Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Are You Making a List? Checking it Twice?




It takes a village to create a good book. Well, at least 87 people other than the writer (assuming I counted correctly).

That's how many people Joseph Finder specifically names in his acknowledgements section of his new book, Vanished. (Which, by the way, is a terrific read. I recommend it and look forward to more great stories featuring Nick Heller.) (And which, by the way, you may or may not be able to/want to purchase from Amazon. Yep. Joseph Finder's books were part of the collateral damage with the recent ugly battle over pricing. But I digress. Back to acknowleding people.)

He didn't just say, "The good people at _____." He named them. He took the time and trouble to show his appreciation in a much more personal way.

He also does a heck of a lot of research—which explains the compelling nature of his books. And he's a gentleman—he thanks everyone.

(And yes, I read acknowledgements. I read prologues too. I even—well, sometimes—read the whatchamacallit page that has the ISBN on it. Because I'm a writer. It's all interesting.)

Are you keeping a list? Not something in your head. I mean a real-real list.

Because I wasn't. Until now.




CR: I, Alex Cross by James Patterson. (I keep thinking I should put "Inc." after his name.)

It's all better with friends.


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