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Topic : Re: Can I include Acknowledgement page in a novel? I am a new author and I want to mention names of people who helped during my writing. Can I include Acknowledgement page in a novel? I looked - selfpublishingguru.com

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Acknowledgments, dedications and author's notes are not a part of the main text of a book, and they are entirely up to you (with some caveats). You don't need to match any particular standard, or do them the way anyone else does them, and you don't need anyone's permission to do them how you want (with some caveats).

Here are the caveats:

They should not be part of your manuscript. Don't even mention them until after you have been offered a contract. They are considered an optional extra.
Publishers don't tend to like them, because they take up room, and don't (in their eyes) add value to the book. The longer they are, the less the publisher will like them, so be prepared to advocate for them if you're thinking of anything more than a line or two. Especially if you're writing fiction, be prepared for the publisher to strongly suggest you just throw a couple of names in your dedication instead.
If you aren't sure if someone will want to be acknowledged, ask first. Also, think twice before saying something like "thanks to X, whose entire life story I shamelessly ripped off for the plotline of this book."

The typical use of acknowledgments is when people have helped with research, which is more common in non-fiction, but not unheard of in fiction. On the other hand, some fiction writers prefer to hide little tributes to specific people in the text. That might be more gratifying to the recipient anyway.


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