The briefest of backgrounds:

This book is a memoir of another’s life and we therefore want him to be the "primary" face of the book project here on Inkshares, with me listed as co-author. To serve this end, we will be hosting the book under his name and Inkshares account, but also very much would like my account to be officially associated with the project here within the integrated Inkshares site. Currently, I have 553 followers on Inkshares and feel that it would best serve everyone involved to have all of my books (co-authored and otherwise) to be officially associated with my meta account.

It seems that due to the current framework of the Inkshares site, this is not directly possible and we will have to have this new book hosted under my co-author’s account solely, with the only connection that I am a co-author shown in the "About" section, again, without any official connection felt through the interconnected Inkshares site. Is this correct, or am I mistaken? 

Current workarounds:

It seems that there are several ways other authors have dealt with this co-author disconnection:

Some people have created a joint account like: 
@Nick Scott and Noa Gavin , @Adam Greven and Matt Deller , @S.T. Ranscht and Robert P. Beus , @Jesse and Sylvia Medlong , @Abigail Burton and Autumn Gass , @Julian Green and Finn Mcrae , @David Michael Slater-author and Andy Catling-illustrator  etc.

While others have their book listed under a solo author’s account like @Paul Inman and Patrick Ryerson (can’t link him because I can’t find his account), @Alexander Barnes and Christopher Preiman (Again, cant link because I can’t find account.) @Richard Saunders and Mykle Walsh. I’m sure there are others here I am missing--I know of at least two, but can’t remember their names. 

And others who have a brand associated with their book like @HERB , @Papercuts J.P. and @Little Fiction | Big Truths 

The plot thickens:

For me, one of the most exciting aspects of Inkshares is the interconnection of the community felt and performed through the meta Inkshares website. It saddens me that this new project will miss out, in part, on one of the most innovative aspects of publishing with Inkshares--the online interconnection and social community of our growing user base. While co-authored books are certainly a minority here, I feel that as Inkshares attracts new authors, there will be more and more experiencing a similar disconnection between their co-authored works. 

Also, I can attest to the many relationships I have made with other authors because of Inkshares, and I would be VERY surprised if we did not start to see some very exciting collaborative projects (short story anthologies and full on book authorship) created by Inkshares authors begin to pop up in the near future. I already know of one by @Richard Saunders and feel that this is an arena where an official, fully integrated co-author function on the Inkshares site would really help push the needle in funding and continuing to strengthening our community. @Richard Heinz  @John Robin @JF Dubeau @Jim McDoniel @Brian Guthrie @G. Derek Adams @Richard Saunders @Andrew J. Ainsworth @Joseph Asphahani @Paul Inman @Dave Barrett  @Zachary Tyler Linville @Craig Munro  @Joseph Terzieva @Tal Klein @Matthew Isaac Sobin @A.C. Weston @Amanda Orneck @Tom Merritt @Janna Grace  @Vincent Lim are a few who come to mind who might be interested in collaboration :)

To solve this problem, I’d love to see a way where multiple accounts can be listed as an author so that there is continuity across the online system. Whether it be for co-authored books, short story anthologies, or even co-authored articles or journals, I feel it would greatly assist our community.

What are other’s thoughts on this? Please chime in, I’d love to hear what everyone else thinks, both on the "official Inkshares team" and users (authors/readers!)

TL;DR
Should Inkshares have an integrated co-author function for book projects? 

I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts. Thanks!

Jamison Stone

author of RUNE OF THE APPRENTICE and Inkshares fanboy

P.S.

Huge thanks to everyone else on the Inkshares team for making this place so special! Truly happy to be an author here, and that is because of all of your hard work and dedication! Thanks @Adam Gomolin @Angela Melamud @Matt Kaye @Avalon Marissa Radys @Elena Stofle @Larry Levitsky 

(Just yesterday I was thinking about where I could take AiM after it’s published, in what direction the ’franchise’ is headed, etc. I suddenly realized the realm of graphic novels / serial comics would be a perfect fit... But I’d need to pair up with an artist. Year(s) from now, if Inkshares ever wanted to get graphic novels in their wheelhouse, being able to ’co-author’ a story in that format would be much easier if the artist/collaborator had their own account, as you say. Followers of AiM could/would be instantly notified of the comics’ existence, etc. etc. Nothing but benefits for authors/site-runners/readers, the list goes on.)

TL;DR - Jamison’s idea is awesome, and really only adds value to the inkshares model while taking nothing away.

I am the sole writer of my Inkshares project. I am currently in discussion with an artist, to bring visual appeal to the project. So far, I have identified TWO ways Inkshares could help me with this.

1. The artist wants to retain ownership of the images while the project is in funding. He wants to limit the use of the images to the Inkshares website while the project is in funding. In other words, at this point, we want to use his images simply to enhance and to promote the project. Yet if I upload an image to the project, it could easily be "borrowed" by anyone. Inkshares could at the very least have a policy of image ownership during funding and during production.

2. We are thinking ahead to successful funding and subsequent publication. At that point, the artist wants to negotiate a royalty split. I would like to know that Inkshares has a mechanism for establishing that at the very beginning, and as a publishing house, would distribute the royalties to the appropriate parties, issue 1099’s, etc.

I will say this. I have found @Jeremy Thomas to be very open to ideas and suggestions. The company is young, small, and nimble. It is in evolution. You can bet that good ideas, like what I see in this forum thread, will be considered and implemented if they fit into their remarkable vision.

Again.

Again.

Except everyone reading this, including perhaps the author of the "truly awful" book in question, will have a theory as to whom it is. It isn’t hard to narrow this down if people are so inclined to do so. And even if those guesses are wrong, there’s a strong likelihood that someone, and maybe more than one someone, IS getting hurt from this.

It IS unpleasant, precisely because you haven’t really been critical at all and haven’t said anything at all to the person whose book you’re publicly trashing. You’re just taking a passive-aggressive potshot that helps absolutely no one. If your concern is for their feelings and not your own, why not reach out and offer some constructive criticism? Why do this instead? 

You would have made at least that many, because I would have bought a copy based on what I’d read on your project page back in January. I don’t think I’m the only one. But every time I’ve seen you on this site since then, you give off the air that you’re just here slumming it with people who are beneath you while you wait for your publisher to have a change of heart and/or competence. And I honestly wonder, for all your talent, whether you care about your own project as much as some of the "truly awful" writers care about theirs. I’d never say you don’t, because I don’t know you, but this is the impression you leave.

Yes, marketing and networking go a long way on here. I’m lousy at both and hate doing both but I forced myself to deal with my misgivings and figure it all out because I didn’t have a choice if I wanted to make it. And I made it. You can do the same. Exceptions certainly apply, but the good work typically separates itself on here so long as that work’s author is bold enough to audibly stand behind it. But you need to embrace this method of publication and the community it’s created rather than (again, as appearances suggest) regarding it as some second class kindergarten for people who don’t deserve to be published. If you can’t do that, and if you wish to keep rapidly burning bridges instead of building them with the many, many, MANY people in this community who will gladly go to bat for good work, you should just pack up and go somewhere else. The previous pity party bellyaching was merely tiresome, but now it’s getting malicious.