James Patterson learns to write with a crowd

Does a bestselling author (16 million books sold in North America alone last year) really need to take on a collaborator? Probably not, but for whatever reason, James Patterson has decided to write a book with the help of about 28 of them.

"Airborne," Patterson's latest book, will be released beginning on March 20, one chapter at a time. Patterson wrote the first and last chapters himself, but the 28 chapters in between will be written by people Patterson doesn't know – writers who won a contest sponsored by Borders Australia and Random House. Each will write a chapter of 750 words or less.

At the end of the process, the whole book will be printed but that print edition will be given only to the writer-participants. It will not be mass produced.

Can such a book be any good? Wait and see. You can follow the process on Facebook, Twitter, or by RSS feed.