Book back matter of a book

Well never look at a childrens picture book in the same way again. Ive moved shearwater to permafree and got over 5,000 downloads this month. One of these components that often causes selfpublished authors pause is the front matter and back matter. Back matter is anything you place into your book following the end of your tale. Front matter is the stuff in your book from the page after the cover till the page before chapter one. Back matter is the stuff at the end of your book, after the main sections of the book are finished. In this excerpt from book design made simple, we offer a list of possible book front matter pages and their proper order. Learn what makes up the front matter, back matter, and body so you can create your own book today. Dec 20, 2015 in this video ill show you how to use draft2digitals automated back matter formatting tool to create back matter that will increase your book sales and grow your reader platform on draft2digital. This back matter is composed of an alphabetized list of terms, and indicates where in the text these terms are used. It often explains the relationship between the writer of the. When writing your book, one thing to consider is the content you will include in the back matter of your book.

Authors use their back matter to offer readers further context or information about the story, though back matter can also be extremely simple. The back matter also known as the end matter is you guessed it material found at the back of a book. Front matter of a book what is included in the front. Im the guest authoreducator there today talking about back matter in picture books. While these components are in two separate locations in the book the front and the back, they serve essentially the. Some informative blog posts have addressed techniques for creating an effective front cover, but an often overlooked aspect of book cover design is the back of the. In the previous two posts in our book anatomy 101 series, we looked at the range and organization of your books front matter, and the main body of the book. The parts of a book for self published authors bookstand. Items in the back matter of a fiction work can include an epilogue, afterword, and author ads. We tend to spend all of our time writing the main content. A part starts with a dividing page, with either only the part number often.

Back matter, obviously, is the stuff that goes at the end of the book. These sections of back matter are often supplementary in nature, and inform the reader about some aspect of the book. Most often seen in nonfiction like a biography or an academic text, a bibliography lists the references and sources used in researching or. After the last page of the manuscripts text, pagination continues in numerical sequence into the back matter. Every book needs back matter, whether its a single about the author paragraph that ends with a link to a website and a mailing list, or a fivepage timeline. Were novices, so working with front matter and back matter is a new experience. Why your back matter matters hidden gems book blog. This excerpt from book design made simple offers insights into the best way to present this material. Back matter in your book celebrating independent authors. If youve ever read a book before especially an ebook you definitely know what im talking about. An afterword is sometimes used to describe a time that is well after the timeframe of the main story.

Back matter pressbooks user guide simple book production. Make sure you know what is supposed to be in your book and where it is placed. The glossary is a list of term definitions used throughout the book that might be unfamiliar to the reader. We all know what the title page is, but whats a half title. The front matter is paginated using lower roman numerals, however, the back matter is not.

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. An epilogue is a piece of writing toward the end of the book that is usually used to bring closure to the 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. After this comes the body of the book and after that, what is called the back matter. Last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front 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. End matter is the material at the back of the book, generally optional. Nov 17, 2019 end matter is the material at the back of the book, generally optional. This is major real estate within your book that you can use to connect further with your readers. The index is like a travel guide to the book itself. It goes without saying that the cover of your book is key. 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. Just as front matter is what you find at the beginning of a book, back matter, simply. The trouble with this is that big blocks of extra text can often be too dense, so that young readers will most likely not engage with these pages.

While these components are in two separate locations in the book the front and the back, they serve essentially the same purpose. Back matter definition of back matter by the free dictionary. This is back matter that matters to the author, the books subject, and to readers, as jane encourages young people to make the world a better place for people, animals, and the environment. 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. Dark matter does explore some interesting ideas about identity and relationships but it was so lacking in anything that felt like novelty to me that i was largely bored by the book. If the front matter introduces the book, the back matter then wraps everything up. Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter. A formal postscript, in a books back matter, is usually called an afterword. How to use your books back matter to massively boost your. Parts parts are usually not found in fictional works, and depending on the topic, they may not be found in a nonfiction book. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book. Keep in mind that there is no book that has all of these parts.

Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book the happy. Text appended to or preceding the primary narrative now introduces readers children and adults to interesting, relevant, and revealing ancillary information. Use this list instead to make sure you have the right content in the right category, and that elements of your book appear in the sequence in which they are expected. Back matter items are essentially chapters within a part, with one additional option to customize. Excerpts from a forthcoming book arent uncommon either.

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. 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. The specific elements included at the end of the book should appear in the table of contents in the front matter. 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. A foreword is an essay, or short piece of writing, written by someone other than the author. Nonfiction book formatting for microsoft word lulu blog.

