Friday, February 1, 2013

Book Acknowledgements - Who’s in Your Village? … Who Are You Going to Thank?


Who’s in Your Village? … Who Are You Going to Thank?
Everyone … That’s Who!
globe and village
One of the last items on the book publishing “to do” list is to create the Acknowledgement Page … the Thank Yous to the team that assisted you in creating your baby. These are the people who got you here … don’t ignore them. Think in the narrative … let your readers know what your team did to get your book birthed. Let’s start with the obvious:
An Acknowledgement Page is not a Dedication Page—those are usually short, minimal words and don’t include an entire village. Acknowledgements are different.
Many authors start with their family and friends, and forget the designers, consultants, printers and anyone who was a massive encourage in getting their book done. Don’t.
Family: Parents, kids, siblings, aunts, uncles. Family. They are a tremendous part—from giving you “time away” to create and finish your book—to do errands for you so you can stay focused—assisting with research—bringing food—even the pets can get into the picture.
Friends: Part of the cheerleading team, Friends are as critical as Family members. Friends assist in doing reality checks—sometimes Family members may be too nice—Mom is less likely to say that what she is reading is garbage. Friends are a bit more blunt.
Editors: ID the ones that helped you make your words sing—you may have more than one. Let your readers know what she or he did—editors are often invisible in the process, and or so critical to your book’s success.
Assistants and Researchers: Did you have interns doing work or anyone that tracked down info or items for you? Did you use the library? Was a librarian helpful? Who else?
Interviewees: Sometimes they are ID’d in your book; others, the name and place are changed. You may do a “blanket” thank you or you can ID—space and circumstance will dictate which way you go.  But, do acknowledge that they were part of your book.
Graphic and Interior Designers: Here’s to those who create what’s between the covers. Their work is critical for visual sellability of your book, not to mention creating a book that can compete with anyone … a book that does not look “self” published.
Cover Designer: Sometimes the Interior and Cover Designer is one in the same; sometimes not. The cover is all about getting the buyer’s attention—“pick me up”—then creating the back cover that really stands as the key marketing piece.
Illustrators/Photographers:    If you have photos or any type of art work, make sure you thank them. It’s more common than not—photos and other art arrive in not top quality and low resolution. Your Illustrator and Photographers become your ally in fixing them up!
Mentors:  Who are your role models, heroes and mentors who took you under their wing? Kudos to them for teaching you the ropes before you got tied up in them. Big thanks go here.
Readers: It’s common to have friends and professionals read your book—bravo to them…and thank them.
Endorsers: If you were able to get them—fabulous. Now thank them again.
Publishing and Writing Coaches: If you used Book Shepherd, Book Coach, Writing Coach or Publishing Coach, say so and tell what they did and how they worked with you.
Publisher: If you used a publisher, make sure you ID all the players that you interfaced with on the publisher’s team and what they did.
Foreword or Introduction Author: Some books have a Foreward and/or Introduction. Sometimes they are written by the Author, many times by someone with a “name.” Thank them—their name just may be why your book is bought or picked up.
Who Else?: Do you have a writing group that you relied on? What about a co-author … all this belongs here.  Even the UPS, FedEx, postman just might have earned a kudo or two.
It takes a village to create a book. Many book buyers read the Acknowledgement page to see who was on your team. I know that I do. Who knows … you just might find the “publishing pro” that you’ve been looking for to assist you in your next book. Share the good news.
thanks

 
Dr. Judith Briles 
The Book Shepherd - The Author and Publishing Expert

Create. Strategize. Develop. Publish. Achieve.
Chief Visionary Officer: AuthorU.org


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