What is Front Matter for Books?
All pages that appear before the start of your first chapter are called ‘‘front matter.” Traditionally,
the start of each front matter section begins on a right-hand (recto) page only. Present practices often use the next-available page.
Not all books require all of these pages, but this order is the industry standard.
What to Include in Your Front Matter
- Title Page Proclaims the title,
subtitle, author, and publisher of the book. The title page is always on the right-hand side. A half-title page with a blank reverse
side can also appear before the title page (important to use in hardcover books because the very first page of a book is partially
glued to the end sheet).
- Copyright Page This page should be
the first left-hand page after the title page. Items that appear on this page include: the copyright verbiage, edition number, ISBN,
Library of Congress PCN, and production information. You may also credit your designer, editor, and cover image artist.
- Dedication A dedication is optional.
If included, it should appear after the copyright page on a right-hand page.
- Contents In former days known as the
"table of contents," this is the navigational aid for your readers. All parts of the book should be listed here with easily-read page
numbers for reference.
- List of Figures or Tables Some books may
contain figures or tables. If there are only a few, they can be included with the contents. If there are many, a separate page may be
necessary
- Foreword A foreword is generally written
about the book by someone other than the author. Note the spelling of "foreword" — think of "before the words."
- Acknowledgments It takes a village to
write a book. This is your chance to thank them all.
- Preface The preface is written by the
author and should explain the development of the work. It is sometimes finished with the author’s name, place, and date.
- Introduction Here you can introduce the
work to the reader. You may want to give an overview or help the reader navigate key points.
