The rules that follow could be applied, with obvious adjustments, to anypartnership that relies on open communication and creative interchange.DEs, authors, and the publishers who chaperone their collaboration couldall do worse than to review this list of principles regularly, the way twelve-steppers do their programs.

rule 1: be realistic.

Don’t shoot for the moon if your author is notastronaut material. Set yourselves the most ambitious goal that you can re-alistically expect to reach, then evaluate whether that goal warrants the in- vestment of time and money.

rule 2: make a plan.

Don’t say, “Let’s get into it and see how itgoes.” An initial plan, however provisional, forces the involved parties tostate their goals up front and describe how they imagine the process of col-laboration will unfold. The initial plan ﬂushes out a host of assumptionsthat can otherwise plague the project. It goes without saying that the plan will change—repeatedly—during the book’s development.

rule 3: address logistics up front.

In that initial plan, makeexplicit decisions about who will do what, by when, and in what order. Manytimes I have assumed a project was going smoothly only to discover, by im-promptu phone calls, that author and DE were each waiting for the other tomake the next move.

rule 4: proceed with enthusiasm.

DEs, if the project doesn’ttruly engage your interest, don’t accept the assignment. Authors, if the pub-lisher’s insistence that your manuscript needs development doesn’t ring true,don’t agree to the plan. Publishers, if you don’t sense that both DE and authorhave bought into the developmental plan

con gusto,

don’t bother—you’ll endup sinking a lot of money into the job and reap marginal beneﬁts.

some ground rules

rule 5: leave well enough alone.

Focus on resolving problemsthat stand in the way of a manuscript’s success. DEs, don’t take out yourfrustrations as an underpublished novelist, scholar, or poet by attemptingto contribute substantively to the book’s content. Authors, don’t keep re- writing passages that have been deemed successful; this constant revision-ism will undermine the DE’s efforts to bring the problematic passages intoalignment.

rule 6: remember the reader.

The silent partner in the develop-mental process is the audience, and the author, DE, and publisher may allhave different ideas about who that reader is. The initial plan should includea readership proﬁle, and collaborators should return to that proﬁle regularlyto ask themselves, “Are we still on target? Is the book shaping up to appeal tothe intended audience?”

rule 7: set milestones.

The developmental plan should includeconcrete goals at regular intervals that will give both DE and author a senseof accomplishment. The first milestone should be an easy one that can bereached in two to four weeks—say, revising the table of contents, or writinga new passage to open the first chapter dramatically. Success in reaching thefirst few milestones will spur both parties onward; milestones at the halfwayand three-quarters marks will keep both marathoners’ chins lifted towardthe finish.

rule 8: be tactful.

DEs, know that a book is the closest thing to achild that a human being can produce; don’t say anything about the author’sprose that you wouldn’t say about her toddler. Authors, don’t be so territo-rial about your discourse that you react in a knee- jerk fashion to ideas thathadn’t occurred to you. Give all suggestions an honest and respectful hear-ing, whether or not you ultimately accept them.

rule 9: be candid.

That said, don’t allow tact to turn obsequious. If your collaborator doesn’t understand a suggestion that you are making, re-state your case more clearly and ﬁrmly. Sweeping issues under the rug willonly accrue a lump of resentment that will ultimately impede communi-cation.

rule 10: listen actively.

Get in the habit of repeating what yourcollaborator has just said back to her, paraphrasing her point to see whether you’ve heard it correctly. Verbatim parroting is no use; you must put hermessage into your own words to demonstrate that you’ve truly understood what she means.

rule 11: brainstorm together.

Make all key decisions with a brief, fervent brainstorming session conducted via phone or email or faceto face. This habit ensures that all parties—DE, author, and publisher—arekept “in the loop” and have a sense of active participation. It also allows the