How to Write a Book Acknowledgments Page (With Examples)

Readers often skip acknowledgments, but the people named in them never do. For self-published authors, the page also does quiet professional work: it credits your editor, cover designer and beta readers, and signals that your book went through a real process. It is worth writing with care, and it is easier than it looks once you have a structure.

Front or Back of the Book?

For most self-published books, the back is the better choice. It keeps your opening pages lean, which matters because online previews show the first pages of your book. Our guide to front matter and back matter covers the full order.

In the back matter, acknowledgments commonly sit after the final chapter and before the "About the Author" page, but some authors place them after the author bio or alongside other back matter. Choose one and keep it consistent across your books.

Who to Thank

A practical order moves from the book's creation to your personal life:

1. The publishing team: editor(s), proofreader, cover designer, formatter, agent (if you have one), translator, illustrator.
2. Early readers: beta readers, critique partners, sensitivity readers, ARC readers and launch team.
3. Expertise and research help: interviewees, subject experts, librarians, archives.
4. Community: writing groups, mentors, newsletter readers who encouraged you.
5. Family and friends: partners, children, parents, friends who supported the work.
6. Readers: many authors close by thanking the reader.

Ask permission before naming anyone who might prefer privacy, such as interviewees or people mentioned in a memoir.

Tone and Length by Genre

Specific thanks are more meaningful than long lists. One concrete sentence per person beats a paragraph of adjectives.

Sample Acknowledgments: Fiction

This book would not exist without the patience of my editor, Maya, who saw what the story could be long before I did, and pushed me to cut the chapter I loved most. (She was right.) Thank you to Leo for a cover that made me want to read my own book, and to my beta readers, especially Priya and Daniel, who told me honestly where the middle sagged.

To my writing group, who heard every draft of chapter one: you can stop now. To my parents, for filling the house with books. And to Sam, for every quiet weekend, every cup of tea left by the keyboard, and for never once asking when it would be finished.

Finally, to you, the reader. Thank you for spending these hours with my characters. I hope they stay with you a little while.

Sample Acknowledgments: Nonfiction

I am grateful to the clients and colleagues whose stories and questions shaped the ideas in this book; many appear here with their permission and under changed names. Thank you to Dr. Amina Okafor and James Lee, who reviewed early chapters and caught mistakes I would have regretted, and to my editor, Rachel, for turning a sprawling draft into something readable.

Thanks also to the team who designed and formatted the book, and to the newsletter readers who answered my surveys and told me which chapters they needed most. Above all, thank you to my family, who gave me the time to write it.

These examples are illustrative; replace every name and detail with your own.

Writing Tips

• Keep a running list while you write. It is easy to forget who helped two years ago.
• Be specific. "Thank you to Ana for the research on 1920s shipping routes" means far more than "thanks to everyone who helped".
• Check spellings of every name. A misspelled name in a printed book is permanent until the next edition.
• Use humor sparingly and kindly; avoid in-jokes that exclude readers.
• Stay positive. The page is not the place for settling scores or mentioning those who did not help.
• Write in first person. Acknowledgments are personal, even in formal books.

Acknowledgments vs Dedication vs Author's Note

Keep them separate. A dedication buried inside long acknowledgments loses its impact, and research notes belong in an author's note rather than a list of thanks.

Crediting Professional Services and Tools

Self-published books are usually team efforts, and crediting professionals by name is good practice and often appreciated as a portfolio reference. Ask each freelancer how they would like to be credited. If you used AI tools in a way your retailer or readers would want to know about, say so honestly, either here or in an author's note, and check the disclosure rules of the platforms where you publish. Our AI disclosure guide for authors covers the current expectations.

Series and Later Books

For a series, update the acknowledgments in each book rather than copying them. Readers who follow the series notice, and new collaborators deserve credit. You can briefly thank returning team members ("Maya, once again, made this book better") without repeating whole paragraphs.

A Simple Template

If you are staring at a blank page, fill in this structure and then rewrite it in your own voice:

1. Opening line: a sentence on how the book came to be or who made it possible.
2. Professional team: one specific sentence each for your editor, designer and other freelancers.
3. Early readers: beta readers and critique partners, naming one thing each improved if you can.
4. Experts and sources: anyone who shared knowledge or stories, with permission.
5. Personal support: family and friends, with one concrete detail of how they helped.
6. Closing line: thanks to the reader, or a final dedication-style sentence.

Formatting the Page

Print

• Start acknowledgments on a new page, commonly a right-hand page in traditionally typeset books.
• Use a simple heading, "Acknowledgments" or "Acknowledgments", styled like your other back matter headings.
• Use the same body font and size as the main text, or slightly smaller.
• Do not include page headers if your other back matter pages omit them.

Ebook

• Place a page break before the heading so it starts on a new screen.
• Use a proper heading style so it appears in the ebook's table of contents.
• Keep acknowledgments at the back so they do not take up space in the sample readers download.

In LiberScript, add acknowledgments as a back matter section and they inherit your book's design for both print PDF and EPUB, with the heading included in the table of contents automatically.

Acknowledgments or Acknowledgments?

Both are correct. "Acknowledgments" is the more common US spelling, while "acknowledgments" is common in British English. Choose the spelling that matches the rest of your book's style and keep it consistent in the heading and table of contents.

Common Mistakes

• Forgetting to credit the editor, cover designer or illustrator
• Naming people who expected privacy, especially in memoir
• Misspelled names
• Placing long acknowledgments in the front matter of a novel, delaying the story
• Copying the previous book's acknowledgments unchanged
• An unbroken list of names with no context

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do acknowledgments go in a novel?

Usually in the back matter, after the final chapter and often before the About the Author page, so readers reach the story quickly.

How long should a book's acknowledgments be?

Most are half a page to two pages. Specific, heartfelt thanks matter more than length.

Is an acknowledgments page required?

No. It is optional, but most books include one, and it is a good way to credit your editor, designer and early readers.

Should I thank my readers?

Many authors do, often in a closing line. It is a warm way to end and fits especially well in fiction and series.

Ready to format your book's front and back matter? Get started in LiberScript or see pricing.