Averages, birds at night, my five senses, the story of william penn, and this is the house where jack lives. Front matter is the stuff in your book from the page after the cover till the page before chapter one. Making your books front mattermatter the writing cooperative. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. It can be as simple as a single title page, or it can include multiple title pages, foreword, a preface, and much more. The front matter pages are numbered in lowercase roman numerals. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. Erin hunter is the author of the acclaimed best selling junior fantasy books for young adults called the warriors series. Front matter is the material at the front of a book that usually offers information about the book. Thus, in the table of contents you would not mention the title page or the dedication nor the table of contents itself. The usual order of book front matter elements as we mentioned, theres a well established order for the types of pages that appear at the very beginning of books, but its somewhat flexible. Limit order books assets cambridge university press. Some publishers like to put the contents before the preface and some like it after.
It collects the text of masons siege newsletter 19801986 and other propaganda, arranging it according to topic. In this excerpt from book design made simple, we offer a list of possible book front matter pages and their proper order. Epigraphan author may wish to include an epigrapha quotationnear the front of the book. What is the preferred order to read the dan brown books. In such case, should the first page be i 1 or iii 3. Discover what a books front matter is, what it includes, and how it fits into your.
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 prelims required for selfpublished books are exactly the same as those required for traditionally published books. A comprehensive comparison of lexemes in the major languages of tanna, vanuatu. Each sheet holds 12, 16, or 24 actual pages, which means the book has to contain a multiple of 12, 16, or 24 pages. Keep in mind that there is no book that has all of these parts. If you want to follow what is aired on netflix, the two short story collections, last wish and sword of destiny, should be enough to check out for the first season. This article is for versions of word that use the ribbon, that is, word 2007 and above, including word in office 365. One thing you shouldnt put at the front of your ebook 04242014 05. The books homepage helps you explore earths biggest bookstore without ever leaving the comfort of your couch. For this exercise, you will need to refer to the dictionary that i edited recently for sil. The back cover often contains biographical matter about the author or. When you open a book, youll find that there are a whole series of pages before the book proper begins. So please do take these things as seriously as your story. Book front matter includes some or all of these pages.
The interior of your book is basically made up of three parts. Narnia reading order is the lion, the witch and the wardrobe or the magicians nephew the first book in the chronicles of narnia by c. If you still want to include a halftitle page, dont put it after the title page. Front matter is the information that appears in the very beginning of a book. One thing you shouldnt put at the front of your ebook. If youve used roman numerals to paginate your front matter, you have no problem, since the page numbers in the body of the book wont change.
Beware the ebook front matter trap the great thing about selfpublishing is that there is no one telling you what you have to do with your book. There are over 80 books featuring the tales and adventures of a group of warrior cats. But if you started your page numbering at the title page with page 1, all the page numbers in the book will change once you drop in that wonderful new preface. Limit order books a limit order book is essentially a. Book front matter what to include in the front of your book. Siege is a book collecting the articles of american neonazi james mason, former leader of the national socialist liberation front and universal order. The book s half title page comes before the full title page in a book. In others, they may simply read chapter one, chapter two, and so on. The particular parts and their order is more fluid in the back matter compared to front. Acknowledgements if author wants them in the back matter. The front matter contains the nuts and bolts of the book s publicationinformation such as title, author, publisher, isbn, and library of congress data. Front matter of a book what is included in the front matter of a book.
Now, lets get to the parts of your book and in what order they should appear. 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. What page numbering conventions are there for front. If done haphazardly, its a sure sign in most peoples eyes that the book content will not be up to par. Front matter is the information that is presented before the body of the document. The epilogue is a section that comes after the story, but is still, technically.
Frontmatter pages are traditionally numbered in lowercase roman numerals i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc. It matters a lot, but sometimes authors get confused about what goes where, when, and why. Books are divided into three partsfront matter, body text with or without. Here you will find the title, subtitle, author, and publisher of the book. What page numbering conventions are there for front matters prelims of books. The heading on this page should read contents, not table of contents. Encoded archival description ead is an xml standard for encoding archival finding aids, maintained by the technical subcommittee for encoded archival standards of the society of american archivists, in partnership with the library of congress. 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. Here youll find current best sellers in books, new releases in books, deals in books, kindle ebooks, audible audiobooks, and so much more. For example, a table of contents is a list of the contents in a book, and the half title page. The majority of organized electronic markets rely on limit order books to store. The front and back matter in a book are one of the key factors to presenting a professional and quality product. Books are divided into three partsfront matter, body text with or without illustrations, and back matter. Recommended order of front matter there is a significant amount of material that can go in the front matter, and it is best left to the author to determine how much or how little is needed.
You can write in whatever genre you like, include whatever type of character you want, and write in any style you prefer. Halftitle pages displaying nothing but the main title of a book were introduced to protect the main title page, as peter wilson correctly states. If you need answers to demystify the front matter of your book, read on. Pick up some books and you will see that the order of these varies. Authors often forget about their book front matter until the last minute. The parts of a book for self published authors bookstand.
Years ago, i read front matter because i was fascinated by who and what inspires other writers. The aliki papers 19621975 consist of a book, color separations, dummies, illustrations, and text layouts for five of the childrens books she illustrated. Back matter is the stuff at the end of your book, after the main sections of the book are finished. The list above will help you to read the witcher books in chronological order, as they are a bit different from its publication order. 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. The frontmatter, the body of the book, and the backmatter. Some may not include the acknowledgements in their front matter but decide to put it at the end of the book. How to format front matter how to make an ebook series. Back matter is the final pages of a book, where endnotes, the appendix, the bibliography, the index, and.
Front matter is the first section of a book and is generally the shortest. The front matter of a book consists of its very first pages. Front matter of a book what is included in the front. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book. 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. Front and back matter in books selfpublishing advice. How to set up a document with front matter numbered separately in word 2007 and above. Book front matter elements book design made simple. There may also be a preface by the author, or a foreword by someone familiar with their work. And for those who do read it, the front matter forms their first. Avoid a lastminute panic by using this list and planning ways to enhance the value and professional presentation of your book. Also list the acknowledgments, foreword, and preface if they appear. Beware the ebook front matter trap polgarus studio.
Order of the pages in the front matter of a book tex. The front of the book requires first a title page, and page second, and in that order. However, sometimes the front matter of the book is numbered seperately by roman numbers. Its really not all that complicated, but it is important to get it right if you want to end up with a top quality, professionallooking book. Those standard elements found in most books should be in the following order. Ensure you have front matter and back matter that is organized properly to give your book a professional look understand what metadata can be embedded within an ebook and how it relates to discoverability gain comprehension of how more complicated back matter like an index and notes section can function in an ebook. Usually the book design does not work out to perfectly fill the number of pages needed, so extra blanks are placed just after the front cover and just before the back cover. 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. Understanding the basic sections of a book greenleaf book group. These preliminary pages are called prelims, or front matter. The front matter pages usually arent visibly numbered.