When it comes time for book design there are 2 parts to consider outside the body of the book. Browse other questions tagged book design front matter or ask your own question. 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. 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. Back matter definition, the parts of a book that appear after the main text, as bibliography, index, and appendixes. 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. Front matter definition and meaning collins english. The title page is especially easy because you dont need to give it a different style.
Material, such as an index or appendix, that follows the main body of a book. In this article, we define front matter and give examples of what can be. Back matter definition is matter following the main text of a book. 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. Apr 19, 2017 next, i flip to the books dedication and acknowledgements. Last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. Nov 07, 2012 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. How you should be using back matter in your ebooks adam geen. This means if your chapter ends on an oddnumbered page, you will have.
Your book back matter might be the most valuable section of the book. And the part of a book that most confuses new independent authors, in my experience, is the front matter. 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. Front matter definition, all material in a book that precedes the text proper, as the title page, page, table of contents, dedication, and preface. 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. However, sometimes the front matter of the book is numbered seperately by roman numbers. There are so many different components of the front matter, and many of them are so similar see. Nov 17, 2019 front matter is the information that appears in the very beginning of a book. An introduction to a book, usually written by someone other than the author of the book. Solutions are practical, his best practice guidelines sensible and their rationales well explained. Sep 15, 2014 books are divided into three partsfront matter, body text with or without illustrations, and back matter. An acknowledgement page is usually a one to two page section in the front matter of a book though sometimes its located in the back of the. The selfpublished author doesnt need to include any of these.
After the last page of the manuscripts text, pagination continues in numerical sequence into the back matter. The front matter pages are numbered in lowercase roman numerals. Hello, this is ken from bookfuel with a brief explanation of front matter and back matter. This excerpt from book design made simple offers insights into the best way to present this material. Whether youre composing your own book or editing someone elses document. How to format front matter how to make an ebook series. 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. Selfpublishing comes with an unlimited amount of freedom. Books are divided into three parts front matter, body text with or without illustrations, and back matter. Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter of a book. This extra material is called the front or back matter depending on whether it comes before or after the text. 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.
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. Whether youre composing your own book or editing someone elses document, this will be helpful information to know. Front matter is the information that appears in the very beginning of a book. The front and back matter in a book are one of the key factors to presenting a professional and quality product. Books can be divided into three areas front matter, body. 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. When you format your book for hard copy printing, you should follow the structure as shown in the diagram below. Today, we look at the elements which make up the back matter.
Your ultimate guide to front matter and back matter. Nov 28, 2017 why the front matter of a book matters. Front matter definition is matter preceding the main text of a book. Make it shine by arranging it in the proper order and designing it for great readability. Back matter is the final pages of a book, where endnotes, the appendix, the bibliography, the index, and related elements reside.
In this excerpt from book design made simple, we offer a list of possible book front matter pages and their proper order. Parts of your selfpublished book including all of the necessary parts of a book and putting them in the right order is the first step to making your book credible and professional. Back matter definition and meaning collins english dictionary. 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. 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.
Front book vs back book prices is a very simple concept, but one that leads to lots of complexity. Essentially, front book prices are the prices of services available to new customers, and back book prices are all the prices that were previously available to customers, stretching back over time. After all, there are lots of things in books that youll never see in a manuscript. An acknowledgement page is usually a one to two page section in the front matter of a book though sometimes its located in the back of the book, and its focus is thanking and bringing attention to instrumental persons who helped the book become realized, written, and published. The front matter pages usually arent visibly numbered. Professional and technical writingdesignfront matter. When youve never written a book before, its hard to know whats essential, what can be cut, and where everything fits. 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. Back matter definition of back matter by merriamwebster. What page numbering conventions are there for front. The good thing is that front matter and back matter are fairly formulaic there are a standard set of elements to include and a typical running order for them, and all of them are included in this article. The back matter is where youll find components such as an index, a glossary, an. 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.
