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"We didn't meet 'in the flesh' until
the day we met our publisher," says
Maureen Vincent-Northam, co-
author of The ABC Checklist for
New Writers. Maureen and her
writing partner Lorraine Mace
communicated entirely by email
and Microsoft's MSN Messenger
whilst writing their practical guide
for budding writers.

"We've known each other since
2003," says Lorraine, "when we were
both members of the online writing
group Writelink. We got to know
each other's work through articles
published onsite and from forums,
but we also became friends
because we share the same sense
of humour. This led to reading and
proofreading one another's work
as well as sharing ideas and
networking."

'As professional writers, both
have plenty of experience to
draw upon'

This successful partnership proves
that you don't need to be in the
same country as a co-writer, let
alone the same room: Maureen
lives in Hereford near the Welsh
Borders whilst British-born Lorraine is
now based in south west France,
although she was living in Spain
when they started the book.

"Lorraine suggested we write
something together and as writing
was something we had in
common, a book on the subject
was the obvious choice," says
Maureen. The ABC Checklist for
New Writers is subtitled 'How To
Open Doors and Get Noticed the
First Time Around' and is aimed at
writers of both fiction and non-
fiction who are just starting out
and want to act professionally,
rather than look amateurish.

"I got the idea originally," says
Lorraine, "because I found it so
difficult to find basic information
on formatting for a submission
when I was a beginner writer. So
we brain-stormed ideas until we
came up with a list of topics that a
beginner would need to know, or
might not understand even if
they'd heard the terms, and kept
adding to it even after we'd
started the book."

"We chatted on MSN virtually every
day," confirms Maureen, "and
communicated via email for
longer discussions."

Their book is an alphabetical list of
terms, phrases and advice, starting
with Abbreviations and ending
with ZZZZ - Sleep On It.

This alphabetical structure helped
them to focus on various sections
of the book where they had most
experience. Not only are they co-
writers, but their writing skills and
abilities complement each other,
too.

Lorraine for example, tackled
the fiction areas, whilst Maureen
concentrated on research
topics.

As professional writers, both
have plenty of experience to
draw upon. Lorraine has been a
columnist for Living France and
Spanish magazines, and her non-
fiction and fiction pieces have
appeared in monthly
publications here in the UK and
in America, France, Australia and
Ireland. Her next book, The
Greatest Moving Abroad Tips in
the World, is due for publication
in October 2008. Lorraine also
won the comic verse category in
the Petra Kenney 2006
International Poetry Award, has
been placed in other contests
and has judged writing
competitions, too.

'... a writing partnership has
many psychological
benefits'

Maureen's work has also been
published in national magazines,
newspapers and online, and she
is author of The Greatest
Genealogy Tips in the World. She
wrote Write & Seek, a research-
for-writers e-book available from
Writelink, loves local history and
has undertaken research projects
for a local authority.

Co-writing a book in this way
has many benefits. "The time
lapse means France and Spain
are one hour ahead of
England," chuckles Maureen, "so
Lorraine may have begun work
earlier but I could stay up later!"

"When completed," Lorraine
chips in, "each section was sent
to the co-author for checking,
which we then revised
according to each other's
comments."

'It's one of a kind - there isn't
another book like it on the
market'

Both writers agree that a writing
partnership has many
psychological benefits. "A big
writing project is less daunting
when it's shared," says Maureen,
"and the editing even more so!
And it's helpful to be able to
bounce ideas around."

Lorraine agrees. "Having
someone to share the task with
is a great help as is having a
friend to laugh with - and
having someone to blame if the
book doesn't sell!"

The ABC Checklist for New
Writers is their first book as a
partnership, and tackling
something for the first time
always makes it a learning
experience. "We discovered
during our research that an
author agreement was
essential," says Lorraine. "We were
lucky in that nothing went
wrong, but things can go awry in
some partnerships so it's best to
be prepared for all eventualities."

'...it's like having a
professional writer by your
side who knows all the
answers'

Lorraine and Maureen's book
focuses on formatting,
presentation, style and protocols.
It is not a 'how to write' guide
because there are plenty of those
already available. Instead, it's
like having a professional writer
by your side who knows the
answers to all those questions
you have when you're first
starting out. What do editors
mean when they ask for 'clips'?
How do you 'hook' your reader?
How does a script layout differ
between a stage play and a
radio play? What rights should
you offer when submitting a
manuscript? The answers are all
in their book.

"It was important to both of us to
write the sort of book that we
wished had been available to us
when we started out as writers,"
says Maureen. "So we thought of
all the things we'd struggled to
understand or find answers to.
We tried to focus on the
formatting and presentation of
work as this is what usually lets
most new writers down.

"It's one of a kind - there isn't
another book like this on the
market which concentrates on
giving the same kind of advice.
The ABC Checklist for New
Writers will help writers to present
what they have written in a way
that will give it the best possible
chance of being read by the
decision makers."

It's clear to see that partnership-
writing can produce
authoritative work. Would they
do it again?

"Most definitely," says Maureen.
"Lorraine and I work well
together and we already have
another book planned,
something quite different from
ABC."

So next time you have an idea
for a book, why not consider
making it a joint effort? As
Lorraine and Maureen have
shown, co-writing can be as easy
as ... A...B...C!