Pros and cons of working with a co-author?

[ToasterThief]

The webcomic I make is called Under the Skin (which would be super cool if you checked it out btw!!) and I work on it together with a friend and have done so for several years now.
We try to share the work pretty evenly and split writing, sketching and colouring between us and I think that working as a team is something that really helps keep us motivated! We always have someone to throw ideas at and help spur you on if you need it. But sometimes it can be a little hard to rely on others and you have to give up some of the control you have over the art and story. Not to mention discussions about splitting costs and revenue are always a slightly nerve wracking topic!
Over all I love working with someone else on my comic and I think that the pros definitely outweigh the cons but what do you guys think? Do you have a co author and do you agree? Why? Or if you don't have a co-author why not? Would you have one if you could?

[infectedbloodcomics]

I don't have a coauthor, because my stories are mine alone. I am not necessarily a loner, though, so I would be open to coauthor with others. But it would have to be someone really cool, creative and reliable. And they would have to approach me - or it should be someone whose work I really enjoy advertising for coauthorship/collaboration: then, I would approach them

[DeadAccount]

I work with a writer on Drugs & Wires and it's what made the webcomic possible. I've had these characters and world concepts for ages, but plotlines and language have never been my strong points. I'm super lucky I found Io Black who brought both structure and creativity and didn't mind building on existing lore- I think collabs work best when both parties have an equal creative input. I had writers offer their "help" before, but they all just wanted me to draw their stuff, and I didn't feel like doing something that would feel like a job. Anyway, if you find someone who shares your sense of humour and interests, collabs are really rewarding, and bouncing ideas off each other can lead to great things. But it's definitely not easy to come by.

[ToasterThief]

That's understandable I guess! UwU

[ToasterThief]

I totally agree! Especially with the bouncing ideas off eachother thing! I always like having a cool idea and then being able to talk to someone and say "This is neat but how can we make it even better?" I sometimes feel a little lost when I work on projects with just me these days it's just so helpful X_X Your comic has a super neat style by the way, it looks very quirky so I'll definitely take a peek when I get the time

[PotooGryphon]

I've landed a pretty awesome setup, my husband is my co-creator. Which means no cost/revenue splitting, yay! haha

We also don't disagree with each other often, we're both cut from the same crazy cloth. So it's easy for us to trust in the other person to get something done, or trust their opinion on the story or art. He has a better eye/more experience in composition and realism, and I'm good with cartoony energy, humor, and inking clean swoopy lines.

Our process is like this, we both agree and write the story outline, I write up a proper script for the issue and draw thumbnail layouts of how I envision it, Jeramy then takes those thumbnails and makes sure that the panels flow properly and adds detailed backgrounds, then I add the characters and lettering to the page once he's done with backgrounds. No one else probably works like this, we have our own weird system.

Working in a team is great, i feel. It helps get the comic done faster, and relying on the other team member's strengths to up the comic's quality is a win/win situation. I probably wouldn't be able to create Oops as quickly as we do without him.

Like everything else, communication and trust are key.

[Doubtcent]

I've personally do not like working with others. It's not that I can't, it's just that so far, everyone I've worked with has either been too busy to keep working, has too many opposing ideas, doesn't like the ideas in the end, or just doesn't contribute their own.

For example, I've thought of an amazing idea of a series that has a great concept, but it needed some polishing. So I talk with the "co-author" about it and he helps with the polishing by asking questions of how this or why that. Which was really helpful, so the idea itself is really close to coming to fruition. I just needed to get better at art in order to deliver, or get some help. So I call upon the same friend to get some designs done, and he agrees. I go nuts and design the main character, the main weapon type, and even the uniforms. When we meet again, he says he didn't like the design of any of it. I ask why, but he doesn't give a definite answer. So I ask what he's come up with. Bubkiss. Even after more brainstorming, we get stuck on an important design issue, and since I've practically designed everything, I ask if he can design this all important thing. He says sure. We meet again. BUBKISS! It got so frustrating that I've stopped talking with him about everything but the concepts. I've practically did everything anyways, with design, story, concept, tone, theme, etc., and I was all but ready to cut him off from the entire project.

And that's just with comics. Next there's writing. A ways back, a friend of mine wants to write something with me and we even brainstorm about the concept. We agree on some ideas, put together a storyline, and he jumps in to write the first few pages. Sadly, when he gets back to me, he's changed a lot of what we agreed on, some really important stuff that was key to the plot, and after I gave him some designs (which helps me with writing what the characters looks like) he doesn't end up liking anything I've put in (other than the concept) and dismisses it all. I've given up writing it with him and have decided to do my own thing with the idea later.

I'd list more, but until I find a decent partner, I really don't like to co-author anything.