Front Matter to Back Cover: Parts of A Book Essentials
Have you ever dreamed of finally typing “The End” on the last page of your manuscript?
Dreaming of what the book will look like after all the edits and feedback? And once it’s ready, you dream of who you’d dedicate the book to and the long acknowledgment you’d write thanking everyone who made it possible for you to achieve a published book.
Many writers daydream about this. But no one’s dreaming of putting together a copyright page, half-title page, or a book blurb. No one wants to dream of that stuff.
And you shouldn’t have to. But at some point when things start getting real – like book publishing real – you’re going to have to get these aspects right. You want a professional-looking book, don’t you?
Luckily, everything you need to know about the different parts of a book can be found right here.
Content of a Book
Before we get into the complicated book blocks, gutters, and endsheets of it all we’re going into the basics.
The basics being the front matter, body, and back matter of a book. Here’s a simple overview:
Front Matter | Body of a Book | Back Matter |
---|---|---|
Book Cover | Prologue | Acknowledgments |
Accolades | Chapters | About the author |
Half-title page | Epilogue | Discussion questions |
Copyright page | Conclusion | Copywrite permissions |
Title page | Afterword | Resources |
Frontispiece | Postscript | Appendix or addendum |
Also by the author | Chronology or timeline | |
Dedication | Endnotes | |
Table of contents | Glossary | |
Epigraph | Index | |
Preface or Introduction | Bibliography or reference list | |
Foreword | Bonus Material | |
Back cover blurb or synopsis |
Note: Everything listed doesn’t need to be included in your book. It depends on the type of book you’ve written.
Front Matter Parts of a Book
Everything before chapter 1 or the prologue is considered front matter. Most readers skip over the majority of these pages, but they contain important legal details pertinent to the book’s publishing, so be sure to do it right.
Book Cover
The book cover, AKA your book’s first impression, is what a reader notices first. This simple aspect wields a lot of power in your book sales. It’s not just a lovely art for your book, it’s also a marketing tool.
A poorly made one will never attract any attention, and a well-designed one may get you a reader for life.
Make sure the cover design aptly represents your book’s themes, genre, and atmosphere. If it doesn’t do these things, it won’t attract the right audience. When Amazon book reviews say that the book was unexpected, you want it to be in a good way, not the “I didn’t sign up for this type of book” way.
Example: The Outsider by Stephen King
You know more or less what you’re getting out of a Stephen King novel. Thrills, scares, or creeps. But which one you’re in the mood for depends on you – and the book cover.
This book has the atmosphere of a mystery thriller but the cover leads you to presume that something supernatural – or rather super-creepy – is at play.
Accolades
This is an optional page, but if you choose to add it to a part of your book it is the first page after the book cover.
The accolades page is filled with stellar book reviews by professional book reviewers or other authors. It’s a great way to sell the quality of your work.
Example: Red Queen By Victoria Aveyard
This Accolades page has a good mixture of quotes from different people that sci-fi and fantasy lovers may have heard of.
And these reviews aren’t fluff either, they discuss what was good about it and compare it to books that spearhead the genre. If a reader loved those books, or the themes mentioned, they’ll be sold pretty quickly.
Top Tip #1: If you want an Accolades page to be part of your book, then you’ll need to send ARCs of your book before it launches in order to include the reviews as part of the published book.
Half-title page
This is the title of your book in a simple font without the fancy decorations of the book cover.
The initial reason for this page was to accommodate the readers who would buy books without their covers and use their own covers. The half-title page (or bastard title page) was meant to protect the rest of the pages that came after.
Nowadays, since that’s no longer done, the half-title page is the home of an author’s signature for book signing events.
This page is usually on the right-hand side and excludes a page number.
Top Tip #2: You may include another half-title page before the body of your book if your front matter is particularly lengthy. It’s meant to indicate where the actual story begins after the front matter.
Example: The Reckoning by Kelley Armstong
This is a great way to do a half-title page – it’s simple, states important information and does it with a bit of style. A neat illustration of a jewel ties to the book cover but fits without overbearing the page.
Copyright page
The Copyright page in a book, also known as the Colophon, contains all the essential technical details for any published book.
A quick note on copyrights: Once you start writing your book, it is copyrighted. But to prove it’s yours is difficult. If you want your book to be legally yours, you’ll need a copyright.
