Much Ado About Collaboration
I just watched the Joss Whedon take on Much Ado About Nothing last night, at last. It was probably one of the most enjoyable versions of the play I've experienced. Shakespeare was a pretty insightful guy, when you pay close attention to his works and Whedon has this way of inspiring fan and actor loyalty and support. The combination? Wonderful!
This brings me to important idea of collaboration. Whedon uses the same actors time and again in his works and it helps him stay recognizable. He uses good actors he's vetted himself and, in return, the actors get regular work and the association with a good name. Whedon gets to choose from the list of actors he's worked with on the past to keep his vision in tact because he remains a good director to work with. In a way, this gives him some serious brand power.
It's no secret I read J.A. Konrath's blog on the regular and something he seems to do very well is collaborate. He works with other authors time and again - whether it's to let them do guest posts on his blog or to write stories with them. I think his popularity and success are reflections of this. He keeps a dialogue open with the writing community. From day one, it seems, he's been working on engaging people - on collaborating for success.
Every time an author works with other authors, they are collaborating on their own success. This isn't a sprint or a marathon - it's not even a race! What the writing business is right now is a community of writers and readers helping each other out. We write good stuff, they read good stuff, everyone is happy! We work with editors and cover artists and rise as collectives into the public consciousness ready for consumption. If it weren't for this willingness to work together, it wouldn't be possible.
When I think about helping others, I remember something I've read from Whedon and Konrath: This is not a zero-sum game. Media never is. Collaboration reminds us of this, and helps keep our competitive culture at bay.
So why no collaborate with someone on something today?
This brings me to important idea of collaboration. Whedon uses the same actors time and again in his works and it helps him stay recognizable. He uses good actors he's vetted himself and, in return, the actors get regular work and the association with a good name. Whedon gets to choose from the list of actors he's worked with on the past to keep his vision in tact because he remains a good director to work with. In a way, this gives him some serious brand power.
It's no secret I read J.A. Konrath's blog on the regular and something he seems to do very well is collaborate. He works with other authors time and again - whether it's to let them do guest posts on his blog or to write stories with them. I think his popularity and success are reflections of this. He keeps a dialogue open with the writing community. From day one, it seems, he's been working on engaging people - on collaborating for success.
Every time an author works with other authors, they are collaborating on their own success. This isn't a sprint or a marathon - it's not even a race! What the writing business is right now is a community of writers and readers helping each other out. We write good stuff, they read good stuff, everyone is happy! We work with editors and cover artists and rise as collectives into the public consciousness ready for consumption. If it weren't for this willingness to work together, it wouldn't be possible.
When I think about helping others, I remember something I've read from Whedon and Konrath: This is not a zero-sum game. Media never is. Collaboration reminds us of this, and helps keep our competitive culture at bay.
So why no collaborate with someone on something today?
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