Front matter and back matter of a book

When it comes time for book design there are 2 parts to consider outside the body of the book. The back matter also known as the end matter is you guessed it material found at the back of a book. Jan 03, 2018 all of these pieces front matter, body text, and back matter fit together perfectly to create a complete book. You can split, merge, or rearrange chapters as needed. An epilogue is a piece of writing toward the end of the book that is usually used to bring closure to the story afterword. How to use your books back matter to massively boost your.

You need to add your front and back matter as you are putting the book together. What is included in the front and back matter of a book. This is especially important when selfpublishing on a deadline, selfimposed or not. It can be as simple as a single title page, or it can include multiple title pages, foreword, a preface, and much more. May 19, 2014 hello, this is ken from bookfuel with a brief explanation of front matter and back matter. The selfpublished author doesnt need to include any of these. The front matter types menu lets you indicate an items type which may change how it is styled in outputs. It matters a lot, but sometimes authors get confused about what goes where, when, and why. Book front matter what to include in the front of your book. How to use your books back matter to massively boost your fanbase, get more shares, and explode your platform. More in the modern world of publishing where authors are expected to publish several books a year, standards and literary traditions that have existed for centuries can understandably be overlooked.

The front and back matter in a book are one of the key factors to presenting a professional and quality product. The amount of front matter you include depends on the length and content of your document, but may include. Personal note from the author, usually about the context of the book. The front matter is paginated using lower roman numerals, however, the back matter. The following list of sections that can be included in the back matter is by no means exhaustive. Jun 12, 2014 part of the best practice guides for authors from bb ebooks that discusses adding proper front matter, back matter, and metadata. It may also be used to identify book designers, software used, type of printer used, and the kind of ink. Acknowledgements tend to be the back, but sometimes are included in.

Book front matter includes some or all of these pages. These sections of back matter are often supplementary in nature, and inform the reader about some aspect of the book. What is included in front matter really depends on the type of publication, so lets go. This excerpt from book design made simple offers insights into the best way to present this material. Ensure you have front matter and back matter that is organized properly to give your book a professional look understand what metadata can be embedded within an ebook and how it relates to discoverability gain comprehension of how more complicated back matter like an index and notes section can function in an ebook. You can create, edit, delete, rename or reorder front matter items the same way that you would with chapters, with one additional option. 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.

Your book back matter might be the most valuable section of the book. Books can be divided into three areas front matter, body content and back matter. However, these sections can add a lot of depth and additional information to the book. Book back matter what to include in the back of your book. Smashwords front matter, back matter, and metadata a. Smashwords front matter, back matter, and metadata a book. The back matter should be after the end of the contents. Back matter can include an about the author page or bibliography. Front matter is the stuff in your book from the page after the cover till the page before chapter one. The main reason that i bought this book, was to find out about the pros and cons of putting my table of contents at the back, so that i could treat the prospective buyers to more of my book. The front matter is where youll find the following items. Its just a simple matter of cut and paste and im done. Well never look at a childrens picture book in the same way again.

Front matter is the first section of a book and is generally the shortest. You can probably guess but anything found before the main text is called front matter and anything found after, the back matter. Back matter items are essentially chapters within a part, with one additional option to customize. That gives you headroom to play with the front matter. The other thing that has no effect on what will be shown in the sample are page breaks. The front matter of a book consists of its very first pages. 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. In the modern world of publishing where authors ar. The front matter is paginated using lower roman numerals, however, the back matter is not. Authors use their back matter to offer readers further context or information about the story, though back matter can also be extremely simple.

Back matter is the stuff at the end of your book, after the main sections of the book are finished. We all know what the title page is, but whats a half title. An afterword is sometimes used to describe a time that is well after the timeframe of the main story. When youve never written a book before, its hard to know whats essential, what can be cut, and where everything fits.

You can also add other front matter as well as back matter pages, but these arent required. But that made me realize i was probably missing a major opportunity to connect with those readers, so i checked my back. For those who have worked on and helped write and publish the book. Sep 26, 2019 if its found between the cover of your book and its not a part of the main text, it is considered front and back matter. Book back matter includes some or all of these pages. The back matter can be as important as the front matter, particularly for nonfiction books. While you may have never heard of book front matter or back matter who decided on matter anyway theyre the first step to turn your hard work into a professional book. You need to be thinking about the entire package throughout the writing and production of the book. The interesting thing about matter is that there are fewer and fewer hard and fast rules about what goes in the front and what goes in the back.

Learn how you can add front and back matter with just a few clicks using kindle create. Apr 26, 2019 how can frontback matter boost ebook sales. 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. 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. Selfpublishing comes with an unlimited amount of freedom. 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. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book the. Front matter is everything that comes before your content. Pressbooks lets you easily format these and other items as front matter in your book, which will appear prior to the main body. The particular parts and their order is more fluid in the back matter compared to front. 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. Include correct links under catalogue or your buyer hook.

