Front matter of your book

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. Unlike other front and back matter elements, full page images have an additional option that allows them to appear on the left side of a page spread. The front matter includes any material that precedes the text. Its a smooth way of opening a story without immediately dropping the reader into it. Book front matter what to include in the front of your book. If done haphazardly, its a sure sign in most peoples eyes that the book content will not be up to par. This excerpt from book design made simple offers insights into the best way to present this material. We all know what the title page is, but whats a half title.

The first list is the basic information generally included in front matter, the lists below it are examples. The text for you book is only part of the written material inside your finished book and your front and back matter can make or break your book. How to format front matter how to make an ebook series. Front matter is the first section of a book and is generally the shortest. The front matter is a section in the beginning of a book. Some nonfiction authors add a why i wrote this book chapter. The front and back matter in a book are one of the key factors to presenting a professional and quality product. 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. Front matter of a book what is included in the front. These are competitive editorial strategies for making your book stand out.

There may also be a preface by the author, or a foreword by someone familiar with their work. What you include in the front matter of your book depends on the information you want to impart to your reader to help enhance, explain, or set things up. Including all of the necessary parts of a book and putting them in the right order is the first step to making your book credible and professional. They simply refer to the first and last sections of your book. Making your books front mattermatter the writing cooperative. Julie broads six minute video is packed full of useful advice for writing this important aspect of your books front matter. Each edition of your book may have different front and back matter, for example, to list different isbns or calls to action. How to create, edit, delete and change front matter items. Back matter is the final pages of a book, where endnotes, the appendix, the bibliography, the index, and. Hello, this is ken from bookfuel with a brief explanation of front matter and back matter. 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. This means engineering your book so that its a marketing tool itself.

This option is only available for front and back matter included in your print edition. Avoid a lastminute panic by using this list and planning ways to enhance the value and professional presentation of your book. This article is for versions of word that use the ribbon, that is, word 2007 and above, including word in office 365. 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. Watch for the next installment in the book construction blueprint, elements of the page. Its there in poetry collections, memoirs, biographies, historical books, novels, comics, childrens books, short story collections, etc. To achieve different headers for the book content and front matter, you. Book front matter includes some or all of these pages. Well never look at a childrens picture book in the same way again. Optimizing your front matter and back matter makes this possible. Your book front matter is extremely important and includes your title page, page, and more.

If you need to print pages from this book, we recommend downloading it as a pdf. How to set up a document with front matter numbered separately in word 2007 and above. Prologue fiction, or preface nonfiction introduction nonfiction. I usually place my back matter folder beneath the main manuscript folder, whereas scriveners manuscript.

After the front matter pages, you will have your books body pages. Back matter in your book celebrating independent authors. Learn how you can add front and back matter with just a few clicks using kindle create. The title page is especially easy because you dont need to give it a different style. Last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. Unfortunately, this book cant be printed from the openbook. It can be as simple as a single title page, or it can include multiple title pages, foreword, a preface, and much more. What front matter do you need for your nonfiction book. Next, i flip to the books dedication and acknowledgements. All the information before that the title pages, page, prologue, etc. This includes all of your books actual content, divided into chapters. After this comes the body of the book and after that, what is called the back matter.

The body of your book will usually include the following. If the reader has enjoyed the story, the first thing they will want to do is check out your other titles. Whats it matter the front and back matter 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. Use print settings to control the behavior of chapters in your book. Your ebook should include a title page with your book title and author name. Occasionally, a half title will also be the very first page of the 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. For instructions for numbering front matter in previous versions, see how to set up a document with front matter numbered separately in word 2003 and earlier. After that comes the body text, then the back matter. The front matter pages usually arent visibly numbered. 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 prologue is the fiction version of the nonfiction introduction, and provides readers with the information they need before they start reading a novel.

If the front matter ended on page xiv, the back matter would start with page xv. And the part of a book that most confuses new independent authors, in my experience, is the front matter. It matters a lot, but sometimes authors get confused about what goes where, when, and why. If back matter has to be added to volume 1 late in production, use lowercase roman numerals, continuing the page numbering from where the front matter in that volume left off. Sometimes included as the last piece of front matter before the main textstory. 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 if you havent come across these terms before, dont be intimidated. Today, we look at the elements which make up the back matter. Its really not all that complicated, but it is important to get it right if you. I will usually list my books in the front matter, but in the back, i include a paragraph.

Your ultimate guide to front matter and back matter. Every book, your book included, should have front matter, and making front matter look great is easy if you know how. Were novices, so working with front matter and back matter is a new experience. After the last page of the manuscripts text, pagination continues in numerical sequence into the back matter. The front matter of a book is everything between the front cover and page one, where your story begins. This is one of the aspects of front matter that is in every book, no matter the type or genre. Back matter can include an about the author page or bibliography. How to setup the allimportant front and back matter of. The front matter of a book consists of its very first pages. Front matter is the stuff in your book from the page after the cover till the page before chapter one. Probably the most basic aspect of the front matter is the book title page and the half title. The front matter contains the nuts and bolts of the books publicationinformation such as title, author, publisher, isbn, and library of congress data. If this is not your first book, you definitely want to list your other books. Alternating headers between the book title and author name is common in book design.

The inside of your book, which we call the book block, is divided into three main sections. And not every book includes every type of front matter. 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. 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. Front matter is the material at the front of a book that usually offers information about the book. Thats right, before digging into the main course, i enjoy the appetizers or whats known by book production aficionados as front matter. 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. 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. The first 5 pages of the template are called the front matter, they are publishing standard pages consisting of the half title page, the full title page, and dedication pages. An overview of the front matter and back matter of your book. Your books front and back matter your literary prose. An overview of the front matter and back matter of your book paradiso gim.

Front matter includes the dedication, epigram, table of contents, foreword, preface, and acknowledgements. Make it shine by arranging it in the proper order and designing it for great readability. How do all of the pieces of the front matter fit together, though. You may have other pages to include in the front of your book, if so add new pages and create your pages with bookwrights tools. 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. When it comes time for book design there are 2 parts to consider outside the body of the book. Your book back matter might be the most valuable section of the book. Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter of a book. You can also add other front matter as well as back matter pages, but these arent required. How to write the front and back matter of your kindle ebook. The interior of your book is basically made up of three parts.

Build your book format a paperback manuscript word for. Front matter is the information that appears in the very beginning of a book. Remember, there is no strict formula for setting up the front and back matter for your book. Book back matter what to include in the back of your book. The front matter, and all its components, is a seriously important part of the book.