A dedication is a high honor you as the writer are bestowing on a person or small group of people. This page follows the copyright page although I have seen some books where the dedication is included on the copyright page. 

You can dedicate your book to anyone you want. Consider family members, close friends, people featured in your book or impacted by it, or the readers of the book. I’ve even seen books dedicated to God. 

I watched a movie once where an author had two dedication pages in his final draft. The dedication that would finally appear in the printed book depended on which girl took him back. Another author had a contest and randomly choose someone to dedicate his book to. While I think that both of these examples lack genuiness, it’s up to you who you ultimately make the dedication to.

Remember, everyone who reads your book will see the dedication. If you want to write a personal inscription to a lover, for instance, it might be better to send him or her a copy of the book with a handwritten sentiment on the front end page.

On the other hand, the dedication can be used to genuinely interact with both the honored recipient and the audience. It can be used to set the tone of the book. It can be witty or irreverent or politically charged.  

The dedication is typically set apart from the book with a distinct text. It often appears around the middle of the page and is the only item on the page. It should be on a right-hand page, recto.

Assignment: Write your dedication.