Back matter is information about a book and the writer which follows the end of the main text. If the front matter introduces the book, the back matter then wraps everything up. The back matter is where youll find components such as an index, a glossary, an. 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. What is included in front matter really depends on the type of publication, so lets go.
When it comes time for book design there are 2 parts to consider outside the body of the book. Book front matter includes some or all of these pages. The front matter of a book consists of its very first pages. Jan 18, 2018 front matter, the body and back matter. Most fiction books have a minimum of back matter, while nonfiction can include a number of items. This is an excellent book on the subject of what to put in your front and back matter of your new book. 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. You can create, edit, delete, rename or reorder front matter items the same way that you would with chapters, with one additional option. Authors use their back matter to offer readers further context or information about the story, though back matter can also be extremely simple.
On the contrary, salvettes book presents a detailed coverage of crucial aspects of front and back matter and metadata and is informed by his experience at his publishing company bb ebooks. Remember, there is no strict formula for setting up the front and back matter for your book. Back matter pages are numbered continuously with the main text. All pages that appear after the last chapter or conclusion are called back matter. 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. Back matter is the stuff at the end of your book, after the main sections of the book are finished. The errata are sometimes found in the back of the book called the back matter. 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. After the last page of the manuscripts text, pagination continues in numerical sequence into the back matter.
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. Back matter in picture books marcie flinchum atkins. Your body content is the book itself its your introduction. This is a work file in kcb format you can use to update your book later. Today, we look at the elements which make up the back matter. Learn how you can add front and back matter with just a few clicks using kindle create. Go to the table of contents in the dictionary by clicking on contents in the left panel. So keeping pictures at the front of the book is fine. This is especially important when selfpublishing on a deadline, selfimposed or not. Part of the best practice guides for authors from bb ebooks that discusses adding proper front matter, back matter, and metadata.
There are, of course, variations to this conventional lineup order. Make sure the links in your catalogue are affiliate links of your account. Books can be divided into three areas front matter, body content and back matter. Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter.
Sep 15, 2014 the front matter is where youll find the following items. You need to add your front and back matter as you are putting the book together. Back matter items are essentially chapters within a part, with one additional option to customize. Your books front and back matter your literary prose. The front matter is paginated using lower roman numerals, however, the back matter is not. There are several often many pages of materials that need to be at the front and back of your book. This means engineering your book so that its a marketing tool itself.
Apr 26, 2019 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. We tend to spend all of our time writing the main content. In the modern world of publishing where authors ar. If readers really want to know more about you before they finished the book dont count on it they should be. Optimizing your front matter and back matter makes this possible.
When you format your book for hard copy printing, you should follow the structure as shown in the diagram below. 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. Nov 28, 2017 the front matter is a section in the beginning of a book. Items in the back matter of a fiction work can include an epilogue, afterword, and author ads. 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.
Give readers a reason to sign up and make this clear in the back matter. Diy book front matter and back matter numinous productions. Jan 10, 2014 last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. If your main text ends on page 8, your back matter will start on page 9. Well never look at a childrens picture book in the same way again. Its just a simple matter of cut and paste and im done. You need to be thinking about the entire package throughout the writing and production of the book. I update them as soon as i have the blurb and cover for a new book. Your body content is the book itself its your introduction, conclusion and everything in between. Front matter pages are traditionally numbered in lowercase roman numerals i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc. The amount of front matter you include depends on the length and content of your document, but may include.
Books are divided into three parts front matter, body text with or without illustrations, and back matter. Jul 05, 2017 one of these components that often causes selfpublished authors pause is the front matter and back matter. Make sure you know what is supposed to be in your book and where it is placed. Front and back matter in books alliance of independent. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book the. Back matter definition of back matter by the free dictionary. That gives you headroom to play with the front matter. Front matter is information about a book which precedes the main text.
An afterword is sometimes used to describe a time that is well after the timeframe of the main story. We did a similar one on the front matter youll remember that the front matter is all of the material that comes before the central story or body text in a book. The back matter files keep everything in one place. The other thing that has no effect on what will be shown in the sample are page breaks. Aug 01, 2016 even a simple thank you for reading your book. Back matter can include an about the author page or bibliography.
Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book. One of the things this book talks about is the need for me to have front and back matter. You can find a good example of back matter at janice hardys fiction university. An epilogue is a piece of writing toward the end of the book that is usually used to bring closure to the story afterword. On what page is the section called acknowledgments. Back matter is reserved for things like an index, a glossary, notes and other material that doesnt belong in the body of the book itself, but which youd want to include for the convenience of readers or to make the book complete. Include correct links under catalogue or your buyer hook. 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 a section in the beginning of a book. Front matter includes the dedication, epigram, table of contents, foreword, preface, and acknowledgements. The front matter is paginated using lower roman numerals, however, the back matter. Personal note from the author, usually about the context of the book. For the last couple of weeks, weve been doing a blog series on the back matter of a book. Front matter is everything that comes before your content. Present practices often use the nextavailable page. Epidemiology and prevention of vaccinepreventable diseases printer friendly version pdf icon 12 pages. It comes after the body text and includes concluding sections that provide further reading, deeper explanations, and any final thoughts from the author or another writer. The th edition epidemiology and prevention of vaccinepreventable diseases, a. While these components are in two separate locations in the book the front and the back, they serve essentially the same purpose. Besides the main items in a nonfiction, other items can be included. The particular parts and their order is more fluid in the back matter compared to front. Front matter is the stuff in your book from the page after the cover till the page before chapter one.
Also browse through some of your favorite books to see what sort of back matter they include for inspiration. The back matter also known as the end matter is you guessed it material found at the back of a book. Ive moved shearwater to permafree and got over 5,000 downloads this month. Your ebook should include a title page with your book title and author name. 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. Were novices, so working with front matter and back matter is a new experience.
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. This is very traditional, and it is an illustration designed to be on the lefthand page facing the title page for the print edition. How to use your books back matter to massively boost your. These days, acknowledgements seem to be showing up as back matter for fiction as well as nonfiction titles. So please do take these things as seriously as your story. Front matter is information that is presented before the body of the document. Aug 02, 2016 the front matter is paginated using lower roman numerals, however, the back matter is not. Traditionally, the start of each back matter section begins on a righthand recto page only. Your ultimate guide to front matter and back matter. Front matter is at the front and is sometimes called the prelims or preliminary matter.
The front matter includes any material that precedes the text. Most nonfiction books include some back matter, perhaps a glossary, bibliography, or index. 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. Book front matter what to include in the front of your book. An overview of the front matter and back matter of your book. Book back matter what to include in the back of your book.
These elements bookend your content, the front matter providing specifics related to the content primarily, and the back matter focuses on keeping your reader. Material, such as an index or appendix, that follows the main body of a book. Front matter and back matter provide a bookend to the primary contents of your book, offering important info and marketing opportunities. 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. We all know what the title page is, but whats a half title. Front matter is the first section of a book and is generally the shortest.
What is included in the front and back matter of a book. For those who have worked on and helped write and publish the book. 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. Front matter front matter is the stuff in your book from the page after the cover till the page before chapter one. Beware the ebook front matter trap polgarus studio. Front matter and back matter grammar factory publishing. You can also add other front matter as well as back matter pages, but these arent required. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book the happy. Some books have this in the front matter, but i prefer to have it in the back. Hello, this is ken from bookfuel with a brief explanation of front matter and back matter. Offer your readers great content first, and only talk about yourself afterwards. After this comes the body of the book and after that, what is called the back matter. The back matter types menu lets you indicate an items type. These sections of back matter are often supplementary in nature, and inform the reader about some aspect of the book.
May 19, 2014 hello, this is ken from bookfuel with a brief explanation of front matter and back matter. If done haphazardly, its a sure sign in most peoples eyes that the book content will not be up to par. Much of what was once the front matter of books should now go in the back. How to write the front and back matter of your kindle ebook. 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. Learn more about creating projects and tables of contents. It is the stuff in the book which is not part of the story but essential to the book itself. 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.
As a selfpublished author, you must be able to impress readers during their first look inside your book. Kindle create displays your book in three sections. The specific elements included at the end of the book should appear in the table of contents in the front matter. How to use your books back matter to massively boost your fanbase, get more shares, and explode your platform. You can split, merge, or rearrange chapters as needed. The order of pages shown above is customary but not mandatory. Im the guest authoreducator there today talking about back matter in picture books. Its the 30,000 to 50,000 words you just pumped out. Front and back matter goes after the book is fully edited and before you begin formatting the content. This includes all frontmatter items listed below, together with chapters in the body matter and back matter. Smashwords front matter, back matter, and metadata a. 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. While it might not seem like a marketing tool, front matter does have an influence on sales. Front matter of a book what is included in the front.
Maybe there will be hints and tips on the topic youve written about. Carrie charley brown is hosting reforemo read for research month, a time when writers challenge themselves to read picture books as mentor texts to improve their writing. 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. 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. The front and back matter in a book are one of the key factors to presenting a professional and quality product. 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. In this excerpt from book design made simple, we offer a list of possible book front matter pages and their proper order. So that you earn a commission everytime someone makes a purchase via your bibliography link. The purpose of front matter is mostly to make sure your book looks as professional as possible. It can be as simple as a single title page, or it can include multiple title pages, foreword, a preface, and much more.
Front matter includes the title pages, the writers name, the edition, the publication date. 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. How to setup the allimportant front and back matter of. Half title page includes book title and subtitle only. Is the list of abbreviations included in the front matter or in the back matter.