Its the 30,000 to 50,000 words you just pumped out. Back matter items are essentially chapters within a part, with one additional option to customize. These days, acknowledgements seem to be showing up as back matter for fiction as well as nonfiction titles. Follow the instructions below to edit the 5 front matter pages specifically for your book. Were novices, so working with front matter and back matter is a new experience. Half title page click on page 1 the page spreads panel, click on the text container to open the text editor. Front and back matter in books alliance of independent. In this excerpt from book design made simple, we offer a list of possible book front matter pages and their proper order. 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.
Though the front matter may not be as sexy as the main text or as information packed as the back matter, its an opportunity for authors to set the tone for their readers experience. Quarantine writing challenge kary oberbrunner facebook. The back matter types menu lets you indicate an items type. Authors use their back matter to offer readers further context or information about the story, though back matter can also be extremely simple. A successful book is more than just a manuscript thrown between a cover. Front matter is the first section of a book and is generally the shortest. After the last page of the manuscripts text, pagination continues in numerical sequence into the back matter. As an independent author or small press, you never want to pass up the opportunity to advertise yourself. 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. The front matter is paginated using lower roman numerals, however, the back matter. Its really not all that complicated, but it is important to get it right if you.
Acknowledgements if author wants them in the back matter. Book recommendations, author interviews, editors picks, and more. Back matter in your book celebrating independent authors. Today, we look at the elements which make up the back matter. Really obvious good idea to dois to have a link to your website,whether you have important social media or a blogor a website or anything. Its the page at the very front of the book, not used in all cases, that has only the title of. Solutions are practical, his best practice guidelines sensible and their rationales well explained.
If done haphazardly, its a sure sign in most peoples eyes that the book content will not be up to par. For the last couple of weeks, weve been doing a blog series on the back matter of a book. Material, such as an index or appendix, that follows the main body of a book. Move beyond the competition, create more value, and. Front matter is information about a book which precedes the main text. When you format your book for hard copy printing, you should follow the structure as shown in the diagram below. But what the heck do you put at the back of the book. Your body content is the book itself its your introduction, conclusion and everything in between. Backmatter numbering graphic design stack exchange. Why were not as selfaware as we think, and how seeing. Today id like to talk about something that i dont see talked about in too much detail on the web.
Your body content is the book itself its your introduction, conclusion and. May 19, 2014 hello, this is ken from bookfuel with a brief explanation of front matter and back matter. Sold by markable and ships from amazon fulfillment. 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. 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. Apr 19, 2017 front matter includes the dedication, epigram, table of contents, foreword, preface, and acknowledgements. 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. This is very traditional, and it is an illustration designed to be on the lefthand page facing the title page for the print edition. 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. If youve been involved in many online forums, youve probably seen quite a bit of discussion about this. Book front matter what to include in the front of your book. Book front matter includes some or all of these pages.
If the front matter ended on page xiv, the back matter would start with page xv. What is included in front matter really depends on the type of publication, so lets go. An acknowledgement page is usually a one to two page section that can be in the front or back matter, and its focus is thanking and bringing attention to instrumental persons who helped the book become realized, written, and published. Mar 20, 2017 the front matter of all books is pretty well prescribed. Front matter is everything that comes before your content. Front and back matter goes after the book is fully edited and before you begin formatting the content. 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. Nov 28, 2017 the front matter is a section in the beginning of a book. Front matter includes the title pages, the writers name, the edition, the publication date. Authors often forget about their book front matter until the last minute. The back matter also known as the end matter is you guessed it material found at the back of a book.
Front matter and back matter grammar factory publishing. Sep 10, 2019 the libretexts libraries are powered by mindtouch and are supported by the department of education open textbook pilot project, the uc davis office of the provost, the uc davis library, the california state university affordable learning solutions program, and merlot. 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. How to write the front and back matter of your kindle ebook. Back matter definition of back matter by the free dictionary. Oct 06, 2010 home front and back matter in ebooks by elizabeth october 6, 2010 3 comments category. 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. Books can be divided into three areas front matter, body content and back matter. How to format front matter how to make an ebook series. Change it solids, liquids, gases and you by adrienne mason. There are, of course, variations to this conventional lineup order.
