The Art of Acknowledgements

Agent 007 did a blog entry on acknowledgements stating how important it is to give your editor at least one entire sentence in every book, if not more. There needs to be adequate loving shown. She said that if the editor is combined with all the other members of the publishing house or compared to how nice the garbage man is when he picks up your trash (actually, I think I'm paraphrasing here), it doesn't bode well for the author/editor relationship.

So, of course I panicked. Did I have adequate accolades to my editors? What if I didn't? Did my editors complain about me in staff meetings, calling me that ungrateful swine with the bad hair?So I grabbed a few of my books. Here are some of my editor acknowledgements:

Unbecoming Behavior: "To my wonderful editor, Kate Seaver, for supporting me and giving me great advice as to where to take the story."

Assessment: "Wonderful" is a somewhat uncreative adjective, but I was specific in my thanks, so I think I'm okay.

Shop 'Til Yule Drop: "And thanks to my fantastic editor, Kate Seaver, who will one day win the NYC marathon."

Assessment: Okay, I have a nice adjective in there, but I'm not sure the NYC marathon reference would suffice to satisfy 007. Damn. I was trying to show off about how tight I was with my editor. Did I let her down? Sob. That's probably why she left my publisher, so she wouldn't have to deal with me anymore.

Opinion #2: My dh is now reading this and he said that my dedication shows my relationship with my editor is more than pure business and he said that's a good thing and she'd appreciate it. So he thinks I'm in good shape.

Stress & the City: "To my wonderful agent, Michelle Grajkowski, and my fabulous editor, Wanda Ottewell. How do I thank you enough for believing in me?"

Assessment: According to 007, I might have made a major error here putting both my agent and my editor in the same sentence. But doesn't that second sentence make up for it? It was straight from the heart.

If the Shoe Fits: "And thanks to my editor, Kate Seaver, for helping me brainstorm this book and believing in my ability to pull it off."

Assessment: This may sound like an ordinary acknowledgement to the uninformed (especially since I didn't add a complimentary adjective before Kate's name--oops), but this book was absolutely TORTUROUS to write. After two hundred pages, it wasn't working and I had to call my editor and tell her that. We brainstormed a new direction, and I started over. Without her support and her faith that I could pull off an entirely different story than the one she'd bought, the book never would have seen the light of day. She honestly saved me with her faith and her brilliance. So maybe I should have written something longer, more mushy, more superlative. Darn it. I blew it, didn't I? This was one of the last books she edited before she left Dorchester. It's totally my fault she's gone, isn't it? Sob.

Opinion #2: DH says that my dedication should have been the sentence about her saving me with her faith and her brilliance. He agrees I blew that one. Damn.

Overall, I give myself a B-. Room for improvement, especially the part about driving my editor to a new publishing house.

posted by Stephanie Rowe @ 7:20 AM