A Dedication Problem
Over the past year or so, I’ve discovered one of the most difficult things about the publishing process is not getting the book finished; it’s not going through the editorial process; it’s not discovering your name is spelled wrong on the title page of your first book with a publisher; it’s not even the unending marketing process. For me, one of the most difficult things to do in the publishing process is writing the dedication.
As I wrote on Monday, I don’t have a huge circle of intimates—I have lots of contacts, lots of acquaintances, but few people with whom I have a deep enough relationship that I would ever consider dedicating a book to them. As I told one group of writers this morning, the only people I’m really thinking of when I’m writing are the people who’re eventually going to read the book. (And that’s usually only when I’m writing those hook endings I love so much, because it gives me a perverse sense of pleasure knowing that I’m going to make them have to read the next chapter to see what happens!)
The pitiable thing is that, with only three books out, I’ve pretty much exhausted the list of people in my life whom I could dedicate books to—my parents and my grandmother, my sister’s family, and three good friends. (I do have to say, my twenty-one-year-old nephew was thrilled enough to see his name listed in the dedication of Ransome’s Honor that he actually DM’ed me through FB to let me know he’d seen it when he bought it at Walmart—late at night when no one else was around, but he did tell the cashier that his aunt had written the book and dedicated it to him!).
So I’ve been conducting a sort of informal poll of one of my writing groups to see how more experienced published authors handle this situation. I was actually surprised by the number of responses I’ve received in which the authors say that they either don’t do dedications anymore, they always dedicate it to their husband/kids, they use a teaser/epigraph/Bible verse instead, or they use a general dedication to their readers that pulls out a theme from the book.
The irony is, 99 percent of the time, I don’t even look at the dedication in books. Until I started having to write them, that is. So here are some interesting ones I ran across in the books I have on my shelves:
To Kelsey,
I’m so thankful God gave you to us.
But even more, that you
gave yourself to Him.
~Tamera Alexander, in From a Distance
***
This book is dedicated with love
to the memory of Cass Isbre,
in whose library, at the age of twelve,
I first discovered Jane Austen.
~Stephanie Barron, in Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor
***
This book is dedicated to
Nathan Crow
And all the young men and women of:
The Virginia Military Institute
West Point
Annapolis
The Air Force Academy
The Coast Guard Academy
Norwich
The Citadel
and
Texas A&M.
These youths, past and present, have freely chosen to endure personal sacrifice and hardship by dedicating their lives to defend and uphold the ideals and principles that have made this nation and its people unlike any other.
~Harold Coyle, in God’s Children
***
To the One who closed
the lion’s mouth.
~Brandt Dodson, in Daniel’s Den
***
To American trial lawyers.
~John Grisham, in The Rainmaker
***
This book is dedicated to members of the Dick Pfaff Philosophical Group, which for the past quarter-century has gathered each Tuesday evening to test the laws of probability and sometimes, alas, the Chaos Theory.
~Tony Hillerman, in The Fallen Man
***
This story is dedicated to everyone
who has ever felt too timid, too weak,
and too insignificant to be used by God for a grand purpose.
~M. L. Tyndall, in The Falcon and the Sparrow
***
For Lonnie,
who took a chance on me when I was feeling invisible.
And for all those women who feel invisible—
whether by size, age, or circumstance . . .
The old hymn says, “His eye is on the sparrow.”
His eye is on you.
~Laura Jensen Walker, in Miss Invisible
***
Dedicated to the memory of
God’s extraordinary women
in every place
in every time.
~Stephanie Grace Whitson, in Unbridled Dreams
***
So what do y’all think? Do you read the dedications in books? What kinds of dedications do you like to see? What suggestions do you have for me when it comes to the dedication in A Case for Love?
Comments are closed.
KayeDacus.com 
Well, if I ever write a legal book, I will dedicate it to Harmon Rabb and Sarah MacKenzie. : )
Seriously.
I cut my fiction teeth on writing JAG fanfic when I was in high school. Those characters will always be part of my Muse and my writing story.
I already have the dedication of my first novel written, though I only have a little of the actual book written. I’m going to dedicate it to the girlfriends who believed in me when I first began writing.
I will eventually dedicate books to my parents, who taught me to read and to write and to love books.
I do read the dedications in books.
You can always do the mysterious initials thing, i.e. : “To the remarkable KB and all my friends at the 12th.”
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I’m thinking about dedicating this one to “Julian M. and Morena B.” Maybe I’ll make that my new dedication pattern . . . the first name/last initial of the templates for the POV characters. 😉
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ROFL! And I’m wondering how many people would get it.
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I always read dedications. A friend told me the other day she never does and I was a little shocked. I just assumed everyone did. I guess not! I think it’s nice seeing the author acknowledge the people in their lives or their readers. I don’t really have any advice for it, just wanted to say I always read them. 😉
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I not only don’t read deds/acks, I don’t usually read epigraphs or quotes at the beginnings of chapters—in fact, I don’t usually read chapter titles. Don’t know why, but I’ve always been that way. I have to force myself to remember to do it when I’m editing!
