An author is someone who creates written stuff solely on their own. Co-authors, on the other hand, are those who collaborate with an author to produce a piece of literary work. The term co-author can be used for people who have written separate pieces of literature that later are merged into one volume or article. As far as legal rights are concerned, authors retain all their copyright ownership over their works. However, if they choose to allow others to share in this success by becoming co-authors, then they must comply with any agreements that may come along with it. For example, if another author splits off from the team project before it's completed, then he or she would not be entitled to any of the proceeds from its sales. In addition, authors can choose what type of license they want to use when sharing their work. There are two main types: open access and closed access. With open access, the work is freely available online and anyone is free to read it - including those who did not contribute anything to its creation. Closed access means that only those who paid for it can read it. Authors who want to make their work available for free need to use an open access license. These days, most publications require authors to submit their work under an open access policy.