Yep, they do.
I mean, I put the “ack” in acknowledgments.
Come on, where’s the RMFW Colorado Gold three-hour Master Class on how to write your acknowledgments? That is, how to keep track of all the people who helped you out? All these classes and blogs on writing craft and plot and character and voice and how to edit and on and on about the hero’s journey and writer’s block, but where’s the class on writing acknowledgments?
Huh?
Here’s one reason why my acknowledgments suck: I forgot someone in my latest book (The Melancholy Howl, available wherever books are sold).
Forgot someone!
Who? My publicist / tour scheduler / promoter / spirit guide, the incomparable Sami Jo Lien of Roger Charlie. She is amazing! Did I mention her in my list of acknowledgments? No.
I am sure there are others, too.
But where do I stop? My high school English teacher? My college English teacher? Check that—teachers! All the writer pals I’ve ever been lucky enough to have—probably a couple hundred at least? How about all the individuals who helped me answer a question by email or in person about some detail for research? Did I keep track of them?
No.
Oh, and what about the tequila manufacturers and coffee roasters? Don’t they deserve some credit, too? They certainly played a role! The coffee shops where I sat and pondered?
And, by the way, is acknowledgment really enough? Sounds so lame. Acknowledge has to be one of the weakest, most inactive verbs around—the written equivalent of a barely discernible glance.
Some of the people on your list of thankees* read drafts of the book and offered detailed, thoughtful feedback. So they are to be acknowledged? Big whoop, right?
We need a whole new category, separate from the weak-ass “acknowledgments.” All I know is there should be a whole lot of people on that list of “recognitions” or whatever we’re going to call it. No book is written in a vacuum on the back side of the moon with no input from anyone.
Right?
(As Carl Sagan once said, “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”)
So I’m wondering—where do you draw the line? How do you keep track of those to be profusely praised? Would it be better to just thank your mother or significant other and leave it at that?
Huh?
*(Not a real word. Yet.)
Since most of my ‘helpers’ involve email correspondence, I save all the interchanges in a “research” folder in my email. I TRY to start an “ack” file in the same folder as my WIP and add names there, too, but at the end, I go through all those emails and add their names. And then there are my ‘standards’ – editor, cover artist, crit partners. And yes, I’ve missed people, especially if I asked questions in F2F meetings, but I try.
Trying counts. Thanks, Terry.
Tougher than drawing the line on a wedding list!
Scott – I should have used that line….exactly!!!
Hi Mark! I struggled with this as well, and ended up going the minimalist route. It’s hard to know what to do, especially after reading some authors’ acknowledgements that go on for pages.
It’s a problem ! Thanks, Pat.
Oh so true. I try to keep a list of the experts i’ve spoken with. But I should do a better job of listing my many magical helper elves.
Yes, ‘magical helper elves.’ Indeed ! Thanks, Karen.
Great reminder Mark! Love the ‘ack’!
I vote that “Thankee” become a real word…
That’s two of us !
So, now I have to add the “Ack”knowledgement to my “need-to-worry-about-writing-list” which is currently topped by the back cover copy and then the author bio. I was hoping all I’d have to worry about is the story. So lame. So much more to writing a good story and all those people do really need to be recognized and applauded for helping us make our stories the very best they can be. We most certainly don’t do this alone. A class or at least a discussion group on the topic sounds like a great idea.
Thanks, T.B.W.! Yes, just thought i would add something else to worry about 🙂
I maintain the list should be exclusive. Maybe it’s okay to reference a broader team of contributors in the abstract, but not by name. Named acks should be the few who could have written it themselves.