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I always read the dedications – or if there’s no dedication, the quote or verse that is usually found in its place. But then again, I’m the type of person that pretty much always reads dedications, album liner notes, author notes, forewards, afterwords, author letters, etc. For me it is part of the experience, I guess. And if a dedication is a bit cryptic, it can just add to the fun. 🙂
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Oh…meant to add, you should so dedicate #2 or #3 of the Ransome trilogy to Paul McGann. 🙂
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Oh, believe me, his name will be appearing in a dedication of an upcoming book! (How’s that for cryptic?)
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Excellent!
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I love reading book dedications. I hate when authors just say “For So-and-so” because I want to at least know who so-and-so is in their life. I don’t think that’s too much to ask:) Have you dedicated a book to your agent or your editor? Lots of authors do that.
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I mentioned my agent and editor in the acknowledgments of Menu.
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Or maybe it was “the extraordinary KB.”
I think you should dedicate one of your books to Ciaran Hinds.
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It’s never really been as much about Ciaran Hinds as it is about the character of Frederick Wentworth. Maybe I should dedicate it to “Frederick and Anne.”
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That would be a nice touch. 🙂
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I always read dedications.
I have one WIP that’s set in WW2 Shreveport, where my Mimi grew up. The hero even lives in her house and works part-time for her brothers. With her permission! That book will be dedicated to her.
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Well, to lower the tone a bit: the best book dedication I have ever read, in This Boy’s Life, which is by, I think, Tobias Wolff, not Geoffrey (?). Something like this: “My first stepfather said what I didn’t know would fill a book. Well, here it is.”
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That’s fabulous!
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I never really thought about it, but I do sometimes read it. It’s usually short, so it’s just a glance at it really.
Sometimes there’s an acknowledgment page, and I never ever read that until I was a writer. Then, it was to see who the editors were at the publishing house, or the agent that the author works with, so, more for informational purposes. It’s also fun to see whose “brain” the author picked in research sometimes too.
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Sometimes, those acknowledgements go on forever—like the speeches at the Oscars that never seem to end with the recognition of every single person in their life. I don’t usually read them (though I am mentioned in a couple of people’s acks in their books). I will read them if it’s a historical novel or a novel that includes information I’m interested in to see if they mention some of their research in their acks.
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I’m the weird one who reads every page of the book from the endorsements, the copyright page, to the afterword and the first chapter of the next book coming out that’s at the end of some books. I love reading dedications. Don’t know why. I’ve just always loved them.
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Hmm….alot of times I read dedications, but in most cases I tend to read them if I feel like I’ve gotten to know something about the author and his/her family. If the author has a regular blog or website where they talk alot about themselves and their life, then I tend to pay more attention to the dedication. I might recognise someone in it.
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I read every jot and tittle. I somehow think the dedication gives a little personal glimpse into the author’s heart. “To the One who closed the lion’s mouth.” was very cool. I especially like the ones like Mary Lou’s “This story is dedicated to everyone who . . .” because it recognizes those to whom she hope the book ministers to. Bible verses are great, too.
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I love the differences in readers. I, personally, read absolutely everything, but I think that comes from some sort of mild neurosis. Some readers actually read the ending before they read the book. My step-son revealed this to me when he was 10. I was shocked!
“So what’s the point of reading the book if you already know the end?” I asked him.
“Just because I know how it ends, doesn’t mean I know how they got there. I have to read the whole book to know why the end happened.” Wow. That deepened my respect for his bright young mind.
My suggestions regarding the dedication: reflecting back what you said, that the only people you think about while writing the book are the readers, it seems most heartfelt and true to go with a “general dedication to [your] readers that pulls out a theme from the book.” Or, since you don’t read dedications yourself, you could skip the dedication, and I certainly wouldn’t think less of you or refuse to buy your next book because of it.
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Dedications don’t mean much to me. After all, I probably don’t know the person(s) who received the honor nor have any sense of why.
I like acknowledgements though. They’re not quite the same, and some books actually have both. In acknowledgements, authors often thank family and friends, to be sure. But they also often thank critique partners, editors, agents, and other industry professionals–by name. Great place to do research. Authors also occasionally shed some light on how they came to write the story, or why it’s important to them. I find this interesting.
So acknowledgements, I find important. Dedications, not so much.
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Yes I read dedications and have for a very long time. To me it gives a slight insight into the inspiration of the suthor, the people who have impacted that author, and/or it shows the influence the author feels the their readers should honor. I think the dedications are powerful parts of a book, becasue for a brief moment you see a glimence of the humanity of the author. 🙂
For the one(s) to whome the dedication is about, it is a realy honor to be mentioned especially since most of the time those individuals have a close relationship with the author.
It is truly an honor to be mentioned.
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FYI. I don’t read the acknowledgements because they go on forever and generally thank people from a business stand point not a personal one.
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I like to read the dedications – like Lori said – acknolwedgments are too long. Sometimes I read them, but most times I skim if they are more than a page long (and sometimes they are).
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