What matters isn’t the number at the bottom of your dashboard, but the relationship with the people behind those numbers (linked post has stats and graphs).

The Myths That Overwhelm

Myth 1: Bigger list = better results.
Truth: Engagement matters more than volume. A smaller, invested audience can sustain a career. One reader who replies to every email is more valuable than a hundred who never even open.

They’re also cheaper to maintain.

Myth 2: Newsletters must go out every week.
Truth: Frequency works best when it fits your rhythm and your readers. Some authors thrive with a weekly note, others connect best once a month or less. The right schedule is the one you can sustain with joy, the one that gets readers excited when it hits their inbox.

Myth 3: Readers should be sorted into neat categories.
Truth: Readers are people, not data points. They rarely fit into perfect boxes, and often surprise you.

Instead of worrying about segments, share something genuine that resonates across categories. Humanity connects more than labels.

Myth 4: Sign-ups are just transactions.
Truth: A newsletter thrives on relationship, not obligation. When readers choose to join because they connect with your voice, that bond is stronger than any clipboard sign-up or funnel you force them into (Alicia McCalla is a fantastic example of an author who knows her readers).

A single heartfelt yes is more powerful than a hundred reluctant sign-ups.

Readers aren’t transactions—they’re treasures.

What a VA Can (and Can’t) Do

A virtual assistant can absolutely help with the technical side: formatting, scheduling, automations. That’s a gift. But the heart of a newsletter can’t be outsourced. The most powerful emails come in your voice, carrying your personality, speaking directly to your fans.

3 Quick Ways to Make Your Newsletter More Human

• Tell one small story. Share a glimpse of your writing life, your desk, or a struggle you overcame. Readers connect with moments, not marketing copy.
• Ask a question. Even something simple like a favorite book that month creates dialogue. Want to make a reader’s day? Connect to them as a person.
• Offer a gift. A sneak peek, a short story, or even a recipe. A gift shows you value their presence.

Readers Are Hungry for Connection

Your email shows up in a person’s inbox. If you’ve built rapport, they’ll glance at the subject line. Hint at something they want? They’ll skim the teaser. If they trust you, they’ll open. They’ll skim, maybe read.

Give them an experience and they’ll stop. They’ll reply. They’ll engage.

Give them something fun or meaningful, and they’ll pass it on to friends.

Quick: go to your inbox.

Are there any emails you want to read right away? Why? Any you want to save and savor later?

Starting Over

Forget the word newsletter and every guilt-ridden should tied to it. We’re really talking about two simple things:

1. A list of people who love you and what you write.
2. An email, a note from you to a fan.

Can you write an email?

You’re writers. Of course you can.

Can you write something people want to read?

I’m betting you can.

Building Connection

If you’ve ever felt buried under all the advice about newsletters, you’re not alone. Many writers have done everything they were told and still felt like it didn’t work. Maybe the problem isn’t you. Maybe it’s the weight of shoulds piled on top of what could be a simple, joyful way to connect.

You don’t need to master statistics or funnels. You need a way to connect with your readers that feels sustainable, human, and yours. If you’re reading this on WITS, chances are you got here through an email. That’s proof enough that it works.

Your newsletter isn’t a spreadsheet. It’s a conversation. And conversations, real ones, are where relationships—and careers—truly grow.

That’s the real magic: less math, more connection, more joy.

Question for you: What has your experience been with newsletters? Have you felt overwhelmed by the shoulds? If you’ve given up, could the thought that it might simply be about connecting with your fans make it worth trying again?

About Lisa

Lisa Norman's passion has been writing since she could hold a pencil. While that is a cliché, she is unique in that her first novel was written on gum wrappers. As a young woman, she learned to program and discovered she has a talent for helping people and computers learn to work together and play nice. When she's not playing with her daughter, writing, or designing for the web, she can be found wandering the local beaches.

Lisa writes as Deleyna Marr and is the owner of No Stress Writing Academy. She also runs Heart Ally Books, LLC, an indie publishing firm.

Interested in learning more from Lisa? Sign up for her newsletter or check out her school, No Stress Writing Academy, where she teaches social media, organization, technical skills, and marketing for authors!

Top image by Deleyna via Midjourney.