Back matter can include an afterword, an appendix, a bibliography, a colophon, a glossary, and an index. Well never look at a childrens picture book in the same way again. The following table defines some common types of front matter. All printed material that appears in the back of the book after the body copy. But theyre also on the verge of putting your writing down.
Selfpublishing comes with an unlimited amount of freedom. Back matter is the content that comes at the end of your book, and it is the perfect space to market your other books to readers, especially if you selfpublish your books. 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. I have worked for and still do publishers such as pearson education, harpercollins, macmillan education, education first and cengage learning, and i am well aware of what the front and back matter should be in various types of books. These sections of back matter are often supplementary in nature, and inform the reader about some aspect of the book. Theres no specific instruction for paginating your back matter, page numbering should. To further simplify things, matter has been broken down into three basic types, or states of matter. Back matter is the content that comes at the end of your book, and it is the perfect space to. How to handle picture book back matter during submission. 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. If you need answers to demystify the front matter of your book, read on. But i do believe, as an indie author, we have the freedom to not make things complicated. You can also add other front matter as well as back matter pages, but these arent required. Today id like to talk about something that i dont see talked about in too much detail on the web.
As an independent author or small press, you never want to pass up the opportunity to advertise yourself. Whats the difference between a preface and an introduction. Last week here, i presented the parts of a book which appear in the front of the book. Paperbacks are perfect bound and come in many sizes and configurations. After the last page of the manuscripts text, pagination continues in numerical sequence into the back matter. The front matter includes any material that precedes the text. 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. Anyone who has read that far is clearly interested in what you have to say. Editors may decide that the book warrants extending to 48 pages or less commonly, 36 or 42, but they arent likely to do that unless the body of the book itself needs. If so, you might be interested in a list of book types or genres.
What are the different types of books and their benefits. Your advice in general is correct for other types of books. A list of books or articles cited as resources by the author. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. Types of books are defined by the format, method of manufacture, or appearance of the books. Nonfiction biographies are examples of nonfiction works. Here youll find current best sellers in books, new releases in books, deals in books, kindle ebooks, audible audiobooks, and so much more. Most nonfiction books include some back matter, perhaps a glossary, bibliography, or index. Back matter definition of back matter by the free dictionary. Your body content is the book itself its your introduction, conclusion and everything in between. The reason is that the mainmatter numbering is continued from a previous works and will continue in the next works, and. 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. However, we have a recipe book and educational info in our preface and intro.
To get ideas, look at books with content similar to yours. Books are divided into three partsfront matter, body text with or without illustrations, and back matter. And for those who do read it, the front matter forms their first impression. Foreword by another person editors preface authors preface 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. Are you making the most of your digital shelf space. When a book is filled with facts or topics a reader might want to find quickly, an index is the fastest way to find them. 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. Matter was a big let down for me, because it had pretty interesting ideas like shell word and nest world but banks spends so much time exploring those ideas, and giving you info dumps regarding those ideas that the story of the book takes a back seat in the whole book. 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. Types of books for children and teens formats explained.
A foreword is an essay, or short piece of writing, written by someone other than the author. The back matter of your books is a powerful marketing tool. Now, if you take all the stuff in the world, you know that there are many different types. Pat mcnees the difference between a preface, foreword. Were novices, so working with front matter and back matter is a new experience. How to organize your books front matter includes a checklist of front matter items. What you include in the back matter of your book depends largely on. How to create, edit, delete and change back matter items. Books can be divided into three areas front matter, body content and back matter. The errata are sometimes found in the back of the book called the back matter. Publishers are not consistent about how they number the pages of their books. It often explains the relationship between the writer of the foreword and either the author or the story.
Page numbering is the process of applying a sequence of numbers or letters, or roman numerals. How you should be using back matter in your ebooks adam geen. It can also be found in the front or back of the book. At the end of the document but before the end reference list there may be several items included. Ive moved shearwater to permafree and got over 5,000 downloads this month.
Clipboard icon designed by pham thi dieu linh from the noun project. Simply stated, matter can be thought of as stuff and energy is the stuff that moves stuff. They open a whole new world of imagination, letting the reader travel to a distant land or accomplish otherworldly feats without leaving the comfort of their home. To get the page count of a picturebook you count each page back and front starting with the page after the front endpapers this is usually. It is a given fact that i cannot number the appendicies i.
