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. A way to connect to other books from the author andor publisher. It is more often found in the back of a work of fiction or an ebook. Its just a simple matter of cut and paste and im done. There are, of course, variations to this conventional lineup order. Back matter definition, the parts of a book that appear after the main text, as bibliography, index, and appendixes. Most agreed that these were commercials and thus conforming to the confines of the genre of television show. Best practice guides for authors ebook written by paul salvette. When a chronology of events is necessary, it is placed either in the back matter or front matter just before the main text. This may includebut is not limited toa page, a foreword, a preface, a dedication, an index, acknowledgements, etc.
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. Book front matter what to include in the front of your book. Avoid a lastminute panic by using this list and planning ways to enhance the value and professional presentation of your book. It can also be found in the front or back of the book. Books can be divided into three areas front matter, body content and back matter. How to setup the allimportant front and back matter of. It is a given fact that i cannot number the appendicies i.
We all know what the title page is, but whats a half title. An overview of the front matter and back matter of your book. Editors and many readers often read nonfiction from the back first, to gain an idea of the authors credibility, sources, and effort to provide more for the reader. Front matter and back matter grammar factory publishing. Not all books require all of these pages, but this order is the industry standard. In this excerpt from book design made simple, we offer a list of possible book front matter pages and their proper order. Front matter includes the dedication, epigram, table of contents, foreword, preface, and acknowledgements. Front matter is at the front and is sometimes called the prelims or preliminary matter. Front and back matter in books alliance of independent. You need to be thinking about the entire package throughout the writing and production of the book. Front matter of a book what is included in the front. Back matter definition is matter following the main text of a book. Generally, i go in and update all my books back matter in the week after i have the link or links for the newest.
January 3, 2018 2 comments what is the back matter of a book. Jan 10, 2014 last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. All pages that appear after the last chapter or conclusion are called back matter. Nov 06, 2017 if i decide to change either of those, i have to update the back matter file. 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. Apr 19, 2017 front matter includes the dedication, epigram, table of contents, foreword, preface, and acknowledgements.
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 is not. Change it solids, liquids, gases and you by adrienne mason. The purpose of front matter is mostly to make sure your book looks as professional. Today id like to talk about something that i dont see talked about in too much detail on the web.
An afterword is sometimes used to describe a time that is well after the timeframe of the main story. As i mentioned earlier, the table of contents includes everything that follows it and nothing that precedes it. After this comes the body of the book and after that, what is called the back matter. It can make the topic of the book more clear, more relevant, or more applicable for the reader. Anachronisms and dysfunctions of ebook front and back matter. Its the 30,000 to 50,000 words you just pumped out. Mar 02, 2016 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. How to setup the allimportant front and back matter of your. This is an excellent book on the subject of what to put in your front and back matter of your new book. Nov 08, 2012 include the back matter as part of your manuscript and call it out in your query letter.
The process to create, edit, delete, rename or reorder back matter items is the same way as that for chapters, with one additional option. Book front matter includes some or all of these pages. 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. 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 book s final edit. The specific elements included at the end of the book should appear in the table of contents in the front matter. The prince delves into one of the great books of western history, revealing the historical context of machiavellis philosophical views, his tumultuous relationship with florentine politics, his reception by his contemporaries and by 20thcentury scholars, and his lasting influence on everyone from william shakespeare to joseph. Listed below is the typical order of the back matter in a book. This is a work file in kcb format you can use to update your book later. You can split, merge, or rearrange chapters as needed. One of these components that often causes selfpublished authors pause is the front matter and back matter. For those who have worked on and helped write and publish the book. 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. 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. 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 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. For more activities about matter, please see my states of matter unit study page. Pressbooks makes it easy to format these as back matter. Back matter definition of back matter by merriamwebster.
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. Walk through formatting the text in your paperback book s front matter, and inserting blank pages to ensure that the pages are in the correct position. To add a bit of new history, book conservationists are finding that a goodly part of the problem with middle 19th c through 20th c books is not necessarily the wood pulp component, although for newsprint or other low quality paper that is a problem. Your ultimate guide to front matter and back matter. Look at the other books in your genre and note what kind of stuff they offer in the front matter and back matter. Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter. There are several often many pages of materials that need to be at the front and back of your book. The natural world comes alive for young readers with rookie readabout science. This extra material is called the front or back matter depending on whether it comes before or after the text.
Back matter pages are numbered continuously with the main text. As an independent author or small press, you never want to pass up the opportunity to advertise yourself. Week 5 write a book with tracee, 52 week challenge. Well never look at a childrens picture book in the same way again. Your book front matter is extremely important and includes your title page, page, and more. I made in the video, reference to a site called diggypod, which is a company and type of publisher that helps indie authors print their books. Not all books will include each of these back matter elements, and since you are selfpublishing, you get to decide what you want to include.
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. I really, really loved this book to help my kids learn about matter. The back matter is where youll find components such as an index, a glossary, an. An epilogue is a piece of writing toward the end of the book that is usually used to bring closure to the story afterword. 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. Book back matter what to include in the back of your book.
Were novices, so working with front matter and back matter is a new experience. The back matter also known as the end matter is you guessed it material found at the back of a book. Theres no point in telling the editor about potential back matter but then leaving her to guess whether or not you could create truly interesting and useful. This is part of a series on back matter presented by bb ebooks. These days, acknowledgements seem to be showing up as back matter for fiction as well as nonfiction titles. Front matter is the stuff in your book from the page after the cover till the page before chapter one. Rookie readabout physical science series introduces the youngest readers ages 67 to physical science concepts. Whether youre composing your own book or editing someone elses. Learn more about creating projects and tables of contents. The back matter types menu lets you indicate an items type.
