Chandler Baker and Wesley King are the co-authors of the YA love story Hello (From Here), about two teens falling in love during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. They sat down to discuss blind writing dates, the highs and lows of Google docs, and what they’ll do the day they finally meet. And by “sat down,” they of course meant staring at a computer screen a continent apart debating whether or not the other person would have their camera on.
Chandler Baker: I think one of my biggest accomplishments to date is that I somehow roped you into writing a book with me, without ever having met in real life. What’s your recollection of that first interaction between us?
Wesley King: Well, it was sort of a blind writing date. This was in the first couple of months of the pandemic and everyone was kind of casting around trying to figure out what we should be doing. Our agents had this idea that we might collaborate on something at some point, but it was very open-ended. You’d read a few chapters of an early draft of one of my manuscripts and then you called and we talked for twenty minutes or so. Like with most conversations back then—actually even now—the first fifteen minutes were filled with Covid-chatter. I think that’s probably why we ended up writing the book we did.
CB: I feel like 20 minutes was probably an eternity for you. You’re a hard man to get on the phone and I say that with love after having written a whole novel with you.
WK: I was worried you were going to be a writing snob. As soon as I knew you didn’t think you were Shakespeare reincarnate I thought: okay, this is a good start. That was Test Number 1.
CB: I mean, was that a serious concern? Why were you worried I’d be a writing snob? Does my author picture scream, “WRITING SNOB?”
WK: Maybe because you were coming off of writing books for adults. That seemed very grown up. Literally. I knew you had published a number of YA books, but how did you feel about transitioning back to young adult?
CB: Excited! I became a writer because of YA books. I fell in love with Lauren Oliver and Gayle Forman and John Green. You were transitioning, too, though, from middle grade. How was that?
WK: It was fantastic . . . though I did forget characters could swear in YA. In middle grade we have a lot of replacement words for swearing. Luckily, I had you to guide the way—I fed off your chapters and started developing a more authentic YA voice. So for me the collaboration process was key . . . not only because it was so easy, but because I was constantly reading your chapters, thinking, “Oh shit . . . this is good,” and upping my game. Did you see that? I’m still swearing in my writing. They’re going to kick me out of middle grade.
What were your biggest concerns about collaborating with another author?
CB: First, I’ll say, that I should have had none at all because writing this book with you was truly the most relaxed, pain-free experience. We got so lucky. Our initial plan was just to write a short story and e-publish it. But the project took on a life of its own, so my main concerns quickly became about logistics. Once it became clear we were writing a novel, I was thinking: Okay, but how?
The answer was ultimately: Google Docs. Our greatest nemesis (and reluctant ally).
WK: My eyes are still bleeding. Every new iteration of a Google Doc, we would each choose a new color to type in and it would become so unwieldy. But it was the only way to make sure we didn’t lose changes switching between documents.
CB: That’s right. We started with a number of brainstorming documents that we called the “No Bad Ideas Docs” and then when it was time to start writing the book, we wound up each taking a character. So can you talk to me a little about how you developed the character of Jonah?
WK: I knew my focus was going to be anxiety. It’s a tough topic to address in light of the global scale of this tragedy, but I knew from experience that anxiety sufferers were having trouble dealing and I wanted to present an honest portrayal of what it felt like . . . all of our formerly “false flag” fears were suddenly very real.
That was sort of the heart of the story I wanted to convey: the anxious response to this, and the idea that human connection remains an integral part of healing . . . in person or not. What was the heart of the story you were hoping to get across as you wrote Maxine, who goes by Max, in the book?
CB: At the time, I had a newborn, and having this new baby was such a bright spot amidst all the bad news of the burgeoning pandemic. I was fascinated by how both the tragedy of COVID-19 and the wonder of this new joy with my new baby could exist at once. Also, even then as I was living through it, I could tell I was going to have some degree of nostalgia for that time. We also had a then four-year-old, and my little hunkered-down family was really getting back to basics, playing Twister and charades. There was real happiness. But also missed moments. Like how both my husband’s and my parents didn’t get to see our new baby. And while that paled in comparison to so much of what was unfolding around the world, those moments also felt irretrievable in a way that seemed sad not to be allowed to be sad over. Max really represents those dueling impulses as well as the very real financial impact of the pandemic, especially on families living paycheck-to-paycheck.
I love that we each brought something completely different to the table with our two characters and really gave each other a lot of autonomy in developing them individually. Do you have any advice to writers thinking about collaborating?
WK: I’ll say what I think worked well between us as things would-be coauthors may want to emulate. Neither of us is precious about our work. That’s hugely helpful. Also, understand that you’re working with someone so that they bring something different than you would bring to the table. The end product shouldn’t be what you would have written alone. And like you said, we gave each other the autonomy to bring new perspectives and writing styles.
Okay, last question: Say someday we do get to meet in real life, what’s the first thing we do?
CB: We’re going to have a super awkward hug because I recently learned that you are incredibly tall, like 6’7”, and I’m very short. We’re going to be like the Odd Couple going on little adventures and it’s going to be adorable.
