Thank you...etc.

 

Terry here with our question of the week: Acknowledgements vary between a terse paragraph and pages of prose. How do you manage them? (And do you read them in others’ books?) 

 I think there is something wrong with me. I’m always delighted to offer a hearty thank you to anyone has helped me move forward on my work—or my play, for that matter. But when it comes to writing acknowledgments, I get whatever the finger equivalent of tongue-tied is. Everything I write seems stilted and sounds insincere. Therefore my acknowledgements are always truncated. And when the book comes out I read them in horror as I realize I left out vital people I needed to thank. I keep promising myself I’ll do better, but when the time comes I freeze. 

 What makes me even crazier is that I always read acknowledgements—and I mean always--and am often struck by how warm and personal they are. Here are some examples of ones I chose at random. I wish I could match them. 

“Tempest would not exist if not for my amazing parents…who raised me in a multi-cultural family and took me across the United States, Europe, and India when I was too young to fully appreciate it, but old enough for it to sink in that I was a citizen of the world.” 

                    Gigi Pandian, Under Lock and Skeleton Key

 “From the first line of this book to the very last, I have benefited from the persistence, kindness, cajoling, midnight texts, meals, tough love, downright threats, and utter devotion of my wonderful editor Dan Smetanka.” 

                    Tod Goldberg, Gangster Nation 

 “When I finish writing a book, the first place it goes is to my early readers. They’re unflinchingly honest with their feedback and critiques, and I love them dearly for it.” She goes on to list them. 

                    Claire Booth, A Deadly Turn 

 This next next one is so lovely I would like to write out the entire acknowledgements page , but I’ll pare it down to the first couple of lines: “My heartfelt thanks—and also my deep admiration—to those who work as volunteers with Los Samaritanos and Humane Borders. These are courageous, good-hearted people who risk a great deal to offer assistance to the thousands of refugees crossing the border every year in the hope of finding sanctuary.” 

                    William Kent Krueger, Sulfur Springs 

"A novel is always a collaborative effort. The words are mine but the polishing and molding of the story bears fingerprints of many hands.” 

                    S.A. Cosby, Razorblade Tears 

 Of course they go on thank a bevy of helpers: early readers, crime-writing organizations, agents, editors, publishers, and those with special knowledge they needed. (For example, Tod Goldberg thanks someone who “provided me insight on certain, shall we say, shady aspects of the casino industry.” 

 But those warm words at the beginning set the tone. 

 Maybe I’ll steal those one of those beginnings when it’s time to write the next acknowledgements. Keep an eye out!