The details may include:
- Copyright notice and year
- Rights reserved notice
- Date of publication
- Edition number and dates
- ISBN
- Library of Congress catalog identification (if you want your book to be in libraries)
- Credits for the book design, illustration, and photography
- Publisher’s information (if you’ve self-published then the details will be yours or your self-owned publishing company)
- Credits to editors, photographers, and illustrators (this can also be included in your acknowledgments page).
- Printer’s information
- The typeface, font, and paper used
- Disclaimers for content (to avoid lawsuits if your work resembles real people or events in case of fiction and non-fiction like memoirs)
- Your author website
This page is found on the other side of the Title page (see the next section).
Example: Animal Farm by George Orwell
You can find a lot of the details we listed above on Animal Farm’s copyright page. This example might be handy for authors looking to publish different editions down the line.
Title page
The title page, or recto, looks like your book cover without the color. It can include a decorative design or be plain. It depends on you and the publisher.
It can include the title, author’s name, subtitle, endorsement, and other crucial details for readers to see clearly. This page is usually on the right-hand side and excludes a page number.
Example: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Since Hunger Games is a modern classic, we have a special half-title page that mimics the front cover for this edition. You could go extravagant like this if you have the budget or remove all the embellishments and settle for a plain author name and title.
Frontispiece
The frontispiece is an illustration or photograph and may have a caption. It’s decorative, or informative, or both. It appears in older books mostly since modern book covers are quite fancy.
But when they appear it’s on the left-hand side, opposite the title page.
Example: The Life of Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
The illustration for this example uses shading and engravings to depict the characters in the book. Since this book came out in the 1700s, there were no other illustrations besides this frontispiece.
It sets the atmosphere and scene for the readers before they start reading. Nowadays, you can use the book cover to achieve this, plus more illustrations throughout the book if you need them!
Also by the author
This page is usually in place of the frontispiece opposite the title page. It contains the other work by the author, including series and standalones, listed in order of publication.
Showing your readers they have a lot to look forward to if they love your work will only excite fans to-be. It’s also a great idea to add since they may notice a book they’ve read and be more likely to read this one!
Top Tip #3: You can also include your social media links, author website, and any other works you’ve done that relate to your brand.
Example: Between The Lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer
Although Picoult wrote this with her daughter, it’s her books listed in this part of the book. But that’s because her daughter hadn’t written anything else – she was just a teen! They’ve opted to include a list of Jodi Picoult’s hits list for anyone interested in her other work.
Dedication
Publishing a book is a magnificent achievement, and you’ll want to add a note to make it personal. There’s always someone or people you have in mind when you’re publishing your book, usually friends and family.
It can be a sweet one-liner or a couple of lines of dedication that fit on the right-hand side page after the title page.
Example: How to Be A Bawse by Lilly Singh
Lilly Singh has done many colorful, wonderful things with her time in the public’s eye, and a book was one of them. Keeping in theme for her vibrant book, her dedication page follows suit.
Although she’s thanked many people throughout the years for her success, she’s taken the time to give herself recognition in this part of the book. It sets the tone for the book too.
Table of contents
The table of contents can be found on the right-hand page and helps readers navigate your book.
It can be found in non-fiction, poetry, anthologies, and in all eBooks. In eBooks, it usually links to somewhere in the book, so readers can tap a chapter and zip to that page.
It’s not common for physical fiction books but could be used in cases where you use unique titles for chapters. But make sure not to spoil the story before it even begins!
Example: The Illustrated A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Hawking has a centered table of contents since it’s the illustrated version of his book and the pages are big – hardcover big. But it works in this case, making it easy to navigate to the sections as you’d like.
Epigraph
An epigraph is a quote or excerpt that hints at what the book is about and the themes of it. You can take it from another book, song, poem, or anywhere really – so long as it relates to your work.
It can be found right before the first chapter.
Top Tip #4: You can also use epigraphs at the top of chapters to hint at the vibe and focus of that chapter and possible teachings from it.
Example: And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Khaled Hosseini writes emotional stories that move readers. This epigraph does a great job of setting the readers up for that journey.
Preface or Introduction
An introduction explains why you wrote the book or gives some context to a new edition. A preface is a very personal message to the reader that aims to pull them in, connect with them, and build your reputation or credibility.
Example: Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes
Instead of naming this part of the book ‘Preface’ Shonda takes a more personal route to reel the reader in. Just a simple Hello as the heading with a disclaimer of sorts – as she calls it.
