All of the above should work for front matter and back matter. An indieauthors guide to organizing a book for publication. This is a work file in kcb format you can use to update your book later. The front matter includes any material that precedes the text. Front matter includes the title pages, the writers name, the edition, the publication date. This may includebut is not limited toa page, a foreword, a preface, a dedication, an index, acknowledgements, etc. Its just a simple matter of cut and paste and im done. The thing to consider is when exactly potential readers are going to be looking through the front matter of an ebook. Front matter is information about a book which precedes the main text.
If done haphazardly, its a sure sign in most peoples eyes that the book content will not be up to par. Your ultimate guide to front matter and back matter. And for those who do read it, the front matter forms their first impression, so make sure you get it right. Back matter is the stuff at the end of your book, after the main sections of the book are finished. Were novices, so working with front matter and back matter is a new experience. The order of pages shown above is customary but not mandatory. We all know what the title page is, but whats a half title. So what is contained in the front and back matter and what do you need to include in your book. Front matter and back matter grammar factory publishing.
Front matter includes the dedication, epigram, table of contents, foreword, preface, and acknowledgements. Front matter is the stuff in your book from the page after the cover till the page before chapter one. Last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. Title page the full title and authors name as they appear on the cover. Authors often forget about their book front matter until the last minute. By having the text start with number 1, the publisher wont have to renumber all the pages when adding something to the front matter.
The title page is especially easy because you dont need to give it a different style. The front cover usually contains at least the title or author, with possibly an appropriate illustration on the inside of the cover page, extending to the facing page is the front endpaper sometimes referred as fep. Frontmatter pages are traditionally numbered in lowercase roman. Title page announces the title, subtitle, author and publisher of the book. The title page must go on a recto page, and the page must go on the verso page immediately following the title page in other words, the page is printed on the back of the title page. The errata are sometimes found in the back of the book called the back matter. Your books front and back matter your literary prose. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book. Customising toc appearance of chapter titles in front and. Front matter is the first section of a book and is generally the shortest.
Times new roman, 16pt font, centered, bold, space after. 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. At the moment im using the standard document class book and. 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. Front matter sections include covers, title pages, tables of contents, lists of figures, prefaces, and glossaries. Nonfiction book formatting for microsoft word lulu blog. It may also be used to identify book designers, software used, type of printer used, and the kind of ink. 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. What is included in front matter really depends on the type of publication, so lets go. Front matter is the information that appears in the very beginning of a book. The purpose of front matter is mostly to make sure your book looks as professional. A halftitle page displays only the main title of the book, excluding all other information. The following list of sections that can be included in the back matter is by no means exhaustive.
One of these components that often causes selfpublished authors pause is the front matter and back matter. I update them as soon as i have the blurb and cover for a new book. Kindle create displays your book in three sections. There may also be a preface by the author, or a foreword by someone familiar with their work. Your book front matter is extremely important and includes your title page. Vertical spacing between front matter chapter titles probably needs to be reduced as well. Back matter pages are numbered continuously with the main text.
After this comes the body of the book and after that, what is called the back matter. After the last page of the manuscripts text, pagination continues in numerical sequence into the back matter. These days, acknowledgements seem to be showing up as back matter for fiction as well as nonfiction titles. Thus, in the table of contents you would not mention the title page or the dedication nor the table of contents itself. The usual order of the front matter is shown above. It can be as simple as a single title page, or it can include multiple title pages, foreword, a preface, and much more. If youve been involved in many online forums, youve probably seen quite a bit of discussion about this. Diy book front matter and back matter numinous productions. Include correct links under catalogue or your buyer hook. How to format front matter how to make an ebook series.
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. But if you started your page numbering at the title page with page 1, all the page numbers in the book will change once you drop in that wonderful new preface. Back matter in your book celebrating independent authors. Front matter includes things like the half title, the title page, the page, a dedication, acknowledgements, a table of contents, and perhaps other things such. You need to add your front and back matter as you are putting the book together.
