James Patterson...and Me

[Posted by Chris Tebbetts]

I didn’t set out to become a professional AND. It just kind of happened that way.

To clarify: of the 28 books I’ve published over the past many years, 24 of them have someone else’s name on the cover, followed by “AND CHRIS TEBBETTS.” I’ve co-authored with James Patterson, Jeff Probst, and Lisa Papademetriou (which also means, coincidentally enough, that all of my co-authored work is shelved under P).

Most of the questions I get on co-authoring are about what the working relationship with James Patterson is like, and how that collaboration came about in the first place. I’m happy to answer additional questions in the comments section, below, but will stick to those two things for this blog entry.

My very first novels (a solo project called THE VIKING) were written for a book packager, Alloy Entertainment. That’s where Jim found me. Jim was already known for co-authoring on many of his adult titles, and as he ventured into middle grade and young adult fiction, he approached Alloy, looking for potential co-authors on those books as well. (Book packagers can also be de facto clearing houses for writers who are open to other work-for-hire opportunities.) The managing editor at Alloy contacted me and asked if I was interested in writing some “audition” chapters based on an idea from Mr. Patterson—and I jumped at the chance. 

I didn’t get the initial job at that time, but it wasn't too much later that I heard from Jim himself, about another project he had in mind--a series of illustrated novels with a comedic take on the horrors of middle school. After submitting another sample, and an interview in NYC, I came on board for our first collaboration, MIDDLE SCHOOL, THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE.

In terms of how the process works: 

I start from a detailed chapter-by-chapter outline from Jim, and begin creating a polished first draft of the whole story from there. Most of these middle grade titles involve five to six months of work for me, and once a month, I'll send in a chunk of chapters for his review. Then I'll get back written comments, or we'll get on the phone and talk about how it’s going, any adjustments Jim might want to make, or potential changes to the story moving forward. Once we reach the end of that process, Jim will take the whole manuscript back and rewrite it to completion.

In the case of these middle grade titles, we also have a third collaborator in our illustrators. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing our prose come to life visually through the imaginations of Laura Park (on the first five MIDDLE SCHOOL books); Jomike Tejido (MIDDLE SCHOOL, DOG’S BEST FRIEND); and Cory Thomas (PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPERHERO).

I know, from many conversations I’ve had over the years, that co-authoring isn’t for everyone. But it’s turned out to be a really comfortable place for me to be, perhaps owing to my own background in what I call collaborative storytelling.  I came to writing from theater and film production, where I always enjoyed the creative synthesis of working with a team.

In any case, it’s been a productive several years, and I couldn’t be happier to have settled into this niche, juggled alongside some of the other projects I have in the works, and which I’ll hopefully be able to share with you here on this blog at some other time.

Meanwhile -- any questions or comments? Fire away, below!