Sep 26, 2019 you can probably guess but anything found before the main text is called front matter and anything found after, the back matter. A quick and easy guide to writing the best front and back matter for your selfpublished book, both print and ebook editions, by jessica bell. Hello, this is ken from bookfuel with a brief explanation of front matter and back matter. Books can be divided into three areas front matter, body content and back matter. Material, such as an index or appendix, that follows the main body of a book. We all know what the title page is, but whats a half title.
Well never look at a childrens picture book in the same way again. This excerpt from book design made simple offers insights into the best way to present this material. Your body content is the book itself its your introduction, conclusion and everything in between. Sep 07, 2016 now these are merely suggestions for what you can choose to include in the front and back matter of your book. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book the. Nov 28, 2017 november 28, 2017 5 comments what is the front matter of a book. Nov 17, 2019 front matter is the information that appears in the very beginning of a book. Its the 30,000 to 50,000 words you just pumped out. Pick up multiple books from your shelf and take a look at the front and back matter for a point of reference. You can write in whatever genre you like, include whatever type of character you want, and write in any style you prefer.
Make it shine by arranging it in the proper order and designing it for great readability. 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. These sections of back matter are often supplementary in nature, and inform the reader about some aspect of the book. How to use your books back matter to massively boost your. 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. Front matter is everything that comes before your content. So what is contained in the front and back matter and what do you need to include in your book. 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 matter contains the nuts and bolts of the books publicationinformation such as title, author, publisher, isbn, and library of congress data. Beware the ebook front matter trap polgarus studio. Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter. What is included in front matter really depends on the type of publication, so lets go.
Front matter of a book what is included in the front. Front matter is the stuff in your book from the page after the cover till the page before chapter one. The particular parts and their order is more fluid in the back matter compared to front. What is most important is that what you do include looks professional and is well formatted. Kindle create displays your book in three sections. Make sure you know what is supposed to be in your book and where it is placed. 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. When you format your book for hard copy printing, you should follow the structure as shown in the diagram below. Its really not all that complicated, but it is important to get it right if you. 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. Book back matter what to include in the back of your book.
Front and back matter in books selfpublishing advice. So please do take these things as seriously as your story. 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. One thing you shouldnt put at the front of your ebook huffpost. The matter of things all about front and back matter suns. It matters a lot, but sometimes authors get confused about what goes where, when, and why. Make the most of your book, include highquality front and back matter. The front matter is a section in the beginning of a book. In this excerpt from book design made simple, we offer a list of possible book front matter pages and their proper order. All of these pieces front matter, body text, and back matter fit together perfectly to create a complete book. When it comes time for book design there are 2 parts to consider outside the body of the book.
Jul 31, 2019 what is included in the front and back matter of a book. 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. Nov 07, 2012 every book, your book included, should have front matter, and making front matter look great is easy if you know how. Jan 03, 2018 all of these pieces front matter, body text, and back matter fit together perfectly to create a complete book. So that you earn a commission everytime someone makes a purchase via your bibliography link. Learn more about creating projects and tables of contents. 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. 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. How to format front matter how to make an ebook series.
Front and back matter goes after the book is fully edited and before you begin formatting the content. If done haphazardly, its a sure sign in most peoples eyes that the book content will not be up to par. Apr 26, 2019 how can frontback matter boost ebook sales. Your book back matter might be the most valuable section of the book. Jun 25, 2015 how to format a book in ms word part iii. Your books front and back matter your literary prose. The front and back matter in a book are one of the key factors to presenting a professional and quality product. Front matter, body, and back matter even if youve already polished your chapters to perfection, you still need to prepare various other parts of a book before publishing namely, the front matter and back matter. There is more to a nonfiction book than a catchy cover and table of contents much more. After the last page of the manuscripts text, pagination continues in numerical sequence into the back matter. Front matter is information about a book which precedes the main text.
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. Back matter is the stuff at the end of your book, after the main sections of the book are finished. 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. 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. Ensure you have front matter and back matter that is organized properly to give your book a professional look. 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. How to write the front and back matter of your kindle ebook. For readers and writers alike, this is where the magic happens but its not just the content thats crucial, but also how you arrange it. 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. That allimportant book back matter and front matter. Nov 12, 20 your checklist for the components of a nonfiction book, from the front cover to the back and everything in between. 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. Front matter is the first section of a book and is generally the shortest.
Back matter definition of back matter by the free dictionary. Jan 18, 2018 front matter, the body and back matter. Title page the title page is especially easy because you dont need to give it a different style. 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. Front matter is one of the last sections of a book manuscript for an author to complete. 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. Book front matter what to include in the front of your book.
Across all books of all genres, theres one thing in common. Front matter includes the title pages, the writers name, the edition, the publication date. After this comes the body of the book and after that, what is called the back matter. May 19, 2014 hello, this is ken from bookfuel with a brief explanation of front matter and back matter.
Frontmatter pages are traditionally numbered in lowercase roman. The front matter includes any material that precedes the text. Jun 24, 2014 so not only are front matter blurbs redundant. Your body content is the book itself its your introduction. Back matter is information about a book and the writer which follows the end of the main text. The errata are sometimes found in the back of the book called the back matter. Book front matter includes some or all of these pages. The specific elements included at the end of the book should appear in the table of contents in the front matter. The parts of a book and the elements of content the balance. 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. Lets first take a look at the different sections you may want to include in your book.
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. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book. Your ultimate guide to front matter and back matter. Back matter items are essentially chapters within a part, with one additional option to customize. 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. Make sure the links in your catalogue are affiliate links of your account. This is especially important when selfpublishing on a deadline, selfimposed or not. Aug 02, 2016 the front matter is paginated using lower roman numerals, however, the back matter is not.
Today, we look at the elements which make up the back matter. Front matter is at the front and is sometimes called the prelims or preliminary matter. 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. Jan 10, 2014 last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. Were novices, so working with front matter and back matter is a new experience. 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. The front matter of a book consists of its very first pages. 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. This is a work file in kcb format you can use to update your book later.