A still open issue related with the study of assemblies of magnetic nanoparticles, deposited on a substrate or embedded in a matrix, is that of the interplay between intrinsic features of the nanoparticles pertaining to their finite-size and boundary effects, and the collective effects entailed by their mutual interactions and their interactions with the hosting matrix or substrate. In this work we develop a semi-analytical approach that allows us to derive expressions for the magnetization and the susceptibility of interacting assemblies of single-domain ferromagnetic nanoparticles. We find that upon tuning the physical parameters pertaining to each nanoparticle or the shape of the assembly and its spatial arrangement, surface and inter-particle interactions may be set up to play additive or competitive roles leading to assemblies with optimal magnetic properties.