Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
I wrote this post in 2015, but I’ve added a snippet at the end that’s actually an announcement tied to acknowledgments. So read on!
I love to read book acknowledgment pages. I feel as if I’m peeking into the Who’s Who in the creation of the work. But the acknowledgments I like best are those in which the author shows that he/she has the mojo to cast a creative eye on this page that often tends toward the unimaginative.
In actuality, acknowledgments are a great place to stretch your writing muscles. Allow your voice to be full-throated.
Would the Acknowledgments Fit with Any Book?
My mind turns to such stellar acknowledgments as Cynthia Ruchti’s resounding commendations in her An Endless Christmas novella. Her approach was original and wouldn’t fit any other book she’s written. Let’s take a look at what she did as a lesson in how to write awesome acknowledgments.
Establish a theme
The first sentence, like all good writing exercises, announces the acknowledgments’ theme. “An Endless Christmas was a Joy-to-the-World kind of project.” In the rest of that paragraph, Cynthia explains how the novella came into existence, much like the joyous fanfare surrounding Christ’s birth.
In the second paragraph, the theme continues to unfold. She thanks the publishing team for their contributions to the book’s existence. Then she writes: “They shepherd book projects well.” Ho-ho-ho, how clever. We’re headed down the Christmas story path; so fitting for a Christmas novella.
Variations on a theme
The Christmas song by Michael W. Smith, All Is Well, is referenced in the next paragraph. Cynthia thanks Jamie Chavez, her freelance editor, and Cynthia announces that she sings “All is Well” when she gets to work with Jamie.
In the fourth paragraph Cynthia waxes playful when she thanks her agent, Wendy Lawton. “Hark the Herald Agents Sing! Wendy Lawton, you and the entire Books & Such Literary Management team are a perpetual source of blessing and encouragement. Thank you for championing this story.”
Do You Hear What I Hear? O Come All Ye Faithful, and The Hallelujah Chorus chime in for the other people mentioned in the ensuing paragraphs. You can read all of Cynthia’s acknowledgments here. But I’m sure she’d much rather you read them by buying the book!
Do Your Acknowledgments Reflect Your Writing Style?
Below you’ll find a completely different take on writing acknowledgments. The page is all over the place but funny and clever. That’d an accurate reflections of the author, Rainn Wilson. This particular book is his The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith and Idiocy.
I appreciate his creative touch for completely different reasons from the tightly-written and neatly-focused Cynthia Ruchti direction.
Not-So-Awesome Acknowledgments
And now, in the maybe-not-so-awesome category…
I had the joy of writing acknowledgments for a book Wendy and I just self-published. I savored how each person had added his or her unique talents to make our book happen. Included in the mentions are you guys! Those of us who write these blogs learn from the insights each of you share and come away richer for the experience. So I wanted to give you a shout out. Not to mention we used past blog posts as a basis for several chapters. Your thoughts helped to guide what we decided to include in the book, too.
So while the Acknowledgments reflect my writing style, they aren’t clever like Cynthia Ruchti’s or creative like Rainn Wilson’s. But they are heartfelt, and sometimes that’s the most important aspect in any Acknowledgments. Writing them reminds the author of how unlikely it is the book would exist without a lot of help from a plethora of others.
Oh, if you wonder what book we wrote, the title is The Inside Scoop: Two Agents Dish on Getting Published. We take the reader on the entire publishing journey from having the seed of a book idea through to the launch party. Since we couldn’t find any other book that offered that sort of help, we decided we would provide it.
If you feel so inclined, we would be gobsmacked with happiness if you would slip over to Amazon here to purchase our baby and then, oh, please, would you write a review? No five stars required; just give your honest opinion.
Summing up
Now, to sum up about acknowledgments. When it comes time for you to write yours for your WIP, don’t afraid to just…be you, the clever, smart writer you are. Make your acknowledgments the perfect topper for a rewarding reading experience.
What acknowledgments have you read that made you appreciate the author all the more? Why?
What questions do you have about acknowledgments for me?
TWEETABLES
What makes book acknowledgments awesome? Click to tweet.
How to creatively express yourself in book acknowledgments. Click to tweet.
Here;s my favourite acknowledgement. As it happens, it’s in my novel, “Emerald Isle”.
——
This book would not have been completed without the generous effort of Carol Ashby, whose edits and insights put it on its feet, and whose expertise at formatting put it into your hands. I was no longer well enough to finish the job; when I fell, she carried the book and me. There are no words which can express my gratitude.
