How do you credit a technical consultant for a novel
March 29, 2017 8:52 AM   Subscribe

OK, so I have fiction project. To do it properly, it's going to need factual, reality-based insights into a field I'm not an expert in. My buddy is, however, and he's going to consult to get the non-fictiony bits right. Cool! But this isn't like a retired detective doing some fact-checking and correcting process-based details. It's consultation on some core thematic & big idea stuff. Like imagine Orwell tried to write Animal Farm but only had a Wikipedia-level grasp of the USSR. How do I credit that?
posted by dontjumplarry to Writing & Language (10 answers total)
 
"Many thanks to Stu, without whose insights into the non-fictiony bits this project would not exist."
posted by Etrigan at 9:03 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]


How do I credit that?
You credit it in the way that you both agree upon ahead of time. All that matters is that you're both happy with it and think it is fair and representative.

It's consultation on some core thematic & big idea stuff.
If I were doing this for you on a science paper, I'd expect co-authorship credit. Large substantive contribution to themes and big ideas is author work in my world, even if I don't type a single word. Fiction is of course different, but the part that should be the same I think is that you both agree on it ahead of time. There are no credit cops out there that will fine you if you and he are both happy.

As yourself what you're willing to give. Talk to him, ask him what he wants. He may want nothing, he may be ok with an acknowledgement, he may want "technical consultant" credit, he may want "best unicorn ninja" credit, he may want coauthorship and a share of any potential revenues. None of those are wrong, if it suits the two of you.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:04 AM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


In my experience as a reader, this kind of fiction most often results in a lengthy acknowledgement in an afterword or sometimes a foreword, although I imagine inclusion of an afterword is up to the publisher.
posted by muddgirl at 9:14 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]


Combining the above - you should ask what he thinks is fair, and typically this is the sort of thing that goes at the beginning or end of the Acknowledgments.
posted by PMdixon at 9:14 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


I just (re-)read Jurassic Park, so fiction authors writing about technical things they're out of their depth on is fresh in my mind. Crichton generally has pretty name-heavy acknowledgement sections. Here's the one from JP, which may give you some ideas:

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In preparing this novel, I have drawn on the work of many eminent paleontologists, particularly Robert
Bakker, John Horner, John Ostrom, and Gregory Paul. I have also made use of the efforts of the new
generation of illustrators, including Kenneth Carpenter, Margaret Colbert, Stephen and Sylvia Czerkas,
John Gurche, Mark Hallett, Douglas Henderson, and William Stout, whose reconstructions incorporate
the new perception of how dinosaurs behaved.

Certain ideas presented here about paleo-DNA, the genetic material of extinct animals, were first
articulated by George O. Poinar, Jr., and Roberta Hess, who formed the Extinct DNA Study Group at
Berkeley. Some discussions of chaos theory derive in part from the commentaries of Ivar Ekeland and
James Gleick. The computer programs of Bob Gross inspired some of the graphics. The work of the late
Heinz Pagels provoked Ian Malcolm.

However, this book is entirely fiction, and the views expressed here are my own, as are whatever
factual errors exist in the text.

posted by phunniemee at 9:18 AM on March 29, 2017 [4 favorites]


On the Crichton thing: I don't think he worked closely with any of those people. For the scientists, I think he read their works, maybe caught a presentation, possibly a brief interview. Same with Gleick: Gleick didn't come up with e.g. the idea that recreated dinosaurs would develop the ability to procreate because of chaos theory (nor would he, because that is silly and makes no sense). I think Crichton just read Gleick's book and was influenced by it, and that he looked at some nice illustrations, and was influenced by those. I wouldn't think that any of those people developed core themes for JP. I don't think any of them helped Crichton as closely as dontjumplarry is describing his buddy's help.

Any college band can say they've "drawn on the work" of Kurt Cobain, but that doesn't mean he helped them write their songs. If someone is willing to do all that work in exchange for a few lines of thanks, that's fine, but I'd make it clear that he actually did stuff for the novel, as opposed to doing other stuff, which you were inspired by.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:40 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


Hi. I'm a book editor. (95% of what I edit is fiction.) You're going to put it in the acknowledgements. If that doesn't seem like enough, you need to do a gut check about how much work this person is doing, and if he actually rises to the level of co-author.

Beyond that, I also want to caution you re: how much information actually belongs in your book. You may be overestimating the amount of detail that actually needs to go into the finished product.
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:30 AM on March 29, 2017 [5 favorites]


Response by poster: Thanks so much all! This is very helpful.

BlahLaLa: Ha, yes absolutely. I know it probably sounds like some terrible historical epic stuffed with innumerable details about Viking longships or whatever. It's more a high-concept sort of crossover book, that would be better with expert input. And yep, need to work out whether it's a coauthor, which I'm totally open to; the thing is, it's not going to be coauthor in any commonly understood meaning of the word. Like not contributing to overall concept, characters, story, words on the page; but still contributing in a vital way. The best would be a pen name that represents an-entity-who-authored-the-work

(This isn't the first time I've been frustrated at this arbitrary and surprisingly recent concept of solo authorship.)
posted by dontjumplarry at 11:01 AM on March 29, 2017


Best answer: As a reader, I would find out very odd to find someone listed as a co-author who was just a technical contributor. Based on your description, you are the only author and it's appropriate to represent yourself that way. I think you're suffering from a bit of overactive and too proactive gratitude. Just pay this person 25% more than you were planning or plan a bigger thank you gift (to assuage yourself and to fully recognize their contribution) and thank them sincerely in the credits.
posted by mirabelle at 1:34 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


I recently worked on a cookbook where the technical consultant got a "with" credit on the title page without having written a word. Just to say -- it's all negotiable.
posted by libraryhead at 7:19 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


« Older Hit me with your best content revamp practices   |   If I leave my company before the end of the year... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.