I can only think of one example when I did that. The rules also dictate that if you miss something desperately, you can try make a case for bringing it back.

I never found myself reading for the parts I wrote or the parts she wrote-it was really just about the story. We freely cut what we wanted, regardless of which person wrote it. We emailed each other updated versions of the file. It’s so much more fun writing a book with Liz than by myself-and this was the rule: NO “TRACK CHANGES”. One of the ground rules Liz and I set up at the outset might be responsible for some of the magic of our process. And sometimes I write like I talk, and I remember writing “aben,” instead of “amen,” in an email to the two of them about our some-day collaboration.Īnd then we talked about having stuffed up noses and how when you say “Mom” it sounds like Bob and before we’d exhausted the email thread, we were part-way there. I believe that at this very time, I had a terrible cold. And all I could think, right at that instant was, “I want to have a book baby with Liz!” It was all-consuming.Īnd I was like, “Squirrel!” Meaning, “We don’t have to write our novels today?!?!” And Erin wrote that if Liz and I ever had a book baby, it would be something like this particular book.

Liz: I was clinging to you like a kitten because I was trying to learn to write my first novel and I’d chosen you (lucky you!) to teach me!Īnd one day out of the blue, we received an email from our mutual agent, Erin Murphy, that included a book review of a forthcoming title with a brief description. Liz and I knew each other but not well at this point, if I remember correctly. Audrey: Like all picture book origin stories, this one starts years ago.

All the world by liz garton scanlon