It goes without saying that the cover of your book is key. May, 2019 i have formatted and put together all of the additional front and back matter for several books now including all of my own and a number for other authors as well. The front matter pages usually arent visibly numbered. I have formatted and put together all of the additional front and back matter for several books now including all of my own and a number for other authors as well. 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 done haphazardly, its a sure sign in most peoples eyes that the book content will not be up to par. Mar 20, 2017 other books by if this is not your first book, you definitely want to list your other books. Were novices, so working with front matter and back matter is a new experience. Front matter of a book what is included in the front. We are not yet a university and we do not own physical buildings or we would be charging you far more to pay our expenses. How to create, edit, delete and change front matter items. Illustrationsphotos at the back that are magnified versions of whats in the main pages, along with other interesting info type stuff. 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. This is especially important when selfpublishing on a deadline, selfimposed or not.
The front matter is a section in the beginning of a book. This will produce a book of approximately 90110 pages. 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. Professional and technical writingdesignfront matter. Based on extensive research on the features that make childrens books appealing and appropriate. Lately ive come to the conclusion that while front matter in print books has a set protocol and exists for a reason, in ebooks its essentially wasted space when its, you know, in the front. Authors who are not interested in creating open resources sometimes utilize the pressbooks catalog feature to give readers access to samples of their books. Today id like to talk about something that i dont see talked about in too much detail on the web. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and or modify this document under the terms of the gnu free documentation license, version 1. 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.
It often explains the relationship between the writer of the foreword and. Its a smooth way of opening a story without immediately dropping the reader into it. How to use your books back matter to massively boost your. Gnu free documentation license how to think like a computer. But that made me realize i was probably missing a major opportunity to connect with those readers, so i checked my back. Although this sounds a bit like something you would brush off your tie or the seat of your pants, its actually a publishing term that means the stuff that goes at the beginningend of the book. The order of pages shown above is customary but not mandatory. Last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. Other books by if this is not your first book, you definitely want to list your other books. 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 you might ask, does the back of the book even matter. The back matter is where youll find components such as an index, a glossary, an.
Kindle create displays your book in three sections. 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. It includes your bio, long or short, and can include your other books, website or contact information. Back matter in your book celebrating independent authors. The front matter contains the nuts and bolts of the books publicationinformation such as title, author, publisher, isbn, and library of congress data. Sep 15, 2014 books are divided into three partsfront matter, body text with or without illustrations, and back matter. After this comes the body of the book and after that, what is called the back matter. Jun 25, 2015 how to format a book in ms word part iii. Pressbooks is used by independent authors, small and mediumsized publishers, and educational institutions around the world. Please note that your book will always be more pages than your manuscript. Book back matter what to include in the back of your book.
Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book. You can split, merge, or rearrange chapters as needed. Front matter is the stuff in your book from the page after the cover till the page before chapter one. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled gnu free. 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. Remember, when you open a book, the page on the right is the recto page and the page on the left is the verso page. Back matter in picture books marcie flinchum atkins. The front matter includes any material that precedes the text.
For the last few weeks, diggypods blog has been discussing the various elements of a books front matter that is, all the different pieces that fit together and introduce the author, the story, the themes, and its importance. Instead we offer you inexpensive books and extensive free material on four websites. 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 back matter types menu lets you indicate an items type. How to write the front and back matter of your kindle ebook.
Today, in the sincere hope that youre still eager to learn how make your own ebook, make that ebook look professional, and create it with a minimal amount of effort and frustration, ive decided to show you how to format what is called front matter. Pressbooks lets you easily format these and other items as front matter in your book, which will appear prior to the main body. Im the guest authoreducator there today talking about back matter in picture books. Preface to the interactive edition by brad miller and david ranum. This page is found either in the front or back matter of the book. Some common items in back matter include an index, bibliography or appendix. But that made me realize i was probably missing a major opportunity to connect with those readers, so i checked my back copy the material at the end of my book and found it seriously wanting. After the last page of the manuscripts text, pagination continues in numerical sequence into the back matter. 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. It is more often found in the back of a work of fiction or an ebook.
How you should be using back matter in your ebooks adam geen. Your ultimate guide to front matter and back matter. After the last page of the manuscripts text, pagination continues in numerical sequence into the. It is something you do, something you participate in. Jan 10, 2014 last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. Front and back matter goes after the book is fully edited and before you begin formatting the content. Nov 28, 2017 the front matter, and all its components, is a seriously important part of the book. Back matter is the stuff at the end of your book, after the main sections of the book are finished. So that you earn a commission everytime someone makes a purchase via your bibliography link.
