Do you read the…

Acknowledgments? Dedication? Reader Letter?

I’m in the middle of edits for Man Drought. At this stage I also get to write the acknowledgments and the dedication. I LOVE this part because I am a die-hard acknowledgement reader. Whenever I buy a book, I flick straight to the acknowledgments before reading. As a writer, I know that writing a book is not really a solitary thing – there are usually many people that help the book be born in some way or another.

In my acknowledgments, I thank:

My hubby, Mum and sometimes extended family.
My awesome writing friends. In Man Drought, I’ve added some specific detail of what these special people do for me during my writing process.
People who’ve helped me with research aspects of the book.
Friends who have gone that extra mile in some way during the writing of the novel (like my gorgeous friend Holly below)

My editor – because really I sometimes think their name should be on the front of the book as well, they put so much hard work into making a manuscript sparkle.
My publisher – for similar reasons as above and simply because I love them so much (sorry, fact, not sucking up).
Diet Coke – okay, actually, I resisted the deep desire to do this even though I really really wanted to – but I seriously seem to write better with a can of DC at my side.

I like acknowledgments because they give a little bit of insight into the writer and his/her world and now that I know many writers, I often recognize the names in the acknowledgments of the books I read and this is always exciting!

Another thing I’ve noticed in more books lately (mostly romance ones) is a letter from the author to the reader. I LOVE this and have decided to do this for Man Drought. I’m so grateful to the readers who have bought my book, read it and loved it and I absolutely love hearing back from readers, so I wanted to have another opportunity to say hello to them!

Anyway, I’m curious… what’s your thoughts on acknowledgments and reader letters!? Do you always read them like me or do you flick past them, straight to the story?