Collaborating Writers on Collaborating Killers
Liza Marklund and James Patterson
I got back late last night and my brain still isn’t sure which language it should be thinking in—basically I’m still in Swenglish mode. The plane trips back were long and after about 12 hours, I couldn’t make my eyes focus on the computer screen or the pages of the books and magazines I brought. Instead, I turned to an audio book that my mom had loaded onto my mp3 player.
Liza Marklund is one of my favorite Swedish authors and her latest book is in collaboration with James Patterson. In Sweden, Postcard Killers is sold with Liza’s name prominently displayed on the cover. Although Patterson is the highest paid author in the world right now, he’s not that well known in Sweden. (Marklund’s name sells any product it’s displayed on.) At the Manchester airport however, the English version of the book has James Patterson’s name displayed in big, big letters and then “with Liza Marklund” in smaller font, under the title. The American version has Patterson’s name listed first, then the title, then “& Liza Marklund.” Both authors’s names are the same size. Obviously, the marketing budget for this project is huge and it looks like they’ve hired people who know how to adjust to each market’s preferences.
In an interview on the Swedish publisher’s site Marklund says her agent was contacted by Patterson’s people and that’s how the project started. Patterson wrote an initial synopsis and then the two authors have been working on the story together. The collaboration between the two authors has been via phone and email. Marklund wrote in Swedish, which was then translated by her and another person to English. (I imagine Marklund’s brain often got stuck in Swenglish during this project.) I’m not that far into the book yet, so I can’t say whether the voice is more Marklund or more Patterson. The blog Scandinavian Books thinks it’s more in Patterson’s style with short sentences, small paragraphs, and brief chapters—but I don’t think this makes it more Patterson than Marklun. The main Swedish character feels very much like what Marklund usually creates: a driven journalist with failed relationships behind her and a current one that’s either just starting out or unraveling. The main American character has a lot of things in common with Patterson’s character Alex Cross, including a personal involvement in the killings.
It seems really smart of Patterson to collaborate with a known Swedish crime novelist on a book where a lot of the plot takes place in Sweden. The cynical side of me wonders if he wanted to cash in on the recent popularity of Scandinavian crime literature on the American market, mostly fueled by the Stieg Larsson books. It seems equally smart of Liza Marklund to expand into the English market by collaborate with the highest earning author in the world. (Her books are already top sellers in the German and French markets.)
If you have co-authored a writing project with someone else, what process did you use? Have you read anything that was written by more than one author that you really liked? Do you know how those authors worked together? Which famous author would you like to write your next book with and why?
One friend and I wrote poems back and forth. Each one was like a letter except that no real information was passed. We responded associatively to each others’ images and ideas. That was super fun. She never responded to my last one so I’m afraid it was too horrible.
I’m trying to convince another friend to collaboratively write an ethics column with me. In that case, I’d like to think we’ll sit together drinking coffee, jotting down notes as we laugh uproariously.
What a great idea! I think that would be a super way to keep in touch with classmates after I graduate. With real, paper letters, even. Fabulous.
I’d like to write something with David Sedaris, because he seems like he has my sense of humor and not taking yourself seriously. Also, I think Diana Joseph and I would get along great and get to be best friends if we worked together.
You stole my favorite collaborators Tanya!
This sounds awesome Shira. Let me know where the ethics column will be published. I need some ethics. :-)