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. Smashwords front matter, back matter, and metadata a. Jun 01, 2015 back matter is the information provided by the author after the main text. Today, we look at the elements which make up the back matter. How to decide on book design front matter and content in the back of the book. Backmatter numbering graphic design stack exchange. Nov 28, 2017 the front matter is a section in the beginning of a book. Back matter is information about a book and the writer which follows the end of the main text. Jan 03, 2018 the order of the back matter in a book. Back matter in picture books marcie flinchum atkins.
What is included in front matter really depends on the type of publication, so lets go. Back matter is the stuff at the end of your book, after the main sections of the book are finished. Traditionally, the start of each back matter section begins on a righthand recto page only. Include correct links under catalogue or your buyer hook. How you should be using back matter in your ebooks adam geen. Im the guest authoreducator there today talking about back matter in picture books. Like any text division, those in front matter may contain low level structural or. What is included in front matter really depends on the type of publication, so lets go over. Front matter is everything that comes before your content. Some common items in back matter include an index, bibliography or appendix. 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.
These sections of back matter are often supplementary in nature, and inform the reader about some aspect of the book. If you want to keep the back matter file simple, then just putting the book title which should not change and a link will require minimal updating. Marcus cites edward stratemeyer, the turn of thecentury author and. That supporting material is a component of your project, which should be considered in full. Thus, in the table of contents you would not mention the title page or the dedication nor the table of contents itself.
If the reader has enjoyed the story, the first thing they will want to do is check out your other titles. In the modern world of publishing where authors ar. After the last page of the manuscripts text, pagination continues in numerical sequence into the back matter. 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. Items in the back matter of a fiction work can include an epilogue, afterword, and author ads. Well dig into this subject more later, but i showed them to you as they listed all the components of front and back matter in a concise and easy to understand matter. The front matter is a section in the beginning of a 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. Your books front and back matter your literary prose.
Five reasons why back matter matters in nonfiction by pat miller. It can be as simple as a single title page, or it can include multiple title pages, foreword, a preface, and much more. 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. The errata are sometimes found in the back of the book called the back matter. For the last couple of weeks, weve been doing a blog series on the back matter of a 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. The particular parts and their order is more fluid in the back matter compared to front. Matter was a big let down for me, because it had pretty interesting ideas like shell word and nest world but banks spends so much time exploring those ideas, and giving you info dumps regarding those ideas that the story of the book takes a back seat in the whole book. Jul 05, 20 the exhibit also reveals that the books that matter to children are not always the same as the ones adults think should matter. There may also be a preface by the author, or a foreword by someone familiar with their work. That gives you headroom to play with the front matter. Kindle create displays your book in three sections. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book the. How to write the front and back matter of your kindle ebook.
The order of pages shown above is customary but not mandatory. It includes your bio, long or short, and can include your other books, website or contact information. Present practices often use the nextavailable page. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book. 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. Front matter and back mattermore competitive editorial strategies for making your book stand out donna barker october 26, 2015 at 1. Back matter items are essentially chapters within a part, with one additional option to customize. What is included in the front and back matter of a book. From my perspective, thinking about what our creativecommons licences editions should look like, there are a number of front matter and back matter tweaks needed. Authors use their back matter to offer readers further context or information about the story, though back matter can also be extremely simple. 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.
The front matter includes any material that precedes the 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. Part of the best practice guides for authors from bb ebooks that discusses adding proper front matter, back matter, and metadata. I update them as soon as i have the blurb and cover for a new book. If so, hurricane wolf by diane paterson is about noah and his parents preparing for a hurricane in florida. Making your books front mattermatter the writing cooperative. Your body content is the book itself its your introduction, conclusion and everything in between. You need to add your front and back matter as you are putting the book together. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read front matter, back matter, and metadata. It is however something that ive seen certain authors inquire about on the kindleboards so i thought why not bring it up for some discussion 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. Is it the last page or two that discusses facts about the book. The back matter files keep everything in one place.
We had a great discussion in class about the possibilities of the front matter and what it might mean structurally. Most nonfiction books include some back matter, perhaps a glossary, bibliography, or index. This includes the title page, half title, table of contents. Front matter is the first section of a book and is generally the shortest. The reason is that the main matter numbering is continued from a previous works and will continue in the next works, and the appendicies have to be omitted from this numbering.
Books consist of many components, all of them important when creating a full, complete, and professional work. Gain comprehension of how more complicated back matter like an index and notes section can function in an ebook utilize vendorspecific buy links to boost your sales and author brand pick up a copy of front matter, back matter, and metadata and improve your publishing level of knowledge to give you a professional edge. A foreword is an essay, or short piece of writing, written by. When you format your book for hard copy printing, you should follow the structure as shown in the diagram below. Its the page at the very front of the book, not used in all cases, that has only the title of the book. This page is found either in the front or back matter of the book. Books are divided into three parts front matter, body text with or without illustrations, and back matter. Front and back matter goes after the book is fully edited and before you begin formatting the content. Back matter in your book celebrating independent authors. 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. Last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. Mar 20, 2017 other books by if this is not your first book, you definitely want to list your other books. Sep 15, 2014 books are divided into three partsfront matter, body text with or without illustrations, and back matter. How to handle picture book back matter during submission.
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