This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
By Anna Bell
Where do you start when you read a book? I’m guessing most people start on page one. I’ve even met people who commit the cardinal sin of reading the last page first, but I wonder if I’m alone with where I start. The first thing I do when I begin a new book is read the dedication and the acknowledgements. Does this make me a bit of a loser?
I always find that who an author thanks and the style in which it’s written gives you a certain connection to the writer and offers an insight into their world and their state of mind at the time. I’ve just started reading I Heart Christmas by Lindsey Kelk and her acknowledgement page made me giggle. It’s full of her usual humour and, if you follow her on Twitter, it was almost like an extension of her tweets. Last year, I really felt for Freya North when reading her acknowledgements page in Rumours, as it had clearly been an emotional time in her life when she wrote it.
I’m also fascinated by the ‘who knows who’ that goes on too. Ever since I’ve been trying to get my books published, I’ve taken a special interest in who represents who and there’s usually a nod to agents in the acknowledgements. I also love seeing what authors know one another as well. So many writers are friends with other writers and I love imagining those big-name authors getting together for coffee and chatting about their works in progress. I was recently reading Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, in which she thanked Maddy Wickham – who I’m assuming (I hope I’m not mistaken) is Madeleine Wickham, aka Sophie Kinsella.Whilst I adore reading acknowledgements, I hate writing them. There are always too many people to thank and I worry about rambling on for too long. With my published books, I usually whip out the acknowledgements right at the last minute, after the copy edit (and before the page setting). It’s almost an afterthought and I find it’s hard to capture the personality I love in some of the ‘thanks to’ pages I read in other authors’ books.
And with each book I write, it becomes harder still as there are endless people that I want to thank. So many friends and family members have been so lovely and supportive. Ditto with virtual friends and reviewers on Twitter. I struggle so much with trying to work out when I should name people and when I shouldn't – as I don’t want to leave people out.
I also love dedications. It’s an amazing privilege to have a book dedicated to you (I imagine) and, as a true romantic I always love reading the really soppy ones. I didn’t dedicate any of my novels until I had them published in paperback so I thought it was all the more special. I dedicated my first book to my husband – he deserved it with all he’s had to put up with! My second book is dedicated to my parents. I haven’t told them, so I’m hoping to send my dad an advanced copy for Father’s Day as it comes out a few days after, and that will be a nice surprise for him. I’m going to dedicate my third book to my son, and after that, I’m stumped. After partners, children and parents, where do I go? Friends, siblings, parents-in-law?
Do you also love the acknowledgement pages of novels? As an author, how do you feel about them? Or are you an aspiring author who already knows what they’d write if they had their book published? I’d love to hear your thoughts.