How do you begin to read a book? Do you just open to the first page of chapter 1 and begin? Well, I don’t. I need to know who wrote the book and what it is going to be about. Mostly, I need to know if the author is a person I would like to know.
I look first at the acknowledgements. Did the author thank his editor, his agent, and people who proof-read his book? Who are the important people in his or her life that he mentions on the first pages of the book?
Then I read the introduction. What is important to the author that made him write the book? I look to the end of the book to find out where the author lives and what he does, besides writing books. I like to know all this before I start a word of the actual book.
I just opened a book by Dan Walsh. On the first page of the acknowledgements, he thanked his editor and told him that he had been praying for him. WOW! That spoke to me. He thanked his agent for believing in him. After having my most recent book rejected by two agents, I appreciated this statement with more feeling than I had possessed before. He thanked the people in his church who had prayed for him. Finally, he thanked our Lord Jesus Christ for His love and mercy.
I knew I was going to like this book, and on the second page, I was hooked. I can’t wait to see what happens in The Unfinished Gift by Dan Walsh.
Great post. I don't like when they don't allow an acknowledgement page. There are so many who go into the writing of a book.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda. I'm already half way through with this book, and I have the sequel, so I can read it, too!
ReplyDeleteI have also heard the advice to find an agent/editor of a book that is like one that you might have by looking in the acknowledgements!
ReplyDeleteYes, I contacted an editor through the acknowledgements page once, but he only accepted mss through personal contact or that or an agent. His writers' conferences were too far for me to go and the agent didn't work out either. Better luck next time, I hope.
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