Your body content is the book itself its your introduction, conclusion and everything in between. Beware the ebook front matter trap polgarus studio. Sep 07, 2016 now these are merely suggestions for what you can choose to include in the front and back matter of your book. As part of the best practice guides for authors from bb ebooks, front matter, back matter, and metadata is a short guide that will help you.
Book design is the art of incorporating the content, style, format, design, and sequence of the various components and elements of a book into a coherent unit. When you format your book for hard copy printing, you should follow the structure as shown in the diagram below. May 27, 2015 book promotion expert ben cameron always says writing the blurb is the hardest 100 words youll ever write, and many authors are also stumped when it comes to writing the front and back matter another task that usually falls just when youre feeling least like writing another word, after completing your books final edit. If readers really want to know more about you before they finished the book dont count on it they should be. If the front matter introduces the book, the back matter then wraps everything up. You can write in whatever genre you like, include whatever type of character you want, and write in any style you prefer. Make sure the links in your catalogue are affiliate links of your account. Make the most of your book, include highquality front and back matter. The specific elements included at the end of the book should appear in the table of contents in the front matter. If its a romance, youre feeling the happily ever after. Front matter is information about a book which precedes the main text. A formal postscript, in a books back matter, is usually called an afterword.
Back matter is the stuff at the end of your book, after the main sections of the book are finished. It can be as simple as a single title page, or it can include multiple title pages, foreword, a preface, and much more. The front and back matter in a book are one of the key factors to presenting a professional and quality product. If the reader has enjoyed the story, the first thing they will want to do is check out your other titles. Front matter is at the front and is sometimes called the prelims or preliminary matter. Offer your readers great content first, and only talk about yourself afterwards. If you researched material for the book or want to give the reader additional resources to continue their interest on a subject, include the information here.
Front matter is the stuff in your book from the page after the cover till the page before chapter one. Books can be divided into three areas front matter, body content and back matter. In traditional publishing, page numbers for the front matter appear in roman numerals. Beware the ebook front matter trap the great thing about selfpublishing is that there is no one telling you what you have to do with your book. Kindle create displays your book in three sections. Back matter is the stuff at the end of your book, after the main sections of the book. A glossary sometimes known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis is a collection of terms, typically alphabetized, from the book.
Your book s front and back matter is, essentially, the stuff that bookends the actual text of the book. Nov 17, 2019 front matter is the information that appears in the very beginning of a book. Make sure you know what is supposed to be in your book and where it is placed. However, it is our opinion that front and back matter usually make a book or ebook better. Front matter is the first section of a book and is generally the shortest. Apr 26, 2019 how can frontback matter boost ebook sales. That allimportant book back matter and front matter. The matter of things all about front and back matter. The back matter is the concluding section of a book, and it can contain a whole host of information, and many of these sections are entirely optional. As i said previously, there are no hard and fast rules that dictate how a book must be structured, but the structure discussed here is one thats been around for a few hundred years. Since these elements cant be finalized until youve finished writing the entire book, you might want to think about these literary appetizers for your readers as a rewarding desserts for you. Optimizing your front matter and back matter writing your book is the first step in your selfpublishing journey, but in order to really sell books, you have to think like a publisher. A quick and easy guide to writing the best front and back matter for your self published book, both print and ebook editions, by jessica bell.
In the words of renowned typographer jan tschichold 19021974, book design, though largely forgotten today, relies upon methods and rules upon which it is impossible to improve, and which have been developed over centuries. Across all books of all genres, theres one thing in common. As with front matter, pressbooks will order your back matter in accordance. These are the parts of the book before and after the content of your book and will vary based on whether it is a fiction or nonfiction book.
The front matter is paginated using lower roman numerals, however, the back matter is not. How you should be using back matter in your ebooks adam geen. When youve never written a book before, its hard to know whats essential, what can be cut, and where everything fits. Book back matter includes some or all of these pages acknowledgments if not included at the front of the book appendixes usually listed as appendix a, b, c, etc. Jul 12, 2012 table of contents list of illustrations list of tables foreword by someone other than the author preface by the author acknowledgments or in back matter introduction abbreviations or in back matter back matter acknowledgments or in front matter appendix or several appendices numbered a, b, c, etc. Other books by if this is not your first book, you definitely want to list your other books. Just as front matter is what you find at the beginning of a book, back matter, simply put, is what you find at the end of a bookthe sections that appear after the central story has been completed. What youve been working on, the manuscript youve sweated. Front matter of a book what is included in the front. Some books have this in the front matter, but i prefer to have it in the back.
