Hello, this is ken from bookfuel with a brief explanation of front matter and back matter. Ensure you take the time to explore the different options available for formatting your manuscript because a clean design is a vital part. Follow the instructions below to edit the 5 front matter pages specifically for your book. If these sections are missing, you wont be able to distribute your book through mainstream channels. The first 5 pages of the template are called the front matter, they are publishing standard pages consisting of the half title page, the full title page, and dedication pages. It is a given fact that i cannot number the appendicies i. Back matter in your book celebrating independent authors. Back matter definition is matter following the main text of a book. Front and back matter in books selfpublishing advice. This video explains the types of material included in the front matter, body and end matter of a document. A halftitle page displays only the main title of the book, excluding all other information.
We modify heading 1 so that the font is bigger, centered, has a space after and. This page gives the title, subtitle, author and publisher of the book. 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. The front matter of all books is pretty well prescribed.
Along with the standard paragraph p and book title bk, the most easily recognizable element of a book is the chapter title ct. As i mentioned earlier, the table of contents includes everything that follows it and nothing that precedes it. Front matter and back matter and why they matter setting up. Nov 06, 2017 the back matter files keep everything in one place. Material, such as an index or appendix, that follows the main body of a book. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book the. How you should be using back matter in your ebooks adam geen. As part of the best practice guides for authors from bb ebooks, front matter, back matter, and metadata is a short guide that will help you. You may want to consider including another half title at the very end of the front matter as a way to make a clean and clear break between those sections and the beginning of the body. Guide for department required hardcopies pdf how to. Heading 1 style is normally used for chapter titles.
If you have any material at all after the main part of your book, check this guide from book design made simple to find out the proper order. 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. Thus, in the table of contents you would not mention the title page or the dedication nor the table of contents itself. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book. Scml recognizes front matter, back matter, and main text chapter titles as being on the same structural level. Each has a specific function in the book and in some cases they contain elements that are mandatory in the book trade. 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. I update them as soon as i have the blurb and cover for a new book. 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. Back matter items are essentially chapters within a part, with one additional option to customize. 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. The back matter files keep everything in one place.
It is commonly preceded by a chapter number cn and followed by a chapter subtitle cs. Customising toc appearance of chapter titles in front and. Front matter includes the dedication, epigram, table of contents, foreword, preface, and acknowledgements. 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. 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. How to setup the allimportant front and back matter of.
Titles migrate to the table of contents, get used in page headers for print output, can be used in lists such as a list of figures, and can be used as the. Back matter is the final pages of a book, where endnotes, the appendix, the bibliography, the index, and related elements reside. When it comes time for book design there are 2 parts to consider outside the body of the book. Back matter definition of back matter by merriamwebster. How to title a book in 4 simple steps with free checklist. Back matter definition of back matter by the free dictionary. What page numbering conventions are there for front. 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 of a book what is included in the front. I will usually list my books in the front matter, but in the back. Your book front matter is extremely important and includes your title page.
Last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. 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. When you format your book for hard copy printing, you should follow the structure as shown in the diagram below. Front matter is the information that appears in the very beginning of a book. But what the heck do you put at the back of the book.
If your cover has a typographic design or a simple illustration, this. This page and its verso the back, or lefthand reverse of the page are. What page numbering conventions are there for front matters. The front matter of a book consists of its very first pages. Front matter is information about a book which precedes the main text. Front matter is the stuff in your book from the page after the cover till the page before chapter one. Jan 03, 2018 historically, colophons were always located in the back matter, but, nowadays, theyre can also be featured in the front matter, after the title page.
It matters a lot, but sometimes authors get confused about what goes where, when, and why. One of these components that often causes selfpublished authors pause is the front matter and back matter. Its the 30,000 to 50,000 words you just pumped out. Authors often forget about their book front matter until the last minute. If youve been involved in many online forums, youve probably seen quite a bit of discussion about this.
It can be as simple as a single title page, or it can include multiple title pages. Ensure you have front matter and back matter that is organized properly to give your book a professional look. 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. When a book uses arabic page numbering, the usual habit is to treat the front cover as a page number 1, and start the book itself by page number 3.
Books can be divided into three areas front matter, body content and back matter. In this excerpt from book design made simple, we offer a list of possible book front matter pages and their proper order. Books can be divided into three areas front matter, body content and back. Thats right, before digging into the main course, i enjoy the appetizers or whats known by book production aficionados as front matter. Frontmatter pages are traditionally numbered in lowercase roman. Front matter is the first section of a book and is generally the shortest. Its really not all that complicated, but it is important to get it right if you. I only wish to change font series to medium and shape to italic as shown below. Screenshots adding chapter author and subtitle in the editor chapter author and subtitle in the chapter heading chapter author and subtitle in the table of contents. 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 includes the title pages, the writers name, the edition, the publication date. At the moment im using the standard document class book and. If you are a selfpublishing author who wants to know how to typeset a book, there are plenty of tools and resources available to you. Making your books front mattermatter the writing cooperative.
