Semantic Satiation from James W. Ziskin

Acknowledgements vary between a terse paragraph and pages of prose. How do you manage them? (And do you read them in others' books?)

I always like to thank my beta readers. Sometimes I thank my agent and editor. Not always. I treat acknowledgments differently from the way I do dedications. Those are short and sweet, while acknowledgments are always longer. Not that dedications are easier to write, despite their shorter length.

Like Dietrich, I keep a list of beta readers and people who have helped me in some way so I won’t forget them when the time comes to submit acknowledgments to the publisher. For my latest book, THE PRANK, the list kept growing due to the amount of time I had between finishing the first drafts and final publication. About three years. I’d never been in that situation before, and I sincerely hope I didn’t forget anyone.

Here’s a head-scratcher: I sent the book to a few beta readers who—apparently—didn’t read it. At least I didn’t hear back from them. What to do in that case? It’s perfectly understandable that those readers might not have had the time or they forgot about my request. I’ve done that once or twice, myself. So even if I had no hard feelings at all, I didn’t feel it was appropriate to mention those readers in my acknowledgments.

I like to keep my thanks short. People don’t buy books to read the acknowledgments. They buy books to read the story. Does that sound selfish? Oh, well. Too bad. And while there may be some interest in finding out who helped that story come to be, I don’t believe an author should take more than a page or two to ramble on about it. A sincere expression of thanks should suffice.

As I mentioned above, I have, at times, thanked editors and agents for their support and guidance, but not for every book. Nothing negative, but repeated thanks might start to lose their meaning by the sixth or seventh time. Kind of like semantic satiation (Leon Jakobovits James), that odd way words sound funny and lose their meaning if you repeat them over and over. 

Here’s an example of how I worded my acknowledgments for THE PRANK:

“I received so much valuable feedback from my beta readers. What worked. What didn’t. Where I went too far. Where I didn’t go far enough. Thank you all for your honesty, expertise, encouragement, and common sense. In alphabetical order: (Names redacted.)”

And, due to extra input for language and culture, I wrote the following for Turn to Stone: 

“I’ve made a lifelong study of languages, Italian front and center, and know from experience that there is no substitute for a native speaker’s eye and ear when it comes to editing words, phrases, and references that are not your mother tongue. For that reason, I relied on some wonderful friends for feedback on the Italian usage in this book.” (Names redacted here.)

Thank

Thank

Thank

Thank

Thank

Thank

Thank

Thank

Thank

Thank

Damn. Now that word has lost all meaning in my head…

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THE PRANK…enigmatic and unnerving. The pace never flags for a second. This is some masterly plotting. I loved it.”

—Liz Nugent, author of Strange Sally Diamond

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