Book Collaboration with A Friend

 

By Judy Wollin and Eman Alblooshi (see pictured above).                                                                                                                                      

My friend Eman Alblooshi and I have written and published two books together and are planning to release the third one, probably in the middle of this year.

It all started when Eman expressed concern about the loss of Emirati culture, and I was worried that boys were not reading confidently or for pleasure, even in Grade Six. After some brainstorming, we came up with the idea of writing books for boys aged 8 to 13, set in the United Arab Emirates, featuring two main characters: an Emirati boy and his friend, an Australian boy, both 13 and in Year Seven together. We agreed to write three books and publish them in Arabic and English.

Takeaway one. The idea was important to both of us.

We began writing in Eman’s dining room in Abu Dhabi while I was there on holiday. Ideas flowed, and a rough plot was pulled together for the first book. We decided that I would do the actual writing, and Eman would check my work, advise on cultural matters, and seek feedback from young readers in the UAE. I enrolled in several writing courses to improve my writing skills and sort critical feedback from young readers, writers and course conveners.

Takeaway two. We divided the work based on what each of us felt comfortable with.

The first draft of Speed. Barq the Falcon was completed, and critical feedback, editing, cultural-sensitivity review, and further editing were undertaken. How exactly was this done?

Eman and I met online and by phone regularly to discuss content. For example, one of our main characters, Ali, invited Dylan, the other main character, to a sleepover. A common enough occurrence in Australia, but not common in the UAE. Thirteen-year-old boys do not stay overnight. Eman and I came up with a house plan that could accommodate a sleepover. Ali’s bedroom was put on the ground floor, near his grandparents but away from other family members.

An Australian example of cultural differences was Dylan’s father's view when he realised that Ali had invited Dylan to stay over while extended family members were visiting. Dylan’s father was concerned his son would be a nuisance, an additional burden when Ali’s family had visitors coming. The Emirati view was that there were always many people staying, so what was their problem?

This process of ensuring the book reflected both cultures and was sensitive to both cultures took many phone calls and drafts.

Take away three. It will take longer than either of us suspected at the outset. It took us about five years to go from ideas to published books.

In our stories, there are two main characters, Ali and Dylan. We had to ensure they both played a pivotal role in the plot and that the story flowed smoothly. We decided to alternate the chapters to maintain the first-person point of view for both characters. This ensured that both boys maintained an important role, but it wasn’t without its problems. Chapter lengths varied to maintain pace and to change who led the chapter when necessary. This took a lot of phone calls and rewriting.

Take away four. It was harder than we thought to have two main characters contributing to the story. We had many meetings to discuss the story as we wrote it.

Once the manuscript was finalised, it was professionally edited and the final changes made. We chose a publisher who could publish the books in Arabic and English. This was trickier than we anticipated. We each paid half the fee needed. I checked the English manuscript, and Eman checked the Arabic version. It was slow and difficult dealing with a publisher who was reluctant to make changes. The main benefit of continuing with them was the book launch.

As many of you have already discovered, it is very difficult to break into the middle-grade book market. We have since relaunched the books ourselves and taken over responsibility for marketing. We have made very little money but have achieved enormous satisfaction from writing and publishing our books.

Take away five. It’s a tough world out there, but it feels so good to go from idea to seeing your books on shelves. That makes writing worthwhile. Both our books have been adopted by the Brisbane City Council library in both English and Arabic.

Speed. Barq the Falcon (English) ISBN 9780648646884

Speed. Barq the Falcon (Arabic) ISBN 9781764222839

Speed. The Haunted Island (English) ISBN 9798230006855

Speed. The Haunted Island (Arabic) ISBN 9780645398137

Eman and I collaborated on this article too.

 

At the launch of Speed. The Haunted Island in November 2023 in the United Arab Emirates.