: Co-authoring, brainstorming but not writing I'm the brainstorming phase of a new manuscript. Normally I do that on my own, but this time I I want to ask a few friends to help me with ideas.

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I wouldn't say there's a particular name or title to give such a person, they just get credit for what they do.

I bounce my ideas off my wife and she helps me develop them, so I would say something like; thanks to my wife for listening to my ideas and helping make my story the one you’re about to read.

As for rights, they’re just helping you out. I don’t believe that rights come into it. Test readers may get a credit but they don’t get royalties. I guess it depends on just how much they helped develop your story. IP rights are owned by the acknowledged creator (in the case of literature the writer.)

For my own purposes:

—If a friend and I designed a world and planned and created characters, then he came up with the plot and I wrote it I’d call that co-authored (after all, writing is more than the just the words) and share IP with him.

—If I discussed my ideas with a friend and he made a few good suggestions I’d thank him specifically for what help he gave me (and maybe give him a free copy of the book!)

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