Author Acknowledgements: Yay or Nay?

· by · in Books, ramblings. ·

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Hi everyone! In my determination to keep upping the blog game, I am FINALLY writing one of my ‘Let’s Discuss’ posts after a VERY long time of not writing one… Whoops! I have a whole list, so these will become more regular!

First up for discussion is: Author Acknowledgements.

I absolutely love to read author acknowledgements at the back of the book. Sometimes I will flip to the back of a book and read the acknowledgements before I’ve even read the story itself. (I hear some of you gasping ‘But what about spoilers?’ – I am yet to come across an author who puts spoilers in their acknowledgements but on my head be it if they did!).

I’ll be the first to admit that a few years ago I would never read the acknowledgements and would close a book immediately after reading those last precious words of the story. For the last year or so though I have read the acknowledgements in every single book I’ve read and now it’s become a habit I certainly don’t want to kick.

To me, there is something so very special about the author acknowledgements. A book is like a horcrux. When writing a book the author puts their life and soul into it and that book will always be a part of them, no matter how many other lives it touches. Writing a book is such a long, hard journey and I adore reading the acknowledgements to get a glimpse into that journey. There is something so beautiful about seeing such a wonderful outpouring of love and gratitude to those important people who have helped an author along the way. Be that family members, friends, publishing teams, bloggers, pets or life experiences, I find that reading the acknowledgements adds such a personal touch to the book and normally they leave me all fuzzy hearted.

I know that some people don’t read the acknowledgements and, of course, that is absolutely fine! After all, the acknowledgements are there to do a job and that is to thank the people who have supported the author so I can see why not everyone would choose to read them.

In the words of my darling friend Steph @ A Little But A Lot who also loves to read the acknowledgements, “Acknowledgements are lovely. They’re an insight into the people the author loves most. I love seeing the nods to other authors, bloggers and families. I’m not gonna lie, acknowledgements make me cry. They’re a little snippet into an author’s world. It’s a lovely way to finish a book.”

For me, I will continue to read them all and the dream is that one day I may find my own name appearing in the book of an author I have helped to support. I think that would be the ultimate fuzzy heart moment!

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Are you a ‘Yay’ or a ‘Nay’?

Do you read the acknowledgements? Why? Why not? I’d love to know!

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31 responses to “Author Acknowledgements: Yay or Nay?”

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  2. Before blogging I never really cared that much about the acknowledgements. I might have read them sometimes. Now I read them ALL THE TIME and I LOVE THEM. It’s so great seeing all the people that helped make the book happen. Plus it’s always fun seeing if I can spot any names haha. And I always feel a bit special when I see bloggers/reviewers/fans thanked.

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  3. I sometimes read the acknowledgements – it really depends because sometimes I just see a list of names that I don’t know and not much else, and I don’t find that very interesting. But if the author writes a little more than that it can definitely be interesting to read 🙂

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  5. I love these sections. I can think of a few that made me cry. When Leigh Bardugo spoke of her chronic pain at the end of SoC, when Susan Dennard talked about her beautiful friendship with Sarah J Maas, and when Shannon Alexander shared her cancer story at the end of Love and Other Unknown Variables. I like to see who they thank, but I love when they give us a peek into their process or the impetus for this story we just finished.

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  8. I love reading the acknowledgements! I feel like it helps me understand the author’s mindset when they wrote the book a little bit better. That said, I always save them for after I finish the book, so that I don’t accidentally spoil anything for myself, since some books that I’ve read did have major spoilers in the acknowledgements!

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  9. I read them sometimes just because..they’re there, but I have to admit I have no real interest in them and certainly don’t remember anything about them after I’ve read them. I think the acknowledgements section is more for the people the author is thanking than for the general reader.

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  10. I’m definitely ‘yay’! I never used to read the acknowledgments, but it’s something I’ve recently started doing. It’s so nice to see the people who helped motivate/inspire/encourage/etc the book and the impact those people had on the author themself.

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    • I agree. There are so many people involved in a book actually hitting the shelves and it’s so lovely to see everyone getting a well deserved shout out whether they be family/friends or the publishing team and agents. They are just so lovely to read.

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  16. I adore acknowledgements. I love seeing how many people inspired/worked to make the book as brilliant as it is and sometimes you can find extra background things about what inspired the story. I recently found I was in someone’s book acknowlegements and plan on doing a post about it!

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  20. I love the acknowledgements section. Like you said, a book is not just one person. And it’s always so good to see the people who have helped be appreciated. Plus, I love seeing what they’ve said to their SO!

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