But you left out the part about sharing my personal knowledge of how an FBI agent operates when he’s in your office asking you questions about…something or someone.
*I gained so much more than I gave, Andrew. It’s a beautiful, inspiring story about the value of life.
*Best(?) of all, it trained me in the mechanics of getting a book up at Amazon. When the former chief editor of the fiction line at a large CBA publisher told me last summer that I’d have to self-publish to keep the rights so we could use my novels to support missions, I only swallowed hard twice instead of hyperventilating.
And God says, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
Shirlee – Shame on you! I literally laughed out loud when I read that, because (as I suspect you intended) my mind instantly went to that snoozer television series “The A-Team.” You have a delightful sense of humor.
That’s a beautiful tribute, Andrew.
A book of Janet-and-Wendy wisdom . . . money well spent!
*Back in the olden days, before I thought of myself as a writer, I never read the acknowledgement pages. Now I read that first. It’s a peek into the author’s personality and an invitation to meet family and friends — a few moments meeting and greeting in the front entry before we move to the dining room and share the meal.
That’s a beautifully expressed way to look at Acknowledgments. I like to read them after I’ve read the book because then I can mentally thank each person for the part he or she played in putting that book into my hands.
I have a suggestion that makes it easier to write the acknowledgements when it’s time to publish. So many people help in various ways as encouraging listeners, beta readers, critique partners, editors, cover and interior designers, etc. The last thing I want to do is omit someone who contributed over the 2-3 years that might pass between conception and publication.
I keep an Excel file where I track everyone who helped and what they did on each novel. This is especially important when you are working on more than one at a time. I get confused as to who did what on which if I don’t keep records.
Wise and important advice, Carol.
I didn’t keep such a sheet and found myself breaking into a sweat lest I forget someone.
Congratulations to Janet and Wendy on the collaboration!
A book from Janet and Wendy? Yes, please!!
As for acknowledgments, I think I end up a bit like Marlin the clownfish at the beginning of Nemo. Or when I try to write a witty/funny “about me” page on my blog. I just end up with my mind going blank. Ha!! I’ll definitely be thinking about these acknowledgements more closely now!
Jennifer, part of the preparation is to make note of outstanding acknowledgments and what makes them special. Then, when it’s your turn, you’ve given in-depth thought to how you want to offer your thanks.
It seems that Acknowledgements are a bit like Introductions and Prologues. There is something within many a reader that says, “Oh, I’ll just skip this and get to the meat of Chapter One.” For this very reason, not long ago, a wise agent advised me to rename my Introduction to Chapter One so the zealous reader above would not skip it. It is a welcome challenge to attack our Acknowledgements in such a way that they do not come off the same as a dull acceptance speech at the Grammys or Oscars. In contrast to Janet’s reading the Acknowledgements, my tendency is to go straight to the Table of Contents. It gives me an outline of what to expect, and often serves notice that the book in my hands should be returned to the shelf, or intrigues me, causing me to dig more deeply.
Damon, comparing acknowledgments to boring Grammy or Oscar acceptance speeches, is quite apt.
Many publishers nowadays put the Acknowledgments at the back of the book so the reader, who is eager to paw right on over to Chapter One, will be ready to read the Acknowledgments after enjoying the book.
How awesome! I’m so happy for you both. And I’ll love reading it. Sitting in a classroom setting with you both at ACFW was a front row dream-come-true … so I know I’ll love your book. I never thought much about getting creative with the acknowledgments page … I think of pouring my heart. But … getting creative is running the extra mile. When the book is wrapped up, and it could be so easy to fall into the simple chair … will we go the extra mile? I will now. 🙂
Shelli, it is hard to put your all into the Acknowledgments after finishing the core elements of the book. But it’s also a fun challenge to make that page special.
I really enjoy reading acknowledgements, especially if they are fun. I remember when Tamora Pierce called her husband her “spouse creature” in the acknowledgements. She writes magical fantasy so it just made sense.
That’s a great phrase to use for her hubby, whom I sure enjoyed seeing that in the Acknowledgments.
A comment on links to Amazon:
Janet;s link to the book:
https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Scoop-Agents-Getting-Published/dp/0692834389/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1488738383&sr=1-2&keywords=the+inside+scoop
The later part (ref=….) shows everyone the details about the search that was used to get the link.
This can be truncated at the Amazon-assigned part number to strip out your search info and get a link that still goes to the Amazon sales page.
https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Scoop-Agents-Getting-Published/dp/0692834389/
Carol, that’s odd. I tried the link, and it didn’t work that way for me. I’ll correct it in the post. Thank you so much for letting me know.
