When I first started as an illustrator, I was riddled with self doubt.
I felt I was just starting out and should keep my head down and let the more experienced writers/illustrators to take lead. I wasn't assertive, I thought I should be grateful they were giving a job to someone who was starting out.
NOPE.
Sure, sometimes you have to pick your battles, but if you are thinking of compromising - do it for small projects. Not big ones.
My mistake was that I compromised. A LOT.
I'm paying that price.
So I'd like to give advice so you don't become like me!
Whether you're an illustrator or not, I think this would help. I really wish someone told me this when I started working.
Have a clear division of labor:
Everyone in your team needs to trust one another. You need to prove to others you're competent in your field, or that you're capable of asking for help. Once that is established,
Everyone in the team should know what everyone is doing and what they're in charge of.
You can ask for help if you're struggling, but others should know to keep OFF your area.
For example, if you're an illustrator, show your work to your collaborator/team. If they are happy with it, then that's that. They don't butt in with other work. If they need to see more, then they need to ask for more, but you need to set a limit.
Have a clear way of communicating:
Establish how you will communicate. Email? Facebook? Skype? And when you can expect an answer to an email. Will the person email back within a week?
How will deadlines be sorted?
Basically that's it! I'm sure there's heaps more - but these two points really made me regret not setting these rules.
If the collaborator doesn't want to agree to this - then nope. Walk away. Save your energy.
If you compromise, you'll compromise more and more, and then the sunk cost fallacy will swallow you up and you can't stop working on this nightmare project and you'll regret it!!
If you ever find yourself in this situation and want to vent or just ask for advice, let me know! My heart goes out to you