"THERE SPEAKS A TRUE FRIEND"
I'm finding that writing the acknowledgements in my book is a very slippery slope. There are a lot of people I owe a debt of gratitude, but my idea is to only list the people who directly supported this book in any phase. Sounds good, right? I thought through the writing process, the editing, shopping it around the publishers, editing more, blah blah blah and made a list of people involved during the various steps. That covered most of the people, yet my parents, who live on the other side of the country were not on the list, as they didn't directly influence the book, except maybe for complaining that I should get a "real" job and quit messing with all of this freelace nonsense. But, how can I not put them on the list? They're my parents, for crying out loud. I wouldn't have been born had it not been for them, so I can justify it that way.
Easy enough, but now friends are making jokes about being on the list. Are you kidding me? Not even really friends, but casual acquaintences, too. Then, there are friends who didn't have much to do with the book, in any way, but who are good friends nonetheless, who will not be included on the list.
In the end, I need to have it finished in the next day or two, and the people on the list are going to be on there because I want to thank them for something they did or said as I got Three Fallen Women on its feet. No nonsense, no guilt, no politics. Just gratitude.
Jun 29, 2006
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10 comments:
Um... so like, we reconnected after you wrote and sold it. So I totally go on the list, right?
Congrats on this--what an amazing accomplishment, I'm so impressed and envious! Yasher koach (or something in hebrew that means all the glory to you, I don't know how to say it or spell it.)
What is your book about? I heard it was about abortion...?
If this were me, I would simply write
"For Star Jones, whose wisdom and patience mean the world to me."
That way, who can even argue??
And thank you, Paul Reiser, for being an inspriation, a jew, and the author of Babyhood.
"And last, but certainly not least, big ups to my Flip Mode Squad."
Mazel Tov, filthy girl! Can I be a groupie? U R Jewlicious!
I heard that there IS abortion in the book! Save the innocent, murderer!
What Janet? (I haven't seen the manuscript, I don't know if there is abortion it it.) But a FICTION writer can write about anything and not BE the thing they write about.
Did Dan Brown find the Holy Grail?
Did Gabrial Garcia-Marquez steal a boat and remain a passenger until he died hand-in-hand with the love of his life?
No and no. So if Amy wrote that one of her character has or considers an abortion, does that make Amy a murderer?
No, it clearly does not. It makes her a writer who deals with modern questions--and whether or not abortion is in the book, she is still a writer who deals with modern questions.
(And if Janet or Nancy are friends and this is an inside joke, I totally took the bait. Ha! Ha!)
I make every effort to keep my direct comments to a minimum here on my blog, but I'd hate for this to spin out of control.
Nancy, my book is about a lot of things, but I think the reader will get out of my text what is "up" for him/her at the moment. A character does get an abortion, as you have undoubtedly heard if you have been in contact with my press materials.
Janet, my book is fiction.
Would you ladies like to tell us how you arrived here? You are welcome, of course, but I can't help but be curious, as you seem a bit different than my other readers.
The mark of true literary greatness is the ability tap into common elements in human emotion through sometimes unconventional and often disturbing verbage. It is these bits of insight that shock us, heal us and lead us to challenge our personal values and what we see as standards of the norm.
If you take offense to a literary work - which is by all means your right - the author has succeeded in her ultimate goals of self-expression and affectivity. We all see the world through unique eyes and the beauty of fiction allows us to imagine that which we would never otherwise know.
An open mind transcends all.
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