Red Hawk Ridge

Welcome back!

Today’s post will be shorter than the monster that was the Copyright Page, but it is a great addition to your book if you choose to add one.

Your Acknowledgments page is where you thank anyone who had a hand in the creation of your book. This may include the people you credited on the Copyright Page, but also the people who supported you in any other way. This can include a spouse who put up with you ignoring them while writing, parents for birthing you so you could write, God, etc.

A general list of people you might see in the Acknowledgments is:

• Family members (spouse, kids, parents, siblings, grandparents, etc.)
• Friends
• People like an editor who worked on the production process
• Publishers (mainly for trad-pub)
• Coworkers and assistants
• Agents and managers (mainly for trad-pub)
• Contributors, advisers, and sources of learning
• Teachers, mentors, and bosses
• Inspirations

This page can be as straightforward or quirky as you want to make it but use your own voice. This is you thanking people, not a character from the book thanking them, unless you want to make it read like that. There aren’t any rules, just guidelines.

An Acknowledgments page is not mandatory, but most books have them. It’s good to show your thankfulness to the people who helped you birth your book baby. Everyone has at least one person who helped them, even if you did everything yourself like I did.

The Acknowledgments page is about the people, not you. It will make them feel good to hear how you feel about the support they gave you, no matter how small.

To craft your Acknowledgments page:

• Write a list of everyone you can think of that had any kind of hand in the creation of your book. This will keep you from forgetting anyone, even if you decide to remove some. Group them by category (listed above).
• For the most important people, be specific on how they helped in the process. This will make them feel special knowing that you recognize everything they did to help you.
• Don’t just write “I want to thank my husband, Tony. Thank you.” Instead, write something like, “I have to start by thanking my husband, Tony. From reading early drafts to giving me advice on the cover to keeping the kids out of my hair so I could write, he was as important to this book getting done as I was. Thank you so much!” Make it personal (but not too personal). Same goes for everyone else.
• Be sincere. If you don’t believe what you are writing, don’t create an Acknowledgments page.
• Length doesn’t matter. Make it as long or short as you want. Most fall on one page, but that isn’t a rule; however, more than two could be excessive. Don’t thank every random person who asked about your book and said it sounded cool.

The following is the Acknowledgments page for my debut novel, Blood for Honor:

The Acknowledgments page can be in the front or the back of the book. The two most popular places are after the Dedication Page and right after the last page of the manuscript.

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Many blessings,
Emma Lee Joy