Front matter definition and meaning collins english dictionary. 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. Back matter is reserved for things like an index, a glossary, notes and other material that doesnt belong in the body of the book itself, but which youd want to include for the convenience of readers or to make the book complete. The front matter contains the nuts and bolts of the books publicationinformation such as title, author, publisher, isbn, and library of congress data. Next, i flip to the book s dedication and acknowledgements. 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. Front matter is information about a book which precedes the main text. Front matter of a book what is included in the front. Appendices are additional pieces of content that dont fit in the body of your book, but that supplement that content and provide more value to your readers.
Front and back matter in books selfpublishing advice. Things like running heads, page numbers, halftitle pages, indexes stuff like that. Back matter definition of back matter by the free dictionary. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book the. Ensure you have front matter and back matter that is organized properly to give your book a professional look. Page numbers for the front matter, up to the introduction, are small roman numerals x, xi, xii, etc. Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter.
Information and translations of back matter in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Glossary definitions of words or other elements that appear in the text. The conventions of the book are explained in the front matter. Go to the table of contents in the dictionary by clicking on contents in. Jan 03, 2018 all of these pieces front matter, body text, and back matter fit together perfectly to create a complete book. However, these sections can add a lot of depth and additional information to the book. Book back matter what to include in the back 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. Front matter definition of front matter by the free dictionary. The errata are sometimes found in the back of the book called the back matter. What page numbering conventions are there for front matters. It can be as simple as a single title page, or it can include multiple title pages, foreword, a preface, and much more. This means that all you need to do is read this post and check the elements against your own book. So please do take these things as seriously as your story. May 19, 2014 hello, this is ken from bookfuel with a brief explanation of front matter and back matter. These sections of back matter are often supplementary in nature, and inform the reader about some aspect of the book. Making your books front mattermatter the writing cooperative. Book front matter includes some or all of these pages.
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. Every book, your book included, should have front matter, and making front matter look great is easy if you know how. Front matter is one of the last sections of a book manuscript for an. Front matter and back matter and why they matter setting.
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. Front matter occurring prior to the core content of the book front matter is the first part of a book and is the part of a book that outlines the technical details. In traditional publishing, page numbers for the front matter appear in roman numerals. Page numbers can in a header at the top of the page, or at the bottom, as they are in this book. Front matter definition of front matter by the free. What youve been working on, the manuscript youve sweated. The back matter also known as the end matter is you guessed it material found at the back of a book. Front matter dictionary definition front matter defined. 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. Back matter also known as end matter might include. Order of the pages in the front matter of a book tex. Some include the introduction in that numbering system, if it is prefatory in nature about the writing of the book. How to create, edit, delete and change front matter items.
Front matter includes the dedication, epigram, table of contents, foreword, preface, and acknowledgements. Back matter definition and meaning collins english. 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 extra material is called the front or back matter depending on. 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 inside of your book, which we call the book block, is divided into three main sections.
If it is more like part of the text essentially chapter 1, start the regular page numbering with the introduction. If done haphazardly, its a sure sign in most peoples eyes that the book content will not be up to par. Pressbooks lets you easily format these and other items as front matter in your book, which will appear prior to the main body. All of the pages in a book that appear before the body copy. Thats right, before digging into the main course, i enjoy the appetizers or whats known by book production aficionados as front 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. Pat mcnees the difference between a preface, foreword. Jun 25, 2015 how to format a book in ms word part iii.
Front matter is information that is presented before the body of the document. The actual first page of your book after the front matter should always start on a righthand page and will be page 1. 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. This means engineering your book so that its a marketing tool itself. In such case, should the first page be i 1 or iii 3. 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. Front matter is the first section of a book and is generally the shortest. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book. 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. Incidentally, recto means front side and verso means back side of a piece of paper in a bound book. Front matter is the information that is presented before the body of the document. Front matter includes the title pages, the writers name, the edition, the publication date. Front matter definition of front matter by merriamwebster.