An epilogue is a piece of writing toward the end of the book that is usually used to bring closure to the story afterword. The front matter is a section in the beginning of a book. Authors use their back matter to offer readers further context or information about the story, though back matter can. 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. In this video ill show you how to use draft2digitals automated back matter formatting tool to create back matter that will increase your book sales and grow your reader platform on draft2digital. But its the back matter that is truly unique for nonfiction. 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. The body matter is the meat of your book the main content parts. The errata are sometimes found in the back of the book called the back matter. Much of what was once the front matter of books should now go in the back.

The back matter types menu lets you indicate an items type. The back matter is everything that is included after the conclusion of the main content. Your book back matter might be the most valuable section of the book. How to write the front and back matter of your kindle ebook. Nov 15, 20 it goes without saying that the cover of your book is key. By colin dunbar body matter the body matter is the meat of your book the main content. If the reader gets that far, they can get the rest of the wayif interested. Book back matter what to include in the back of your book. This is an excellent book on the subject of what to put in your front and back matter of your new book. Sometimes the first thing youll see will be a link to an authors mailing list, other times itll be a catalog of their other books, plus the author. Sep 20, 20 todays picture book biographies also include, as a matter of course, supporting back matter. It often explains the relationship between the writer of the foreword and either the author or the story being told. Nov, 2019 the back matter also known as the end matter is you guessed it material found at the back of a book. Three things to include in the back matter of your book.

Nov 28, 2017 the front matter is a section in the beginning of a book. You will normally list your back matter in one short paragraph in your proposal where you discuss the contents of your 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. It comes after the body text and includes concluding sections that. Book front matter includes some or all of these pages. You might ask, does the back of the book even matter. 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. Material, such as an index or appendix, that follows the main body of a book. A bibliography also called a works cited or reference list is a list of books or sources that have been used in the book at hand, or are relevant in some way.

Parts are usually not found in fictional works, and depending on the topic, they may not be found in a nonfiction book. Back matter in picture books marcie flinchum atkins. Front and back matter in books alliance of independent. Sometimes the first thing youll see will be a link to. The front matter includes any material that precedes the text. Jul 05, 2017 one of these components that often causes selfpublished authors pause is the front matter and back matter. Book front matter what to include in the front of your book. Mar 06, 2020 but its the back matter that is truly unique for nonfiction.

Mar 20, 2017 i dont put excerpts on my webpages either. Picture books as writing mentor texts featuring giant dance party november 28, 20 2014 goal setting revamped december 9, 20. Nonfiction books often have a lot more content for their back matter. How to use your books back matter to massively boost your fanbase, get more shares, and explode your platform. Jan 03, 2018 the back matter is the concluding section of a book, and it can contain a whole host of information, and many of these sections are entirely optional. We did a similar one on the front matter youll remember that the front matter is all of the material. This excerpt from book design made simple offers insights into the best way to. Back matter can be mistaken as an excuse to dump in everything that didnt fit in the main story book. 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. Jan 27, 2016 back matter, obviously, is the stuff that goes at the end of the book.

Appendices can be useful in a memoir if you have additional information that might be interesting to the reader but would interrupt your narrative if placed in the body of the book. Jan 24, 2020 back matter is anything you place into your book following the end of your tale. Use this list instead to make sure you have the right content in the right. Remarks while ancillary material, such as appendices, may follow the entire contents of a book, a publisher may prefer that such ancillary material follow the content of the book component where it is referenced. 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. The order of pages shown above is customary but not mandatory. Picture book focus creating compelling back matter words. Its the page at the very front of the book, not used in all. For the last couple of weeks, weve been doing a blog series on the back matter of a book. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book the. Make it shine by arranging it in the proper order and designing it for great readability. 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.

Most nonfiction books include some back matter, perhaps a glossary, bibliography, or index. Writing and selfpublishing tips for authors book back. Most fiction works will include one or two pages at the most, perhaps including acknowledgments and an about the author page. The selfpublished author doesnt need to include any of these. Jan 10, 2014 last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. While authors notes vary in style and content, illustrators notes tend to be written in first person and focus on some aspect of the books. Today, we look at the elements which make up the back matter. The frontmatter, the body of the book, and the backmatter. Rather surprising in that almost everyone else praises it for being the exact opposite, so maybe its just me. Some informative blog posts have addressed techniques for creating an effective front cover, but an often overlooked aspect of book cover design is the back of the book. After the last page of the manuscripts text, pagination continues in numerical. 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.