SYWTWAB - Front & back matter.

SYWWAB Series: Post One

What is SYWTWAB, you ask? Glad you asked. I started this publishing journey full of hope and lacking so much knowledge on what actually needed to happen. Publishing my first book was a nightmare. I kept finding out all these tiny, tiny details that mattered, tiny details I knew nothing about. So was born, "So You Want To Write A Book" for those who would like to write but aren't sure where to begin, it is my hope that this series is able to help at least ONE author out in the world.

One of those things was front and back matter.

There are many things you can include or exclude in both the front or back matter of your book. I will label them accordingly.
In my research, this is the typical order I've seen these pages in, but they can be moved around based on personal or publisher preference.

FRONT MATTER

Half Title page
Only the title of your publication shows on this page.

More by Author (Optional/Front or back)
A list of other works written by the author
Title page
The book title, author name, and subtitle of the book (if a series.)

Copyright
The legal bit, this is usually where you'll find the ISBN number along with publisher, year published, and more. (This will be a future topic where I'll go into more detail.)

Dedication
blab blah

Acknowledgments (Optional/Front or back)

Table of Contents
The list of chapters and front/back matter of the book

MANUSCRIPT
The body of the work (AKA: The chapters/story/etc)

BACKMATTER

Epilogue
A continuation of the story meant to bring closure or a hint of more to come. Usually shorter than a typical chapter, but usually no longer than a chapter.

Glossary (Optional)
Vocabulary terms and their definitions that are found in the book. This is handy for fantasy books with cultures and terms that have been created for the book/series.

Bonus material
Any extra bonuses you wish to include, notes, quotes, deleted scenes, discussion questions, links or more.

Author Bio
A sentence or paragraph about the author, sometimes including author photo.



And there you have it. There can be more or less included in both the front and back matter, but these are the most common things you can find in fiction works.


Did you enjoy this? Did you find it helpful, or missing anything? Want to suggest a topic for SYWWAB?
Feel free to comment or email me at authoraliwinters@yahoo.com


xoxo
-Ali