Pressbooks lets you specify 24 types of back matter, including miscellaneous. Let me give you some information on the topic so that you can move more confidently forward with your picture book submissions. It includes your bio, long or short, and can include your other books, website or contact information. 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. Idea icon designed by christopher holmhansen from the noun project.
Thats the standard picture book page count because its the most cost efficient in terms of printingandbinding. The conscious kid library curated this list of 25 childrens books celebrating black boys, in partnership with moms of black boys united. After the epilogue or afterword or postscript, the order and kind of elements included in the back matter is dependent upon the particular book. This is part of a series on back matter presented by bb ebooks. Are you thinking about branching out and enjoying a new genre. Im the guest authoreducator there today talking about back matter in picture books. 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. Yes, the back matter should fit within that 32 pages. How is the submission process for nonfiction picture books different from fiction.
The order of pages shown above is customary but not mandatory. They stimulate the mind, increase knowledge, expand the vocabulary and also teach. This is a category for different types of books, as distinct and separate from the category. These books center, reflect, and affirm black boys, and were written and illustrated by black authors and artists. Back matter in picture books marcie flinchum atkins. Different types of books all books are either nonfiction or fiction.
The school for champions helps you become the type of person who can be called a champion. Whats it matter the front and back matter of a book. List of book types or genres by yourdictionary do you have a favorite type of book, either fiction or nonfiction. Front matter of a book what is included in the front. Some common items in back matter include an index, bibliography or appendix. Front and back matter in books selfpublishing advice.
Not all books will include each of these back matter elements, and since you are selfpublishing, you get to decide what you want to include. Stores decide what books to put at the front on the basis of a handful of factors. 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 book the sections that appear after the central story has been completed. Today, we look at the elements which make up the back matter. Listed below is the typical order of the back matter in a book.
Nonfiction books contain biographies and history books etc. If there is no dust jacket intended for the print edition on which the authors bio typically appears, it may be included in the back matter. Film icon designed by joe mortell from the noun project. Genre refers to the content of the writing in the book. How to use your books back matter to massively boost your. Book icon designed by alessandro suraci from the noun project. Light bulb icon designed by phil goodwin from the noun project. Download chapters 1 through 9 of the book by subscribing to our blogsimply fill in the form below, and click the join us. Book back matter what to include in the back of your book. Learn how you can add front and back matter with just a few clicks using kindle create.
An epilogue is a type of back matter that comes immediately after the main text, and. Back matter pages are numbered continuously with the main text. You can create your indexes in microsoft word or hire an indexer to do it for you. Historically, colophons were always located in the back matter, but, nowadays, theyre can also be featured in the front matter, after the title page. There are two types of indexes subject matter and detailed. Theres no point worrying about the nittygritty stuff unless the editor falls in love with what ive written. It may also be used to identify book designers, software used, type of printer used, and the kind of ink.
The books homepage helps you explore earths biggest bookstore without ever leaving the comfort of your couch. The process to create, edit, delete, rename or reorder back matter items is the same way as that for chapters, with one additional option. Its the 30,000 to 50,000 words you just pumped out. Gain comprehension of how more complicated back matter like an index and notes section can function in an ebook utilize vendorspecific buy links to boost your sales and author brand pick up a copy of front matter, back matter, and metadata and improve your publishing level of knowledge to give you a professional edge. In books, some pages, known as blind folios, of the front matter and back matter are numbered, but the numbers are not always printed on the pages. The back matter types menu lets you indicate an items type. Some authors include a list of their previously published books. After this comes the body of the book and after that, what is called the back matter. Back matter items are essentially chapters within a part, with one additional option to customize. Your ebook should include a title page with your book title and author name. Do you need to submit your sources along with the manuscript andor fully completed back matter.
This page is found either in the front or back matter of the book. Good morning, midnight by jean rhys, queenie by candice cartywilliams, darling by rachel edwards, freshwater by akwa. A formal postscript, in a books back matter, is usually called an afterword. The amount of praise is going to differ depending on the trim size of your book, and the type and size of the font used. Fiction books contain a story which was made by the author. You have plain jane cover, embossed covers, embossed covers with metallic coloring, title smaller than name of author, mostly known authors or title larger with name of auth. The back matter is where youll find components such as an index, a glossary, an. The premier online bookstore for bestselling and classic african american books. 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.