Select the book title copy and type in the name of your book, and then select the author name and type in the name of the author. 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 main idea of back matter, regardless of the type of book youre writing, is to make the book as helpful as possible to the reader. Learn what makes up the front matter, back matter, and body so you can create your own book today. 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. Include correct links under catalogue or your buyer hook.
When it comes time for book design there are 2 parts to consider outside the body of the book. Your ultimate guide to front matter and back matter. I really, really loved this book to help my kids learn about matter. We all know what the title page is, but whats a half title. The amount of front matter you include depends on the length and content of your document, but may include. This means engineering your book so that its a marketing tool itself. 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.
Order of the pages in the front matter of a book tex. Well never look at a childrens picture book in the same way again. Back matter definition of back matter by merriamwebster. Anachronisms and dysfunctions of ebook front and back matter. Appendix, bibliography, index, notes, and other pages included at the end of a book, after the front matter and the main text.
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. This includes all frontmatter items listed below, together with chapters in the body matter and back matter. How to setup the allimportant front and back matter of your. It can be as simple as a single title page, or it can include multiple title pages, foreword, a preface, and much more. It matters a lot, but sometimes authors get confused about what goes where, when, and why. Feb 03, 20 the terms of art for this stuff are front matter and back matter. This book explores the power of print and the politics of the book in south africa from a range of disciplinary perspectiveshistorical, bibliographic, literary. That gives you headroom to play with the front matter. Either a section from the book on the cover or in the front matter, or a section. The front matter includes any material that precedes the text. Watch for the next installment in the book construction blueprint, elements of the page. 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.
Jan 10, 2014 last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. 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. How to set up a document with front matter numbered separately in word 2007 and above. Back matter is the stuff at the end of your book, after the main sections of the book are finished.
How you should be using back matter in your ebooks adam geen. Earlier we talked about front matter,and now were gonna talk about back matter. Print, text and book cultures in south africa on jstor. Back matter definition and meaning collins english dictionary.
You will normally list your back matter in one short paragraph in your proposal where you discuss the contents of your book. It is a given fact that i cannot number the appendicies i. 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. And i love having an about the author in the back matter. Writing your book is the first step in your selfpublishing journey, but in order to really sell books. These sections of back matter are often supplementary in nature, and inform the reader about some aspect of the book. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book. The reason is that the mainmatter numbering is continued from a previous works and will continue in the next works, and. 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.
This a page, usually printed with only the book s title, that precedes the. 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. 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. Im the guest authoreducator there today talking about back matter in picture books.
Front matter is information that is presented before the body of the document. The surprising truth about how others see us, how we. And we already insertedour about the author page and our image. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book the. So please do take these things as seriously as your story. 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. The front and back matter in a book are one of the key factors to presenting a professional and quality product. This article is for versions of word that use the ribbon, that is, word 2007 and above, including word in office 365. Ill cover the many dysfunctions of ebook pages in another article, but lets step back for a moment.
This is part of a series on back matter presented by bb ebooks. When you dedicate a book to someone, people dont need to see dedication looming over the page to know that youre clearly dedicating the book to someone. Front matter and back matter provide a bookend to the primary contents of your book, offering important info and marketing opportunities. Back matter definition is matter following the main text of a book. Wizard wednesday if you wanna make more book sales, you gotta use. For more activities about matter, please see my states of matter unit study page. Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter.
Front matter of a book what is included in the front. How to setup the allimportant front and back matter of. Back matter is the final pages of a book, where endnotes, the appendix, the bibliography, the index, and related elements reside. Back matter in picture books marcie flinchum atkins. Optimizing your front matter and back matter makes this possible. This is an excellent book on the subject of what to put in your front and back matter of your new book.
You now have simple but professionallooking front matter for your ebook. Back matter definition and meaning collins english. 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. Browse other questions tagged bookdesign frontmatter or ask your own question. 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. A good example is the bastard title or half title page. Making your books front mattermatter the writing cooperative.