Young Writers Society

When is it appropriate to include acknowledgements at the end of a novel? Is there even an etiquette for that, or is it just a "I'll acknowledge people if I want" sort of thing?

There is definitely a trend in recent years for long acknowledgements. I seem to find them in every novel I read recently, right at the end of the text, sometimes several pages long.

I dislike them, and think they should be kept short. I don't want to read a blubbering Oscaresque speech after the finale, it spoils the experience.

In practical terms, I imagine if you are published, the author is allowed to request an acknowledgements page, similar to having a dedication. Publishers might have different rules about its length, I suppose.

It's one of those good things you can worry about if you ever get published. For now, concentrate on getting onto your fifth or sixth draft of a novel before you even begin to dream about this kind of thing.

I don't know, I think if I finished a novel ( just any novel. Anything. ) I would want to acknowledge everyone that helped me out with it ( which no doubt would include a LOT of YWSers... or a few, at least ).

I think it's mostly like a 'I am so happy this actually got done!' thing, and 'now I'mm going to be SUPER greatful'. But that's just my guess.

Well, I'd say it depends on what kind of help you got from people. For example, if you wrote a fantasy novel that included maps/pictures, then I definitely think you should include a thanks to the person/people who drew them, because it's very obvious what they contributed. For things like editing help, it would depend how much of a help they were. In general, I think you should just put whoever you want on there, as long as you keep it pretty short.

I also think they should be at the beginning of books - after the table of contents but before the main title page. I don't like it at the back of books for the same reason @Firestarter does, but I'm happy to read them at the front of books, and I often do.

Haha @Firestarter that's the reason I asked (partially). I too see them more and more: two pages worth of acknowledgements. That's all well and good, but I think that sort of thing is more suited for a blog or something. I was wondering if there was any entitlement that these authors felt that they got to do that, but I guess it's whatever you (and your publisher) want. I do wish they were shorter though. I feel obligated to read them

Thanks for answering my question, guys! ^_^

I like my authors to stay as 60's style celebrities; born absolutely dazzling in a magical world of superior beings several worlds away from ours. It's great to hear some interviews and stuff, but I don't really want to know about their private lives or the struggles they had while writing it. The authors fingerprints are supposed to be woven seamlessly into their work, not left in chocolate marks and coffee stains all over the back pages.

I have never seen acknowledgements at the ends of books. I've always encountered them at the front, usually after the table of contents and title page.

I do like having extensive appendices and works cited at the back, though. Then again, I read a lot of fantasy, sci-fi, and non-fiction, which is probably why the acknowledgements are always at the front - there's no room in the back of the book for them.

I don't mind acknowlegements in general. Sometimes I read them. Sometimes I skip over them. I do like the idea of them, because it's a way for an author to thank the people who helped instead of presenting themselves as the sole contributor to a work. Editors are important too, and acknowledging your editor(s) is a nice thing to do, especially considering how overlooked they tend to be.