Then, when im setting up a new book, once i get the edited manuscript back, i add the front and back matter from the back matter file to the book. This serves as a visual clue for readers, so theyll know when the books contents begin. Its the page at the very front of the book, not used in all cases, that has only the title of the book on it. 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. I update them as soon as i have the blurb and cover for a new book. Today, we look at the elements which make up the back matter. It doesnt matter if you keep all your front matter as just one long page with no page breaks to split it up, or if you put in manual page breaks so it is spread across 20 different pages.

Part of the best practice guides for authors from bb ebooks that discusses adding proper front matter, back matter, and metadata. 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. Nov 28, 2017 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. Most authors wont need to include all of these, but here is a list of what goes where, when, and why, along with a brief description. Back matter definition of back matter by the free dictionary. When you format your book for hard copy printing, you should follow the structure as shown in the diagram below. Were novices, so working with front matter and back matter is a new experience.

Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter of a book. Its the 30,000 to 50,000 words you just pumped out. Make sure you know what is supposed to be in your book and where it is placed. 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. There are several often many pages of materials that need to be at the front and back of your book. After the last page of the manuscripts text, pagination continues in numerical sequence into the back matter. Your body content is the book itself its your introduction. 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. Hello, this is ken from bookfuel with a brief explanation of front matter and back matter. Jan 18, 2018 front matter, the body and back matter. Front matter is information about a book which precedes the main text.

Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter. Ive moved shearwater to permafree and got over 5,000 downloads this month. 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. These are competitive editorial strategies for making your book stand out. The front matter includes any material that precedes the text. For example, some authors prefer to add acknowledgments to the back matter. The back matter files keep everything in one place. Back matter definition, the parts of a book that appear after the main text, as bibliography, index, and appendixes. The specific elements included at the end of the book should appear in the table of contents in the front matter. Back matter includes a blurb, writer biography which may include a photo, testimonial quotes, barcode, isbn, quotes or extracts from the book, and the publishers name and logo. Aug 02, 2016 the front matter is paginated using lower roman numerals, however, the back matter is not. If done haphazardly, its a sure sign in most peoples eyes that the book content will not be up to par.

This is an excellent book on the subject of what to put in your front and back matter of your new book. Make it shine by arranging it in the proper order and designing it for great readability. 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. This is a work file in kcb format you can use to update your book later. Your ebook should include a title page with your book title and author name. How to write the front and back matter of your kindle ebook. If you choose to specify a front matter type, pressbooks will.

Some common items in back matter include an index, bibliography or appendix. The purpose of front matter is mostly to make sure your book looks as professional as possible. Make the most of your book, include highquality front and back matter. Front matter and back matter are terms used to describe the first and last pages of a book but not the actual story or body content of the book. Youve got your manuscript in top shape, but theres more to a book than the story when your publishing it yourself. This includes a brief explanation of how the author developed the idea for the book. Beware the ebook front matter trap polgarus studio.

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. So please do take these things as seriously as your story. Jan 10, 2014 last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. Last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. Front and back matter goes after the book is fully edited and before you begin formatting the content. 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.

I have no idea of what people say about it now, but you will find this format in every traditionally published book and in more and more independently published ones as well. Jun 25, 2015 how to format a book in ms word part iii. Its the page at the very front of the book, not used in all cases, that has only the title of. 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. Kindle create displays your book in three sections. Material, such as an index or appendix, that follows the main body of a book. The errata are sometimes found in the back of the book called the back matter. Back matter is information about a book and the writer which follows the end of the main text. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book. Your ultimate guide to front matter and back matter. Your books front and back matter your literary prose. Its really not all that complicated, but it is important to get it right if you. The front matter, and all its components, is a seriously important part of the book. Items in the back matter of a fiction work can include an epilogue, afterword, and author ads.

Historically, colophons were always located in the back matter, but, nowadays, theyre can also be featured in the front matter, after the title page. The front matter is a section in the beginning of a book. Its all about the reader skilled workman posted on march 1, 2016 by david bergsland march 1, 2018 today, in this third post on formatting, i want to talk about many things which have been lost in the rush toward ebooks. A glossary sometimes known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis is a collection of terms, typically alphabetized, from the book. How to create, edit, delete and change front matter items. Front matter is at the front and is sometimes called the prelims or. Here i am going to reveal the mysteries of front and back matter, which is what we used to call it when i started in publishing. Front matter of a book what is included in the front. Aug 01, 2016 also browse through some of your favorite books to see what sort of back matter they include for inspiration. 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. Front and back matter in books selfpublishing advice. Nov, 2019 the back matter also known as the end matter is you guessed it material found at the back of a book.

Front matter is information that is presented before the body of the document. You can write in whatever genre you like, include whatever type of character you want, and write in any style you prefer. Its also common to use a different font or a slightly smaller font for the front matter. After this comes the body of the book and after that, what is called the back matter.

Diy book front matter and back matter numinous productions. Your body content is the book itself its your introduction, conclusion and everything in between. 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. So keeping pictures at the front of the book is fine. In this excerpt from book design made simple, we offer a list of possible book front matter pages and their proper order.