Nathan Bransford - The Forums

One of the Mad Ones wrote:Interesting. What's your take on author pictures?

I like some of the author pictures on the jacket flaps. They can show personality. But I don't like the ones that look too corporate.

I sort of feel that my book would sell better without my picture on it.

If you ever want a good laugh, peruse the Danielle Steele section and check out her author pics. My favorite is the one where she's dressed as an aviator.

Until I got interested in writing, I never even looked at an Acknowledgments Page. Why would I, when I knew I wasn't going to be on it? To me, an Acknowledgements Page was between the author and his "peeps" and had nothing to do with me.

It had also never crossed my mind that someone might actually get pissed off by an Acknowledgment Page (unless you'd expected to be mentioned and weren't). Why on earth would it bother you that an author might devote one page to thanking people who helped him? You don't want to read it -- skip it!

Now, as a writer, I adore acknowledgments pages, to the point where I'm disappointed if I don't find one. I want to know who agented and edited the book, so I find them a helpful resource.

I also recently wrote an Acknowledgements Page and had more fun doing it! I LOVED being able to publically thank the people I was grateful to. My only fear was leaving someone out by accident, which is a very real danger when you write them. You risk offending or hurting someone when you go public that way. To me, that's the most valid reason for deciding not write one.

Yesterday I had to write an acknowledgments page for the soon-to-be published A Dragon's Guide to Destiny (Vol. 1: The Waters and the Wild). Like others, I dislike the acknowledgments that thank everyone, including the UPS delivery guy (and mine is pretty nice).
I kept the thank-yous to a minimum, although I did make a point of thanking my cats. They've actually been most helpful, since cats are some of the main characters in the book.

It's a tough call. The more inclusive you try to be, the greater chance you have of offending someone who thinks he/she should have been on the list. I wonder how many people actually read this page—unless they're looking for an agent who reps material similar to what they write.

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