CLC Kenya Writing

5g: How to Write an Acknowledgment

Acknowledgment is defined as recognition of the importance or quality of something. In a book, it is the section where you recognize and thank everyone who helped you with your book or life’s milestones that led to your book. It’s a way to express your appreciation to these people and institutions in a public and permanent forum.

In previous session, we established that a dedication is targeted, personal, and brief, often only a single line or two. In this session, we will establish that an acknowledgment provides the space to go into lenghty details in thanking people who were sources of inspiration and support for your book and life.

How to Write This Section:

Imagine that you are doing an acceptance speech for a great award. Think about the people as though they are sitted with you in the awarding event’s hall. What would you want to tell them as you are looking at their faces? What do you think they would want to hear from you as you thank them? What would you like the world to know about them and their contribution to your life’s milestones?

That done, start by listing down all the people you want to thank and group them in categories. This will enable you to see them all together and ensure that everyone is on the list who should be there. Categorizing would look like – family, friends, church A, church B, workplace, residential estate, publisher or book experts/collaborators, financiers, mentors etc. This way, you are less likely to leave anyone out.

In this section you can include personal or intangible supporters, like friends, family, or even pets. Mention people by names, titles, and thank them for something specific. Mentioning, “I thank my sister” seems impersonal and not well thought through. Instead, mention, “I thank my sister Kainos for encouraging me to keep writing in the wee hours of the night’.

Write in first-person and maintain your voice. In this section, you have an opportunity to go “off script” and reveal your personality or sense of humour to forge a deeper bond with the readers. They like to get a little glimpse of who you are as a person, and the book’s acknowledgments page provides those insights. First-person helps you to express your gratitude to those concerned.

Be sincere, personal and utilize emotional appeal. This section provides significant emotional value to those who are mentioned. They will treasure your book, as well as their memories of participating in the process as a source of support. When recognising them, be honest and sincere when noting their contributions, but try to avoid overdoing it to the point that it begins to sound insincere. Expressing gratitude is a skill – find a balance to be genuine in your appreciation without overdoing it.

Don’t worry about length when drafting. Appreciate everyone first and then go back to that draft to revise it. If you end up with more than two pages you can cluster the people in categories. For instance, while thanking family – instead of having a paragraph for dad, another for mom, another for your sister and another for your brother, you can compress them into one paragraph that will thank family as a unit.

The length of the final acknowledgment. A short acknowledgment section is best, so keep it to one or at most two pages. Do not be afraid of offending anyone you leave out – this will often happen as you cannot mention everyone who has impacted your life. You can thank more people in the next book or a different event in your life.

Don’t re-invent the wheel. Taking a look at other acknowledgment pages of authors you esteem or books in the same genre will help. As a general rule, the best acknowledgment is one that is personal, professionally casual, and descriptive. Always share with the readers why the people deserve to be mentioned.

Acknowledgement Examples

How Acknowledgements Change With the Book

An acknowledgement gives an author room to recognise the people, organisations and experiences that contributed to the book. Unlike a dedication, which is usually brief and directed towards one person or a small group, an acknowledgement may explain how different people supported the author’s work, growth or life journey.

01 Business Book

Professional, Specific and Appreciative

I am deeply grateful to every entrepreneur, business leader and team member whose experiences helped shape this book. Your honesty about the victories, mistakes, difficult decisions and lessons of business leadership gave this message practical depth.

My sincere appreciation goes to my mentors, James Karundu and Grace Wanjiku, whose guidance continually challenged me to think beyond immediate results and build with purpose, discipline and integrity. Thank you for asking the difficult questions and for reminding me that sustainable success must be founded on sound values.

I also thank the leadership and staff of Horizon Enterprises for allowing me to test many of the principles discussed in this book. Your willingness to learn, adjust and grow together transformed ordinary workplace experiences into valuable lessons.

To my editorial and publishing team, thank you for refining the manuscript, identifying gaps in my thinking and helping me present the ideas with greater clarity. Your commitment to excellence strengthened every chapter.

Finally, I thank my family for their patience during the early mornings, late nights and countless conversations about strategy, leadership and purpose. You reminded me that no professional achievement is worth gaining at the expense of the people we have been called to love and serve.

Why this works

This acknowledgement recognises professional contributors while remaining personal. It names specific forms of support and connects them directly to the development of the book.

02 Memoir

Personal, Reflective and Emotionally Honest

This book carries my name on the cover, but the journey within its pages was not walked alone.

I begin by thanking God, who sustained me through seasons when I could not see how the story would end. His grace met me in loss, uncertainty, rebuilding and hope. Every chapter is evidence that broken places can become places of testimony.

To my mother, Ruth, thank you for being present when words failed me. You sat with me in silence, prayed when I had no strength to pray and reminded me that healing does not have to be hurried. Your quiet faith became an anchor.

To my sister, Kainos, thank you for reading the earliest pages, including the ones I later removed. You listened without judging, laughed with me when the memories became too heavy and encouraged me to keep writing in the hours when sensible people were asleep.