After all, if you’re introducing yourself, you’d start with a greeting right? At the end of the book, however, you can find an introduction that caps off her book’s message.
Foreword
Another way of introducing your work is by having a friend, family member or authoritative figure give context to the book.
It can serve as an endorsement if you get someone in your field or genre. It’ll surely grab your reader’s attention.
Example: The Art of War by Sun Tzu
The Art of War was published in 5th century BC. So, only a little while ago really.
The Foreword contextualizes the work more than endorses it (it’s a popular book, word of mouth would be endorsement enough) since many still might not be aware of how long ago this was written and the background of it.
The modern author could use a Foreword as both context and endorsement, depending on who you got to write it.
The Body of A Book
You’ll likely be more familiar with these parts of a book because it’s mostly your manuscript! But you may be wondering about the reasoning for the layout of this section. So, let’s get into it.
Prologue
In fiction, this section is used to provide extra context for the book’s setting, events, characters, and plot.
The prologue is like a launch pad for the story. It’s meant to intrigue the reader since it connects to the main story but it’s not obvious why yet.
It can:
- Foreshadow what’s to come.
- Give a backstory to the main conflict.
- Provide another POV that gives background to the main story.
- Set the tone.
In non-fiction, this is called the Introduction, and it steeps the reader into the subject matter of the book to familiarize them with the content. You can go into detail about your research or go into themes and what each chapter aims to provide in benefits for the reader.
Use the Introduction to show what pain points you’ll cover and how you plan to solve them. This is useful for readers looking for specific sections.
Example: Switched by Amanda Hocking
In this example, the prologue is meant to give the reader context to the main conflict of the story, as well as the main character’s inner conflict throughout the book. It indicates where the reader first lands in the story well enough to guide them through the rest of the narrative.
Chapters
Writers use chapters to divide their stories into understandable pieces using headings. Let’s be honest, a story that was just never-ending text without breaks would make for awful pacing and downright confusing after a few pages.
You can use simple page breaks to separate the content instead. But be careful with this as it can be mind-boggling for the reader if not done carefully.
Chapters, in fiction, give the reader a sense of the plot, locations, and themes. Meanwhile, in nonfiction, the content can be split up into different areas of knowledge. It can break the book up into different topics to help the reader navigate discussions and pain points.
The first chapter in a book usually starts on the right-hand side page. If you’re wondering how to format your book and its chapters, check out our blog: How to Format Your Book To Perfection: Easy Guide
Top Tip #5: You can further separate your story into parts, or acts. The first 30% of your story can be Act 1 or Part 1, for example.
Example: One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
The cards atop each chapter in One Dark Window are simple yet so engaging, and just fun to look at. Of course, you could just have the heading at the top of each chapter, but if you have a unique idea (and the budget) you could add something extra for your readers to enjoy.
We also really love the 3 parts in One Dark Window with the borders similar to the book covers. It does a great job of sectioning the plot while looking stylish.
Epilogue
The epilogue is a short chapter that takes place in the future and wraps up loose ends from the main story. It gives the reader some closure after the book’s events.
It can:
- Show the characters’ fates after the main quest.
- Keep the door open for a sequel.
- Reiterate the story’s themes and core message.
Example: The Fire Thief by Terry Deary
The epilogue in The Fire Thief continues the quirky narration from the previous chapters and ties everything up while leaving some questions for a sequel to build on.
Conclusion
A conclusion is a summary of the book’s main concepts and the key takeaways. This is nonfiction’s version of an epilogue – but many authors opt to add their final thoughts to the last chapter, ditching the conclusion altogether.
Example: How To Be A Bawse by Lilly Singh
In the dedication example, Lilly showed herself appreciation, and now in the conclusion she shows the reader the same.
Her conclusion feels less like a recap and more like a send-off. She uses this part of the book to give her readers one last push, say her goodbyes, and leave you with a warm feeling before closing the book.
Afterword
This part of a book is more common in nonfiction but can occur in fiction. An Afterword contains the final words of a book told from a different period of time. It’s from the perspective of a family member or friend, or another author.
This is most popular when there are new editions of a book many years later.
Example: The Shack by William P. Young
The author talks to the reader in this example, sharing his perspectives on what happened in the story as well as some information about the people from the book. It feels very personal and it does a good job of leaving readers feeling inspired.
