Why dedicate a book

Not this time. With you know what, and you probably know why. You might write a very personal dedication, or you might even use an inside joke. Some books have a very clear theme and it is a natural fit to use the dedication as a place to thank someone for their contribution to that theme.

An affectionate little friend, and most accomplished thief! This dedication helps set the tone darkly humorous and ironic for the whole book. Use a quotation or poem. There might be a quotation or short poem that you love, or that you think is particularly inspiring. You can dedicate your book to someone and use the quote or poem to say what you want to say. Quotations can come from someone well-known, or it could be a quote from someone you know.

Browse dedications from your favorite authors. Search online for book dedications and see how others have honored people in their lives with a sincere or humorous dedication. Part 3. Double-check spelling and grammar. Have a few other people read your dedication. Make sure your meaning is clear and that things are spelled correctly. Have your editor read through it. Finalize your formatting. Most dedications are centered on the page. Some, however, might work better to be aligned to the left.

For some types of dedications, you might preserve the original formatting. For example, if you are including a poem as your dedication, you should use the original formatting of the poem, rather than making up your own.

Let this person know that your book will be dedicated to them. But giving them a heads-up might be a courteous thing to do. Fans might respond to the dedication — hopefully in a positive way — and it would be helpful if the person knows about the dedication. You can dedicate it to multiple people.

Not Helpful 6 Helpful Write a message about what you loved about them, and how they inspired the book. Write "To my parents, insert names here ," and then your message. Not Helpful 1 Helpful 6. It can be anyone who has given you tips, inspired an idea or a character, or someone who just gave you support when writing the book. Not Helpful 13 Helpful If I dedicated a book to multiple people, would it be the best choice to write a paragraph about why I'm dedicating it to them? It is usually common to explain why you're dedicating a book to someone, usually given through a short paragraph.

Not Helpful 1 Helpful 3. Pick the person you're closest with. Or, pick randomly. Save the rest of your family for the acknowledgements. Not Helpful 7 Helpful 8. Is it common to include the author's literary agent in the dedication? If so, first and last names?

However, it would be odd not to find the author's literary agents full name in the acknowledgments. You should ask the person's permission if possible, but yes, a small photo is fine. Not Helpful 4 Helpful 5. There are lots of examples online, but you can write it however you want, it's your book! Not Helpful 15 Helpful 3. My godfather gave me a greater gift than I had imagined. In another example, author John Cordell chose to dedicate his legal thriller Contempt to his wife.

You can see how the dedication is formatted in the actual book below:. It depends highly on your personal relationship with that person. For example, some dedications include an anecdote or give a funny slant to the dedication page. This approach is becoming increasingly popular, but of course, check to see if it matches the theme and tone of your book.

Here are some examples of book dedications from bestselling books. Observe the wide variety of relationships represented in these samples:. For Samuel, Blaine, and Luke. I love your warrior hearts. You definitely have what it takes.

To my dear and honored Mother, whose life, no less than her pen, has been devoted to the welfare of others, this little book is affectionately dedicated. Say you like it? Some writers also like to show their wit in their book dedications. Here are some examples of humorous book dedication messages:. Here are some examples:. For Beatrice— When we first met, you were pretty, and I was lonely. But most likely it would be someone in my family. JEarh aol.

LindaKLankford aol. He was a high school English teacher and loved to write short stories. He never attempted to publish his stories but I always loved them. He was such an inspiration to me. Barbara Poston, Harrisburg, Illinois If I wrote a book, I would dedicate it to my mother and father, who gave me my love of reading before I can remember; my husband, who supports me in every creative foray I make, no matter how far-fetched; and my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who have shared books, discussed books, and listened as I read books, for 50 years.

If one ever gets published, I would dedicate it to the children in my life: my niece and nephew, and my former students. Gertrude Hemp. She told me that books could take me wherever I wanted to go and introduced me to Charles Dickens and David Copperfield.

I have to thank her for instilling in me the love of reading that takes me places and makes me laugh and makes me cry. MadCowVictim aol. It is quite possible that if I ever wrote anything worth publishing, my children would have been behind every word I typed. Havemann lexisnexis. I would also dedicate it to my father, who lost his hearing whenever his children used an ungrammatical phrase, and my mother, who insisted that no one can be corrupted by a book and who let us read anything we could understand.

Roscoe drizzle. And Abbie Hoffman. What can I say? He mattered to me and the story is about politics of my times. In the second one hidden even deeper the dedication is to my mother and a few of the female friends who've made me feel smart and talented over the years. Peggy from Succasunna I would dedicate my book to my husband, Jimmy, as he is always so supportive of me and has been through thick and thin with me for many years. Take our poll » Past poll results ».

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