Aug 17, 2026 · 28 min · 11 segments
Cate Holahan is a USA Today Bestselling thriller/suspense author and screenwriter. She has seven standalone novels and is co-author of the #1 Audible bestselling…
Cate HolahanGuest
Terrence McCauleyHostBut for you, I know that you were, you've written several novels on your own and then now during COVID, You were a co-writer with these other writers.
I was wondering, how was that experience for you from going from being a solo novelist to working in tandem with a couple of other writers?
I wish I could write every book that way because so, you know, writing so solitary.
I mean, maybe you can get feedback from some, you know, maybe your agent will read it at the halfway point or like an editor or something, but most of the time you kind of sit alone with your imaginary friends or imaginary enemies.
And you're there for either three, like three months doing a, you know, doing that first draft.
And then, And then you give it to your editor and it's like, and they give you comment and it's just, it's kind of a slow process.
There's something so wonderful about the immediate feedback of the way we work, where we, you know, we kind of do round, every week there's a round robin where everyone's writing their individual chapter from their character's point of view.
And we know from beforehand, we've plotted out, okay, this needs to happen in yours and this needs to happen in mine.
And then at the end of the week, after we've read each other's, we're in there editing and like, oh, well, what if we deepen the character here? Or what if she said this? Or I think this character might do this differently.
And it's so wonderful when you respect the other writers and their talent to... to get that feedback and then, and you're all on the same mission to kind of write the most compelling book possible.
I love that real time adjustment that you can immediately understand like, oh, okay, maybe this is gonna read differently.
Maybe the reader in my head who I thought would understand this sentence, isn't the reader in her head.
But for you, I know that you were, you've written several novels on your own and then now during COVID, You were a co-writer with these other writers.
I was wondering, how was that experience for you from going from being a solo novelist to working in tandem with a couple of other writers?
I wish I could write every book that way because so, you know, writing so solitary.
I mean, maybe you can get feedback from some, you know, maybe your agent will read it at the halfway point or like an editor or something, but most of the time you kind of sit alone with your imaginary friends or imaginary enemies.
And you're there for either three, like three months doing a, you know, doing that first draft.
And then, And then you give it to your editor and it's like, and they give you comment and it's just, it's kind of a slow process.
There's something so wonderful about the immediate feedback of the way we work, where we, you know, we kind of do round, every week there's a round robin where everyone's writing their individual chapter from their character's point of view.
And we know from beforehand, we've plotted out, okay, this needs to happen in yours and this needs to happen in mine.
And then at the end of the week, after we've read each other's, we're in there editing and like, oh, well, what if we deepen the character here? Or what if she said this? Or I think this character might do this differently.
And it's so wonderful when you respect the other writers and their talent to... to get that feedback and then, and you're all on the same mission to kind of write the most compelling book possible.
I love that real time adjustment that you can immediately understand like, oh, okay, maybe this is gonna read differently.
Maybe the reader in my head who I thought would understand this sentence, isn't the reader in her head.
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