Acknowledgements tend to be the back, but sometimes are included in. Before page 1, there are several items that appear in the front pages of any book. Frontispiece a decorative illustration or photo that appears on the page next to the title page. The back matter files keep everything in one place. For the last couple of weeks, weve been doing a blog series on the back matter of a book. In fact, nonfiction books will use a lot more front and back matter.
No matter which kind of documentproposal, manual, yearend reportyou use the same front and back matter. If youve used roman numerals to paginate your front matter, you have no problem, since the page numbers in the body of the book wont change. This option allows you to add any text you like to the running header. The front and back matter in a book are one of the key factors to presenting a professional and quality product. Listed below is the usual order of how the front matter is formatted in a book. Books can be divided into three areas front matter, body content and back. The front matter comes before the onset of the story otherwise known as body text, and the reason for this is that it contains information that is important to know before reading the story. 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 front matter of all books is pretty well prescribed. Back matter is information about a book and the writer which follows the end of the main text. So please do take these things as seriously as your story.
Every book, your book included, should have front matter, and making front matter look great is easy if you know how. Today, we look at the elements which make up the back matter. Selfpublishing comes with an unlimited amount of freedom. This is used in the case that your running headers are chapter title and you have a long long long chapter title that wont fit on the page. Week 5 write a book with tracee, 52 week challenge. Books can be divided into three areas front matter, body content and back matter. 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. Learn more about creating projects and tables of contents. 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. Hello, this is ken from bookfuel with a brief explanation of front matter and back matter. Without rehashing the topic, there are a few special considerations for nonfiction books to think about. The front matter is a section in the beginning of a book. Ive gone into some detail about what front back matter is and why its important. Often, front matter has to be added late in the publishing process.
You need to be thinking about the entire package throughout the writing and production of the book. 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. As i mentioned earlier, the table of contents includes everything that follows it and nothing that precedes it. Your body content is the book itself its your introduction, conclusion and everything in between. It can be as simple as a single title page, or it can include multiple title pages. Well never look at a childrens picture book in the same way again. The back matter is where youll find components such as an index, a glossary, an. Look at the other books in your genre and note what kind of stuff they offer in the front matter and back matter. Historically, colophons were always located in the back matter, but, nowadays, theyre can also be featured in the front matter, after the title page. Front and back matter goes after the book is fully edited and before you begin formatting the content. Books are divided into three parts front matter, body text with or without illustrations, and back matter. There are, of course, variations to this conventional lineup order.
Lets first take a look at the different sections you may want to include in your book. However, you want to happily sandwich that meat between what we call front matter and back matter. This page gives the title, subtitle, author and publisher of the book. There are several often many pages of materials that need to be at the front and back of your book. It is important to understand some, but not all sections are required to publish a 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. How you should be using back matter in your ebooks adam geen. Its the 30,000 to 50,000 words you just pumped out. Most nonfiction books include some back matter, perhaps a glossary, bibliography, or index. Front matter is one of the last sections of a book manuscript for an author to complete. Book front matter what to include in the front of your book. When it comes time for book design there are 2 parts to consider outside the body of the book.
But what the heck do you put at the back of the book. The front cover is the front of the book, and is marked appropriately by text or graphics in order to identify it as such namely as the very beginning of the book. This includes a brief explanation of how the author developed the idea for the book. Front and back matter in books alliance of independent. Front matter is everything that comes before your content. Books consist of many components, all of them important when creating a full, complete, and professional work. 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. Book back matter what to include in the back of your book. Front matter of a book what is included in the front. How to write the front and back matter of your kindle ebook. The back matter types menu lets you indicate an items type.
Also browse through some of your favorite books to see what sort of back matter they include for inspiration. I only wish to change font series to medium and shape to italic as shown below. 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. Today id like to talk about something that i dont see talked about in too much detail on the web. Though many readers skip right over it, the front matter contains some pretty important information about the book s author and. The back matter can be as important as the front matter, particularly for nonfiction books. The front matter of a book consists of its very first pages. So youve written a manuscript, thus the meat of your book is complete. 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. You can split, merge, or rearrange chapters as needed. It is the same regardless of the genre of the document. 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.
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