Postscript
Do you know those lines at the beginning of the credits when a movie is based on a true story? It’s a few lines stating the fate of the characters.
In a book that’s called Postscript. It’s a final statement or comment that adds a few points for the reader to ponder on or give them closure.
Example: Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
Giver of Stars is a historical fiction based on a true story, so adding a postscript adds value for the reader by showing real-life facts they can think on.
Back Matter Parts of A Book
Also known as end matter, the back matter has additional information on upcoming books, your author bio, and other extras of interest for readers.
Acknowledgments
The acknowledgments page is the place to thank everyone who contributed to this book like your friends, family, editors, literary agents, illustrators, book cover designers, mentors, inspiring works, etc.
Anyone on your professional or personal team can have a place on this page, even the readers! Beta readers and alpha readers will be over the moon if you mention them here!
Example: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
This part of the book in Tuesdays with Morrie is short and super sweet. Usually, a reader wouldn’t read the acknowledgments with the same interest as the rest of the book, but this is different.
What makes it special is some of the people from the book get thanked, making the reader more invested.
That doesn’t mean you have to relate everything in your acknowledgments for your reader to understand completely. Just make sure it’s sincere.
About the author
Also known as an author bio, it briefly tells the reader about the author’s credentials, their writing journey, and previous works – and can be found on the right-hand side page.
In some cases, this can be found in the front matter or printed on the backside of the book cover. Or perhaps on the flap of a hardcover’s dust jacket.
Use this section to relate to your book and share what supports it, for example:
- Professional background: It shows your credentials in your field.
- Author facts: Adding a cool fact can engage the reader and show the author’s personality.
- Builds trust: When readers have some insight into who you are, they’re more likely to trust your expertise.
- Promotion: It can serve as another way to promote what else you’re up to, including new series, podcasts, etc.
Example: After You by Jojo Moyes
Some books include pictures (like this example) but it’s a personal preference. Share only as much as you’re comfortable with!
The main takeaways from this part of the book from After You should be the books listed, statistics for them, and some personal information on the author. Don’t forget the social media handle and author website link.
Discussion questions
Some books rock it in book club circles. Discussion questions can come in handy. It prompts the readers to discuss the book’s themes and subject matter openly.
It can also be used in academic works.
Example: Paper Towns by John Green
John Green has great questions at the back of Paper Towns, a book with many twisting turns and complex relationships.
These questions make the reader think deeply about certain plot points and the roles the characters play. Diving into these questions makes you appreciate the story more.
Copyright permissions
Any permissions you need to get for song lyrics, art, excerpts longer than 250 words from other books, etc. should be included in this section (or the front matter copyright page).
Example: The War of Art Steven Pressfield
Not to be confused with a previous example, The War of Art is a must-have for writers needing a spark of motivation. To show that he did not infringe on anyone’s toes, Steven Pressfield made sure to credit all the permissions he had used in his book.
A nice reminder to always say please and thank you in any facet of life – even the publishing industry.
Resources
This part of a book is a great place to add resources for readers to look up after reading your book.
For example, you can add products mentioned, organizations you work with or that had an impact on your work, websites, and other sources that are worth citing.
Example: The Illustrated A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking’s book is a must for beginners and intermediates in science theory, and if you want to learn more, the book has suggestions for your next read under the further readings page.
Appendix or addendum
If you have any additional information you want your readers to know about, add it here. The appendix or addendum is great for newer editions of your book to update your readers on discoveries in the field.
You can add any new documents released after publishing your book that may not fit in your chapters. Information added here should bolster your content further.
Example: The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine
Extra information related to the book has been added in a few Appendices in The Female Brain to further educate the readers.
Chronology or timeline
This can be helpful for readers to navigate your book while reading it. The chronology or timeline is a list of events from your book, series, or in the case of nonfiction, the real world.
Top Tip #6: The chronology can be included in the appendix.
Example: Dune by Frank Herbert
Although not a typical timeline, Dune has character lists and periods for their existence and influence.
Endnotes
Endnotes are like footnotes at the bottom of a page, but instead, they’re at the back of the book. They’re mostly found in nonfiction but can be in experimental works or comedy fiction.
They are notes that speak further on denoted work inside the book.
Example: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby uses endnotes to explain references made in the book. This could be helpful for students or for anyone unfamiliar with the references.
