The Ever-Expanding List of Thank You

I’ve taken to reading the acknowledgements at the ends of novels. At first, I wanted to see what agents represented what books. I was searching for literary agencies I hadn’t found in other places and, if the book was similar to mine, for a comparison title I could use in my query. However, the more I read acknowledgements, the more I realized the number of people involved in making one book possible.

My own list of people who’ve helped me has been growing…and growing and growing. Though I haven’t queried yet, what if an agent doesn’t pick up my book, it doesn’t get published, and I don’t get to thank all the people who’ve helped me make it this far? Even worse, what if the time comes for me to write acknowledgements and I FORGET SOMEONE SUPER IMPORTANT??? Not to mention how thankful I’ve been these last few months for so many people.

So I’m going to make a list here, partly to help me remember and partly just to say thank you. Seriously, THANK YOU. I’m a writer, so you’d think I’d be more eloquent than that, but THANK YOU is the only way I know how to cover everything these people have done for me. In my list I’ll do what I always do—if it’s someone anyone could find on a blog or website, I’ll include the person’s name; if it’s someone not everyone would know, I won’t add the name since y’all will know who you are anyway.

MY FRIENDS & FAMILY: These people know me and have been incredibly patient with me in the last few months. I’ve been a hermit with an internet connection and they haven’t held that against me. My husband’s been the most understanding of them all, though I’m still waiting for the day when he rips my computer from my hands and throws it across the room just so I’ll hear what he’s saying.

WRITER’S DIGEST: It was an email from Writer’s Digest over the summer that motivated me to get serious again about trying to find an agent and publish my book(s). I took a class Writer’s Digest offered—an agent one-on-one class—in which two agents taught me more about getting an agent than I’d figured out on my own in years.

AGENTS: When I was querying one of my manuscripts last fall, most of the rejections I received were form letters. I also received a couple of personalized replies…and I loved those. (Yes, I know it’s weird to love a rejection.) They told me what specifically led them to reject me, who else I might query, and other details I won’t share here. Maybe it’s weird to say thank you to agents who rejected me (maybe this whole blog post is weird), but their personal rejections gave me hope, which is never to be underestimated when querying.

TWITTER WRITING COMMUNITY: They’re the people who participate in contests and cheer me on as I cheer them on. They’re the ones who retweeted me when I did a pitch party. They answer questions when I have them and chat with me about some things that help with my writing and some things that don’t. I can’t begin to put names here because they’re so many.

CONTEST HOSTS & THEIR BLOGS: I’ve learned so much and met so many writers while doing these contests, all of which wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for the hosts. Some of these I discovered through Twitter and some from blogs. The best contests I’ve found and the best blogs I follow belong to Authoress, Brenda Drake, and Michelle Hauck. If you’re thinking about doing one of their contests, DO IT. You’ll love it.

MY CPs: These people are amazing. Beyond amazing. They let me read their writing so that we can improve together. They’re the ones who find my mistakes—big and small—and tell me how to fix them…or just make fun of me for them, which is even better. They’re the first ones I go to…and the last ones I go to. I owe them all a drink, an ARC, and so much more.