Front matter is the material at the front of a book that usually offers information about the book. Back matter pages are numbered continuously with the main text. Back matter items are essentially chapters within a part, with one additional option to customize. Your checklist for the components of a nonfiction book, from the front cover to the back and everything in between. Preface to the interactive edition how to think like a. The front and back matter in a book are one of the key factors to presenting a professional and quality product. Front and back matter in books selfpublishing advice.
Learn more about creating projects and tables of contents. Also, brian flocas locomotive has back matter and endpaper matter. Front matter is the information that appears in the very beginning of a book. How to use your books back matter to massively boost your fanbase, get more shares, and explode your platform. A foreword is an essay, or short piece of writing, written by someone other than the author. The process to create, edit, delete, rename or reorder back matter items is the same way as that for chapters, with one additional option. A glossary sometimes known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis is a collection of terms, typically alphabetized, from the book.
It can also be found in the front or back of the book. Books are divided into three partsfront matter, body text with or without illustrations, and back matter. Front matter is an extremely important element to writing any report whether it is for a specific company research or for other personal reports. Jun 04, 2014 front matter, back matter, and metadata. Well never look at a childrens picture book in the same way again. 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 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. Gnu free documentation license how to think like a.
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. Jan 18, 2018 front matter, the body and back matter. 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. Today, we look at the elements which make up the back matter. Nov 06, 2017 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. Back matter is the final pages of a book, where endnotes, the appendix, the bibliography, the index, and. The errata are sometimes found in the back of the book called the back 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. An unabridged list of the parts of a book by joel friedlander on september 29, 2009 57 comments the history of book printing goes back to the first bibles pulled sheet by sheet off johannes gutenbergs presses in mainz, germany in the late fifteenth century. The front matter might include, in the following order. The task of this back matter is to explain new, uncommon, or specialized terms, providing a clear definition for the readerthink of it like an attached and personalized dictionary. Ill have to dig out some books to give you titles, but things i remember noticing include. Best practice guides for authors ebook written by paul salvette.
Specifics such as the size of the font, font type, formatting, and organization also need to be taken into consideration when creating the front matter of your report. How to choose and use childrens literature to help students grow as readers shelley stagg peterson, larry swartz on. Acknowledgments if not part of preface, or if not at back of bookand note american spelling introduction prologue list of abbreviations, timeline second half title optional text page numbers for the front matter, up to the introduction, are small roman numerals x, xi, xii, etc. Oct 06, 2010 lately ive come to the conclusion that while front matter in print books has a set protocol and exists for a reason, in ebooks its essentially wasted space when its, you know, in the front. How to format front matter how to make an ebook series. Jan 03, 2018 the back matter includes the following. Ive moved shearwater to permafree and got over 5,000 downloads this month. All of these pieces front matter, body text, and back matter fit together perfectly to create a complete book. Make sure the links in your catalogue are affiliate links of your account. 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. Just read laurie halse andersons thank you, sarah today with first graders and they wanted me to read every word of the back matter.
For readers and writers alike, this is where the magic happens but its not just the content thats crucial, but also how you arrange it. Normally the first righthand page of the book, and. It can be as simple as a single title page, or it can include multiple title pages, foreword, a preface, and much more. When you format your book for hard copy printing, you should follow the structure as shown in the diagram below. Most nonfiction books include some back matter, perhaps a glossary, bibliography, or index. Page count for the book includes poems, front and back matter, blank pages, and section dividers. 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. Apr 26, 2019 what exactly is front matter and back matter. So please do take these things as seriously as your story. This is a work file in kcb format you can use to update your book later.
Front matter, body, and back matter 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. Front matter is the first section of a book and is generally the shortest. These sections of back matter are often supplementary in nature, and inform the reader about some aspect of the book. There are many books available if you want to learn to program in python. Its just a simple matter of cut and paste and im done. Its all about the reader skilled workman posted on march 1, 2016 by david bergsland march 1, 2018 today, in this third post on formatting, i want to talk about many things which have been lost in the rush toward ebooks. 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. 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. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read front matter, back matter, and metadata. Because the back matter file has all the books, i do have to go in and delete the current book. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book the.
How to organize your books front matter includes a checklist of front matter items. Pat mcnees the difference between a preface, foreword. Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter. 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. The parts of a book and the elements of content the balance.