Glossary
If you’ve used made-up words for your fictional world, readers may need help keeping up and remembering what they mean.
Add a glossary to the back matter of your book in alphabetical order to explain unique characters, locations, foreign words, and made-up words.
Example: A Magic Steeped In Poison by Judy I Lin
We picked this example to show the unique ways you could display a glossary. Above you can see the Chinese term, the letter, the pronunciation, and the meaning.
A more traditional glossary can be seen below for Lord of The Flies:
Index
An index is a section with a list of terms, phrases, people, events, concepts, etc. in alphabetical order. It also includes the page number where you can find it.
The index is placed on the right-hand side page and only numbered if there’s more than one page.
Example: The Illustrated A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
We like this index page above as the letters stand out guiding the reader’s eye along the page.
Bibliography/reference list
This is a list of books and sources spoken about in the book. Sources include other books, websites, magazines, research papers, online sources, etc.
The bibliography is always on the right-hand side page.
Example: The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine
Here’s an example of a simple references section that’s easy to read through and navigate.
Bonus material
This part of a book feels like a little treat for readers!
You can include a few chapters from the sequel, or another book you’ve written, and an interview to answer questions readers have swimming in their head about you and your characters.
Example: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
We don’t know about you, but it’s a fun treat when we see an interview with the author at the back of the book. Paulo goes into great detail in his responses, giving the reader a true bonus to the story.
Back cover blurb or synopsis of a book
We’re discussing it last, but when it comes to selling your book after the reader notices your book cover, they’ll flip it over to see the back cover. The book blurb needs to convince them the story is worth their time.
As we said in our back cover of a book blog, to get the reader to buy your book your book’s back cover needs to tell a story:
- What the book is about (using a book blurb)
- Why it’s worth reading (using book reviews)
- Why this reader in particular will want to read it (using enticing copy and targeted keywords)
You can add the following to the back of your book:
- Tagline
- Book Blurb
- Book Reviews
- Awards and Past Work
- Author Bio
- ISBN and barcode
- Publisher Details
Example: The Clockmaster’s Daughter by Kate Morton
In this example, Kate Morton uses quotes, a book synopsis, taglines, etc. to sell the reader on the story and her writing. Everything is well-spaced, drawing the reader’s eye to key aspects with contrasting colors and font sizes.
The leaves surrounding the reviews section are a neat touch that makes the design pop.
Physical Parts of A Book
Next up, we’re going to quickly break down the physical parts of a book. Correspond the image with the descriptions further below.
- Dust Jacket: A removable cool design used for hardcovers, made of paper or plastic and wrapped around the book.
- Spine: This is the backbone that connects the front and back cover parts of a book and usually contains the title and author written sideways.
- Joint: It’s a groove that runs vertically where the front and back cover meet the spine. It bends when the book is opened.
- Hinge: This is the inside part of a book’s joint. It bends when the book is opened.
- Footband & Headband: The top and bottom of a spine that wraps around the book in threads which are sewn through signatures. It fills the space between the spine and the book block.
- Book block: The block of internal pages that make up the book.
- Head or top edge: Top part of a book.
- Tail or bottom edge: Bottom part of a book.
- Fore-edge: This is the edge opposite the spine.
- Flyleaf: This is the half-title page in the front matter part of a book.
- Signatures: Stacks of 2 or more papers that are grouped and folded together to be attached to the spine.
- Endsheet: These are the papers glued to the inside of a hardcover’s front and back cover.
- Gutter: This is the part of the pages glued to the spine. With a wide enough margin, writing won’t sneak into the gutter.
The Most Important Part
Getting your book ready for publishing can be very overwhelming. Looking at the potential parts you need to add to your book is enough to give you a headache. But all of it could be for naught if you don’t market your book.
Creating the most seamless experience in a book is only as good as its reach. If no one knows about your book, how are they going to pick it up and see how flawless it is?
If you truly want to make a stamp online and get readers to find you, you’ll need a professional 24/7 experience that’s ready to receive and direct them through your books, blogs, extras, and any other works. You may have guessed it. We’re talking about an author website.
We’re experts in professional author website design, and we’ve created websites for the best of the best as well as debut authors ready to make their big break. We know what it is you epic authors go through, and we want to take some of the weight off.
If you’re ready to put out a stunning online presence, fill in this inquiry form and we’ll see how we can help you on your journey.
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