Both links go to the same sales page so it really doesn’t matter, but I personally like the shorter form. I have a section where I review Roman-era fiction at my history site, and I always strip the links before posting.
WOO HOO!! Congratulations! You’re baby is out there! Now you know how authors feel! As if you had NO idea before. teehee So happy you and Wendy are sharing your knowledge with an even wider audience. BRAVO!!
Thank you, Lisa. We learned a lot in the publishing process since we were self-publishing. In our past lives,of course, we each have had published books, and I was production manager for a publisher at one point. But self-pubbing was a whole new venture.
As I write the acknowledgements today for book #4, your post could not have appeared more timely. Because of this post, I changed it to stretch my writing muscles. Thank you for such great content!
Woo-hoo! The timing was serendipity for you; I’m so glad.
First of all, Janet. A huge congratulations to you and Wendy for putting a book baby into this world. I so look forward to reading it!
*I love the creativity you described with Cynthia Ruchti’s acknowledgements page. How clever to tie this page with the Christmas idea from her story.
*I used to read a fair amount of Karen Kingsbury books. One thing I enjoyed was reading how the people behind the scenes helped her. She also included snippets about her growing family. I enjoyed reading about how each child was growing. One of them is about the same age as one of mine, so that made it a little more personal to me.
*I take notes about who helps me for each book so that I can remember them if/when I ever publish a book. 🙂
Jeanne, I love that Karen Kingsbury was so personal in her Acknowledgments about her family; that suits who she is in person too.
I told a story in my acknowledgements for Mrs. Oswald Chambers, hoping that would interest and amuse.
BTW, I always read the acknowledgements!
Michelle, that definitely fits in the “creative” category. I’ll be eager to read it.
Congratulations! Can’t wait to read your book! I love the cover!
I am glad I’m not the only one who enjoys reading acknowledgements. The first person that came to mind was Karen Kingsbury, she always writes a paragraph for each family member. I loved reading those, and it totally suits her family based fiction.
Great post, Janet, and congratulations to you and Wendy on your new release! The Inside Scoop sounds like a terrific resource, and I’m going to scoop it up myself! I enjoy reading authors’ acknowledgements, as well. It’s always interesting to see what information you can glean about writers by their acknowledgements, and I especially like, for better or worse, how that section reveals where their heart is.
Jerusha, thanks for your enthusiastic scooping up of our book.
I agree that Acknowledgments show an author’s heart. And I know that those people who contributed in some way to the book being published check out the Acknowledgments pages first thing. That page maintains relationships and keeps the author’s team in tact.
Congratulations!!!
For me, the acknowledgments that mention the writer’s spouse and kids, and all the sacrifices they made so the book baby can see the light of day, always make me appreciate the author more.
I always read the acknowledgments, because even before I became a writer, I knew that it took a village to produce a book. I find it rather interesting to see what people say.
As for Cynthia Ruchti, certain acknowledgments in a certain book of hers gave me a big thrill.
Someday, when I’m famous enough to get really sassy in my acknowledgments, I will say the following, “Bruce, you were entirely wrong. And for pete’s sake, it doesn’t matter if the kid doesn’t want his peas to touch his carrots”.
Congratulations on your new book! Great cover, BTW. And what a happy gift to us.
I always read the acknowledgments – unless I detested the book and don’t make it that far. The examples you provided are helpful and interesting. It’s nice to know there’s leeway in writing them. I keep lists in preparation.
But I have wondered when an acknowledgment section should be sent? When a full MS is requested, should Study Questions, Author’s Note, and Acknowledgment Section be included? Or are those only sent after a book is contracted/in production?
Mary Kay, thanks for complimenting our book’s cover. We like it a lot.
Regarding when the acknowledgments should be sent in, I’m assuming you’re thinking about a novel since you refer to submitting a full manuscript. Generally the acknowledgments, study questions, and Author’s Note should be submitted when the manuscript is revised. But the publisher should know when the book is contracted that you intend to write each of these.
Thank you so much.
Yipeee! So happy to see the fruit of your labors all come together in this project. Doing a happy dance for you, my friends!
Thank you so much, Robin. You know how much work this baby was to deliver.
I can’t think of any two people more qualified, and more experienced, to write such a book. Congratulations to you both.
Thank you so much, Latayne, one of my favorite authors.
That is so kind. Thank you
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