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. Long titles can work just think of the guernsey literary and potato peel society by mary ann shaffer so long as people can recall just enough of it to find it on amazon. Back matter is the stuff at the end of your book, after the main sections of the book are finished. Nov 07, 2012 every book, your book included, should have front matter, and making front matter look great is easy if you know how. Title page the title page is especially easy because you dont need to give it a different style. This formats your chapter titles and adds them to the kindle toc in the body section. Title page announces the title, subtitle, author and publisher of the book. Front matter and back matter and why they matter an overview of setting up front and back matter in scrivener taken from the premium online course formatting ebooks how to format for. Book back matter includes some or all of these pages. All of the pages in a book that appear before the body copy.
Front matter and back matter and why they matter setting. In such case, should the first page be i 1 or iii 3. A foreword is an essay, or short piece of writing, written by someone other than the author. For the last few weeks, diggypods blog has been discussing the various elements of a book s front matter that is, all the different pieces that fit together and introduce the author, the story, the themes, and its importance. Well also look at elements shared by good book titles. However, sometimes the frontmatter of the book is numbered seperately by roman numbers. Authors use their back matter to offer readers further context or information about the story, though back matter can also be extremely simple. Nov 17, 2019 front matter is the information that appears in the very beginning of a book. May 19, 2014 hello, this is ken from bookfuel with a brief explanation of front matter and back matter.
They are the primary titles for discrete sections within a book. The back matter is where youll find components such as an index. It may also be used to identify book designers, software used, type of printer used, and the kind of ink. These sections of back matter are often supplementary in nature, and inform the reader about some aspect of the book. Nov 28, 2017 november 28, 2017 5 comments what is the front matter of a book. Many writers use ms word for ebook formatting but this shouldnt be your choice by default. Front matter is everything that comes before your content. An introduction to a book, usually written by someone other than the author of the book. Today, we look at the elements which make up the back matter. 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. Vertical spacing between front matter chapter titles probably needs to be reduced as well. Here you will find the title, subtitle, author, and publisher of the book. Additionally, scribes e book processes require a distinction between front matter, body, and back matter chapter titles.
Apr 19, 2017 next, i flip to the books dedication and acknowledgements. Books consist of many components, all of them important when creating a full, complete, and professional work. Books are divided into three partsfront matter, body text with or without. Discover what a books front matter is, what it includes, and how it fits into. Selfpublishing comes with an unlimited amount of freedom. I am wondering just where in the book a person is to put the titles of the others book written by them. 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. However, sometimes the front matter of the book is numbered seperately by roman numbers. The front matter contains the nuts and bolts of the books publicationinformation such as title, author, publisher, isbn, and library of congress data. 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. Its just a simple matter of cut and paste and im done. The back matter also known as the end matter is you guessed it material found at the back of a book. The parts of a book and the elements of content the balance.
Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter of a 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 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. Youll learn the nitty gritty about book back matter in chapter 29, designing your back matter. 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. Historically, colophons were always located in the back matter, but, nowadays, theyre can also be featured in the front matter, after the title page. You may have other pages to include in the front of your book, if so add new pages and create your pages with bookwrights tools. Here are the elements you can find in the front matter of books, and a brief. 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. Kindle create displays your book in three sections. The reason is that the mainmatter numbering is continued from a previous works and will continue in the next works, and the appendicies have to be omitted from this numbering. Today id like to talk about something that i dont see talked about in too much detail on the web.
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. 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. November 28, 2017 5 comments what is the front matter of a book. The electronic scanning lines printed on the back cover or book jacket are encoded with information about the book product, such as the title, publisher, and price. Book front matter what to include in the front of your book. Title pageannounces the title, subtitle, author and publisher of the book. It can be as simple as a single title page, or it can include multiple title pages, foreword, a preface, and much more. This is a work file in kcb format you can use to update your book later.
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. This might be a duplicate, but i am interested in customising the toc appearance of chapter titles for \chapter commands placed in the front and back matter, and. How to organize your books front matter includes a checklist of front matter items. Your body content is the book itself its your introduction, conclusion and everything in between. A quality nonfiction book has three main components. Back matter definition, the parts of a book that appear after the main text, as bibliography, index, and appendixes. How to format front matter how to make an ebook series. Book back matter what to include in the back of your book.
Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter. Aug, 2015 front matter and back matter and why they matter an overview of setting up front and back matter in scrivener taken from the premium online course formatting ebooks how to format for. Jan 10, 2014 last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. All of the above should work for front matter and back matter content as well. Book front matter includes some or all of these pages.
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