But what the heck do you put at the back of the book. Authors use their back matter to offer readers further context or information about the story, though back matter can also be extremely simple. Jul 05, 2017 these elements bookend your content, the front matter providing specifics related to the content primarily, and the back matter focuses on keeping your reader invested after theyve consumed the content. You likely go back to these pages called front matter and back matter to learn about the author, see if there are any intriguing dedications, and discover whether the author has other books to check out. It needs to be void of typos and errors, have links that work, and kept up to date. An unabridged list of the parts of a book by joel friedlander on september 29, 2009 57 comments the history of book printing goes back to the first bibles pulled sheet by sheet off johannes gutenbergs presses in mainz, germany in the late fifteenth century. Book back matter what to include in the back of your book.
Back matter definition is matter following the main text of a book. Just as front matter is what you find at the beginning of a book, back matter, simply. Book front matter what to include in the front of your book. Back matter is the final pages of a book, where endnotes, the appendix, the bibliography, the index, and related elements reside. You can split, merge, or rearrange chapters as needed. There arent any definitive rules for how the different sections of front matter in an ebook should be organized, and it is very unlikely that your book will be rejected for publishing based on how you have structured it except for smashwords, the nitpicky ones. Optimizing your front matter and back matter makes this possible. Though the front matter may not be as sexy as the main text or as information packed as the back matter, its an opportunity for authors to set the tone for their readers experience. Go to the table of contents in the dictionary by clicking on contents in the left panel. Whether you realize it or not, the front and back matter of your book is just as important as the story. The parts of a book and the elements of content the balance.
The front matter of all books is pretty well prescribed. Nov, 2019 the back matter also known as the end matter is you guessed it material found at the back of a book. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book. This means engineering your book so that its a marketing tool itself. Learn more about creating projects and tables of contents. One of these components that often causes selfpublished authors pause is the front matter and back matter.
The front matter includes any material that precedes the text. As you create your ebooks whether its meant for kindle or kobo or nook or whoever, you have the option of inserting front matter or back matter sections. The information in the back matter is all optional and depends on the book and the goals for the book. Here is an example for the very prolific stephen king, featured in his book the stand. If youve used roman numerals to paginate your front matter, you have no problem, since the page numbers in the body of the book wont change. Back matter in your book celebrating independent authors. If you have any material at all after the main part of your book, check this guide from book design made simple to find out the proper order. The front matter contains the nuts and bolts of the books publicationinformation such as title, author, publisher, isbn, and library of congress data. May 19, 2014 hello, this is ken from bookfuel with a brief explanation of front matter and back matter.
But if you started your page numbering at the title page with page 1, all the page numbers in the book will change once you drop in that wonderful new preface. We typically recommend this go in the back matter of the book with the other promotional material, but many successful authors like carly phillips put this up front. Jan 18, 2018 front matter, the body and back matter. Its the 30,000 to 50,000 words you just pumped out. Setting up front and back matter in scrivener duration. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book the happy. In this excerpt from book design made simple, we offer a list of possible book front matter pages and their proper order. How to use your books back matter to massively boost your. How to organize your books front matter by joel friedlander on february 8, 2012 50 comments many writers who think about selfpublishing are taken aback when they start to put their book together for publication. Jan 10, 2014 last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. When it comes time for book design there are 2 parts to consider outside the body of the book. But that made me realize i was probably missing a major opportunity to connect with those readers, so i checked my back copy the material at the end of my book and found it seriously wanting. Material, such as an index or appendix, that follows the main body of a book. Front matter includes the title pages, the writers name, the edition, the publication date.
Books consist of many components, all of them important when creating a full, complete, and professional work. This is a work file in kcb format you can use to update your book later. These sections of back matter are often supplementary in nature, and inform the reader about some aspect of the book. How to write the front and back matter of your kindle ebook. Jun 25, 2015 how to format a book in ms word part iii. Either way, the material that appears at the front of a book before the actual content is called front matter, and it actually contains some very important information. Back matter definition, the parts of a book that appear after the main text, as bibliography, index, and appendixes. Jul 31, 2019 what is included in the front and back matter of a book.
Not all books require all of these pages, but this order is the industry standard. How to use your book s back matter to massively boost your fanbase, get more shares, and explode your platform. Front and back matter formatting for gorham printing. Well never look at a childrens picture book in the same way again. Your ultimate guide to front matter and back matter. Back matter items are essentially chapters within a part, with one additional option to customize. Book front matter includes some or all of these pages. This includes all frontmatter items listed below, together with chapters in the body matter and back matter. A dystopian, probably a little misery mixed in with hope.
