The acknowledgements page is where a book admits it was not written alone. Readers who reach it tend to read it closely, so it is worth more care than a last-minute list of names.
What are acknowledgements in a book?
They are the page, or pages, where the author thanks the people who helped the book exist: editors, early readers, experts who answered questions, people who lent a room or a year, and family. Unlike a dedication, which names one person the book is for, acknowledgements are a record of who helped.
The spelling varies by region. British English usually writes "acknowledgements" and American English "acknowledgments". Either is correct; pick the one that matches the rest of your book. The dedication is a separate page with its own rules.
Who should you thank?
Start by listing everyone, then sort. The list is usually longer than you expect, and sorting it is what turns a list of names into a readable page.
| Group | Who belongs in it | How much to say |
|---|---|---|
| Professional help | Editor, agent, designer, typesetter, translator | A sentence each, with one specific |
| Early readers | Beta readers, critique partners, writing group | A sentence for the group, names listed |
| Sources and experts | Interviewees, specialists, archives, libraries | What each contributed, briefly |
| Practical support | Employers, funders, anyone who gave time or space | One line each |
| Readers | People who bought, reviewed or shared earlier books | One or two sentences |
| Family and friends | Partner, children, parents, close friends | As personal as you like, usually last |
Self-published authors often have a longer professional list than they realise. Someone who edited the manuscript, designed the cover or checked the proof deserves a line, and so do the beta readers who read a rough draft and told you the truth.
How long should acknowledgements be?
One to two pages covers most books. A short novel can manage with half a page; a large research book with many sources can run longer.
The limit is not a rule so much as attention. Past two pages, readers skim, and the people named in paragraph nine get less than the ones in paragraph one. If the list is very long, group names rather than writing a sentence for each, and save the warm sentences for the people who changed the book.
What order do acknowledgements go in?
There is no fixed order, but one pattern is common and easy to follow.
- Professionals first. Agent and editor, then everyone else who worked on the book.
- Readers and experts next. The people who improved the text.
- Practical help. Anyone who made the time to write possible.
- Family and partner last. It gives the page a natural ending, and the most personal thanks lands as the final line.
Some authors reverse it and open with family. That works too. What matters is that the page has some order, so readers can follow it, rather than names appearing in whatever order they came to mind.
How do you write acknowledgements, step by step?
- Make the full list from your notes, emails and drafts. Check the names of anyone you interviewed.
- Group the names using the table above.
- Write one specific detail for each group or person. "Who read the second draft in a weekend" says more than "for her support".
- Draft in your own voice. The tone of the acknowledgements should sound like the person who wrote the book.
- Cut repeated praise. If three people are all "invaluable", nobody is.
- Check spelling of every name, then check again. A misspelled name is the mistake people remember.
- Ask before naming anyone who might prefer not to appear, especially in memoir.
What does a good acknowledgements page look like?
Here is a short example, written for this guide, for a hypothetical non-fiction book. It shows the shape; the people and details are made up.
Notice the specifics. Each thank-you names what the person did, which is what makes it read as gratitude rather than ceremony. A line like "thanks to everyone who supported me" could appear in any book and so means nothing in this one.
Where do acknowledgements go in a book?
In fiction, the back, after the last chapter. Putting them first would hold the reader up on the way into the story. In non-fiction, either end is correct: academic and research books often place them in the front matter, while most trade non-fiction puts them at the back. Front matter and back matter gives the full order of both ends.
At the back, the usual sequence is notes and appendices, then acknowledgements, then the about-the-author page, then any page that points the reader to your next book or newsletter. That last page is valuable: a reader who has just finished is the most likely to act on it, which is also why asking for reviews belongs near the end.
What should you leave out?
- Apologies. "I am sorry to anyone I forgot" is common and adds nothing. Thank the people you remembered.
- Long jokes. A light touch is fine; a page of in-jokes shuts out every reader who was not there.
- Score-settling. The acknowledgements are not the place to mention the agent who passed.
- Everyone you have ever met. The page is for the book, not the author's whole life.
How do you add acknowledgements in a Markdown book?
As a chapter like any other: a heading, then paragraphs. Using a real heading matters, because it puts the page in the table of contents and in the EPUB's navigation.
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## Acknowledgements
Thanks first to my editor, who saw what the book was about before I did.
To the three beta readers who told me chapter four was two chapters.Use the same heading level as your chapters, so the page sits in the structure at the right depth. Headings in Markdown explains how levels become the book's outline.
Setting the back of the book in bukpress
In bukpress the acknowledgements are part of the same Markdown file as the rest of the book. A --- line before the heading starts the page fresh, the heading takes your title typeface, and the text uses the body settings you chose once for the whole book, so the back pages match the front. Export the typeset PDF, and on Pro the EPUB from the same file. If a name was spelled wrong, the fix is one edit and one new export rather than a paid correction, which matters for a page this easy to get wrong. When a later edition adds names, correction, revision or second edition explains what counts as which.
Common questions
Are acknowledgements required in a book?
No. They are optional, and many short books skip them. If people helped in ways that shaped the book, though, the page is the one public place to say so, and most readers think better of an author who does.
Should acknowledgements be written in the first person?
Yes. Acknowledgements are personal, and they are almost always written as "I". The third person, common in author bios, reads oddly when you are thanking your own family.
Can you thank readers in the acknowledgements?
Yes, and it is a good habit from the second book on. A sentence thanking the readers who reviewed or recommended the first book costs nothing and is often the line those readers remember.
What is the difference between acknowledgements and a dedication?
A dedication names who the book is for, usually in one line. Acknowledgements thank the people who helped make it, often over a page or two. A book can have both, either or neither.