I am grateful to my counsellor and spiritual mentors, who helped me tell the truth without allowing pain to become the only voice in the story. Your wisdom helped me write with honesty, responsibility and compassion.

To the friends and family members whose stories touch mine, thank you for trusting me with shared memories. Some of your names do not appear in these pages, but your love, courage and influence remain part of the book.

Lastly, to every reader carrying a story they are afraid to tell: may these pages remind you that surviving is not the end of the story. God can still bring beauty, meaning and service out of what once appeared irreparably broken.

Why this works

A memoir acknowledgement may carry more emotion because the people mentioned often contributed to the author’s life journey as well as the writing process. It should remain sincere without becoming exaggerated.

03 Children’s Book

Short, Warm and Child-Friendly

Thank you to my children, Ella and Ethan, for filling our home with questions, laughter and story ideas.

I am grateful to the children who listened to the first version of this story and told me which parts were exciting and which parts needed a little more fun.

Thank you to the illustrator and publishing team for helping the characters come alive. Most of all, I thank God for the gift of imagination and for every child who will open this book.

Why this works

A children’s-book acknowledgement can be brief and playful. It may thank children, teachers, illustrators, parents and others who helped make the story enjoyable and age-appropriate.

Writing Guidance

Thank People for Something Specific

Avoid writing only, “I thank my family, friends and publisher.” Mention what the people contributed. They may have encouraged you, funded the project, reviewed the manuscript, prayed with you, provided expertise, shared personal experiences or supported you through an important season of life.

Begin by listing everyone you may want to recognise, then organise the names into categories such as family, friends, church, workplace, mentors, publishing professionals and financial supporters. Draft freely before reducing the final acknowledgement to a clear and meaningful length.

Important Reminder

Ask Before Publishing Sensitive Names or Stories

Seek permission when mentioning people connected to private, controversial or confidential experiences. A person may have helped you greatly but may not wish to be identified publicly. It is better to ask beforehand than to discover the concern after the book has been printed.

Private and Confidential. Once you are done with drafting this section, share with the people mentioned to seek their permission to be included especially if you are not very close to them. This is especially so for nonfiction authors or authors whose topics may be controversial; some interviewees you’d like to acknowledge may wish to remain undisclosed because of privacy issues. We’ve had a book recalled because a person wished not to be acknowledged by the author because of a controversial event that happened in their lives. If you’re not completely sure, it’s better to ask first than to have to republish and reprint the book.

Placement. The Acknowledgment section is traditionally placed within the front matter of books – we call this the preliminary pages. However, it occasionally appears in the back instead. If it is a stand-alone page, it should follow the preface according to The Chicago Manual of Style. Alternatively, some authors choose to place it either before or after the table of contents. Discuss the placement with your editor or publisher as different publishing houses have different house rules.

Acknowledgement ot Acknowledgment? Technically, both spellings are correct. It is spelled ‘acknowledgement’ in British English and ‘acknowledgment’ in American English. Whatever English you used for the main content, ensure it is consistent in your acknowledgment as well. The best way to do this is by setting your word processor or whichever platform you are typing on to the preferred English. Do not rely on your mind as some words make more sense in one English than the other – you do not wat to end up mixing two English options as it makes your book look less professional.

CLC
CLC Writing Academy Book Front Matter Resource
Interactive Worksheet
Interactive Author Worksheet

Write Meaningful Acknowledgements

Recognise the people and institutions whose encouragement, expertise, sacrifice, prayer, funding, or practical support helped you complete your book or reach the milestones behind it.

Learning Objective

Identify who you want to thank, describe their contributions, check privacy concerns, and prepare a concise acknowledgements draft.

01
People to Thank

Build Your Gratitude List

Group people so you are less likely to leave out an important source of support.

02
Specific Contributions

Say What They Actually Did

Mention people by name or title and explain the specific contribution. “I thank my sister Kainos for encouraging me to keep writing” is stronger than “I thank my sister.”

03
Privacy & Placement

Check Before You Publish

04
Final Draft

Write Your Acknowledgements

0 words
Final Check

Before You Submit the Section

Worksheet Actions

Save Your Work

Copy the final section or download the completed worksheet.

Training by: Dr. Muthoni Mercy Omukhango

Dr. Muthoni Mercy Omukhango is a Christian publisher, author, trainer, and marketplace minister. She serves as National Director of CLC Kenya, Authors’ Manager at the African Christian Authors Book Award (ACABA), Convener of Mama Africa Book Box, and Patron of CLC Kids and Teens.

Through the Publishing in Africa Series, she equips authors, publishers, and literary entrepreneurs with practical strategies for developing, publishing, distributing, and growing African-authored literature.

Her ministry is centred on advancing God’s Kingdom through literature and helping more African voices to be written, published, distributed, and read.

Getting Started: Publishing Books

Preparing to Write/Publish

Elementary Skills: Publishing Books

How to Write

Technical Skills: Publishing Books

Refining Your Manuscript

Advanced Skills: Publishing Books

Going the Extra Mile

Contractual Skills: Publishing Books

Be Informed (Not Legal Advice)