I will usually list my books in the front matter, but in the back, i include a paragraph about each of the books to entice readers to go deeper. Pick up multiple books from your shelf and take a look at the front and back matter for a point of reference. Present practices often use the nextavailable page. An overview of the front matter and back matter of your book paradiso gim. The front matter is a section in the beginning of a book. Book back matter includes some or all of these pages. Your front and back matter could be the difference between a good book and a great book. The good thing is that front matter and back matter are fairly formulaic there are a standard set of elements to include and a typical running order for them, and all of them are included in this article. Leave a comment i am reading start your own selfpublishing business and finding that i still have a long hard road ahead of me before i can sell my books. If so, hurricane wolf by diane paterson is about noah and his parents preparing for a hurricane in florida. A successful book is more than just a manuscript thrown between a cover. Mar 20, 2017 so youve edited and reedited your book, youve tweaked and retweaked, and read it over so many times youre blearyeyed.
The front matter of a book consists of its very first pages. Front matter front matter is the stuff in your book from the page after the cover till the page before chapter one. Ive moved shearwater to permafree and got over 5,000 downloads this month. All of these pieces front matter, body text, and back matter fit together perfectly to create a complete book. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book the. After the last page of the manuscripts text, pagination continues in numerical sequence into the back matter. All pages that appear after the last chapter or conclusion are called back matter. Is the list of abbreviations included in the front matter or in the back matter. After this comes the body of the book and after that, what is called the back matter. We tend to spend all of our time writing the main content of the book and fail to factor in the extra time required to write and organize the front and back matter. The task of this back matter is to explain new, uncommon, or specialized terms, providing a clear definition for the readerthink of it like an attached and personalized dictionary.
Front and back matter goes after the book is fully edited and before you begin formatting the content. Front and back matter in books selfpublishing advice. Most fiction books have a minimum of back matter, while nonfiction can include a number of items. Back matter definition of back matter by merriamwebster. Just read laurie halse andersons thank you, sarah today with first graders and they wanted me to read every word of the back matter. Back matter definition of back matter by the free dictionary. The front and back matter is all the extra stuff at the beginning and at the end of your book that sits between the cover and the chapters. Jan 03, 2018 all of these pieces front matter, body text, and back matter fit together perfectly to create a complete book. Authors who diy in selfpublishing sometimes forget to add front matter and back matter. One thing you shouldnt put at the front of your ebook. There may be no consequence for this, as we are in a new digital age where traditional ways of doing things are only useful when theyre needed. This is very traditional, and it is an illustration designed to be on the lefthand page facing the title page for the print edition. What is most important is that what you do include looks professional and is well formatted. Is it the last page or two that discusses facts about the book.
Now these are merely suggestions for what you can choose to include in the front and back matter of your book. Much of what was once the front matter of books should now go in the back. An overview of the front matter and back matter of your book. Youll learn the nitty gritty about book back matter in chapter 29, designing your back matter. Were novices, so working with front matter and back matter is a new experience. As always, if you have any questions about front matter, back matter, or any other matter, comment below or shoot us a message on our contact page.
So that you earn a commission everytime someone makes a purchase via your bibliography link. On what page is the section called acknowledgments. Now before we get into it, these are merely meant as suggestions and there are definitely some who refuse to put a table of contents at the beginning of their book for instance since it. It comes after the body text and includes concluding sections that.
If done haphazardly, its a sure sign in most peoples eyes that the book content will not be up to par. For the last few weeks, diggypods blog has been discussing the various elements of a books front matter that is, all the different pieces that fit together and introduce the author, the story, the themes, and its importance. Also, brian flocas locomotive has back matter and endpaper matter. So please do take these things as seriously as your story. So there and here you have it, my current thinking and timetested suggestions for making your book s front matter matter. Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter. The actual first page of your book after the front matter should always start on a righthand page and will be page 1. Traditionally, the start of each back matter section begins on a righthand recto page only. Your books front and back matter your literary prose. What should be included in your front and back matter.
6 501 527 1589 501 94 818 1526 309 1056 953 868 878 10 273 1509 68 156 446 520 673 422 763 1352 971 1568 1440 201 312 984 501 412 893 941 749 1152 775 887 1284 301 1349 666 162 644 866