Finish your book like a pro: Planning the front and back matter of your book
- Siân Smith
- Jul 25
- 9 min read
Self-publishing a top-quality book involves more than just writing great content. One crucial element that could make all the difference to producing a professional and polished book is including the right front and back matter – from the contents page to the acknowledgements, and how to get those wonderful reviews for your front cover. Executing this with finesse will elevate your book so it’s on an equal footing with traditionally published books.
This blog post will guide you through the order and content of the front and back matter for your book, with particular focus on those tricky timings and general approach (I’ll also share some important information about copyright: if nothing else, pay attention to that part!).
I’ll cover (no pun intended, ha ha) a couple of details you can add to the front and back covers – in publishing terms this doesn’t count as front and back matter, but these matter to me, so I’m sharing them with you!
As a non-fiction editor, I’m focusing on the front and back matter for non-fiction books, so fiction writers just remove any irrelevant elements. And yes, self-publishing authors will find all of this particularly useful, but it’s a handy guide for any writer having their book published, so you can understand why your publisher is asking for certain content and where it will appear in the book.
Whether your book is 20,000 words or 120,000 words, fiction or non-fiction, this stuff matters! Best of all, (nearly) everything I’m guiding you through is something you can do yourself (i.e. free!).
Why does the front and back matter matter?
Self-publishing in particular is not just about writing the content of your memoir, novel, or business book. Crafting quality front and back matter will elevate your book to a professional standard so it sits equally among traditionally published books (whether online or in a bookshop).
Think of the front and back matter like the warm-up and cool-down before and after exercise: you can do it without it, but it will be much better for everyone if you include it.
Without realizing it, though you may flick past much of the front matter, it sets you up for a reading experience. If a book was missing a title page, for example, and just went straight to the introduction, you might not be able to tell me exactly what was missing from the book, but you’d just have a feeling something was off.
What is the front and back matter of a book?
Also called the front and end papers of a book, the front and back matter of a book includes all those pages that come before the main event of the book: like the title page and contents page at the start, and the acknowledgements at the back.
Note on timings: You can’t start most of these until you’ve at least finished your first draft, as you need a concrete overview of the book before you can work on them. Much of it can be done while your book is with your editor or typesetter, or once you have your proof copies.
Order of the front and back matter of your book
Front matter:
Half-title page (not so common)
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication page
Epigraph
Table of Contents
Frontispiece
Foreword
Preface
The body – i.e. ‘the book’ (including epilogue/afterword/author’s note)
Back matter:
Acknowledgements
Appendix
Glossary
References/endnotes
Bibliography/Recommended reading
Index
Author bio
Coming soon/also by
Those quotes from reviews you see on the front and back covers of books are called ‘endorsements; (confusingly, these are also known in the publishing world as ‘blurbs’, so I’ll be referring to them as ‘endorsements’; I prefer to refer to the summary of the book as the back cover blurb). That’s the element the traditional publishing world wouldn’t include as part of the front and back matter, but it’s something a lot of self-publishing authors find tricky to sort, or forget about altogether, so I’m here to help you out with that.
Remember, this order is just a guideline: the copyright page is the only one you definitely have to include.
Front matter of a book explained
Title page: author name, title of book and any subtitles, and publisher name (and the space to sign your books, how cool!).
Copyright page: the legal bit. Includes details like stating you have sought permission for quoted material, book edition, publishing year, ISBN, disclaimers.
I include this with my copyedits, but otherwise, look for ‘copyright boilerplate’ and add it to the front your book, after the title page.
Dedication page: your chance to include whom you want your book dedicated to.
Epigraph: often a quote from another piece of literature, but be aware of copyright laws here. In UK, it doesn’t matter how small the quote is: check to see if it needs permission if it’s still in copyright.
Table of Contents: if you’ve used Word Styles for your chapter headings then you can easily create a TOC using the automatic tool in Word (usually under the ‘references’ tab).
Frontispiece: an illustration or photo. For travel memoirs, this might mean a map of your route.
Foreword: more details on this in a bit as it’s written by someone else, so timing is key.
Preface: speak to your reader outside of the main story or focus of the book – perhaps the writing process or source of inspiration.
Back matter
Acknowledgements: your Oscar speech for your book. Thank anyone who has contributed to your book: your English teacher, parents, family, the cat, your editor 😉
Appendix: information such as data, tables, resources that complement your book but would seem out of place in the main body.
Glossary: list of terms or words and their explanations – particularly handy if your book is aimed at beginners or you need to use technical terms throughout your book.
References/endnotes: if you don’t use footnotes, you can use references or endnotes at the back of the book. I highly recommend using the referencing tool in Word, rather than adding each one manually (this means if you move any text around, the sequence automatically updates).
Bibliography/recommended reading: a ‘bibliography’ is more formal or academic than ‘recommended reading’. This is handy to include for informative or transformational non-fiction like health and wellness, and academic texts and business books.
Index: out of all these elements, this one needs to be done by a professional (use the Society of Indexers to find a decent one). Indexers read the entire book and have an inimitable knack for knowing which terms to include. It’s one of the very final tasks when publishing a book as you need to be sure of the page numbers!
It’s not necessary for all books, but essential for books like reference books, business books, health books.
Author bio: can also go at the start of the book. Make sure you include any credentials that boost your authority for writing the book, plus any other books you’ve written, prizes awarded, etc. This is your chance to big yourself up! It can also be accompanied by an author profile photo.
Coming soon/also by: already got your next book planned or previously published? Tell us about it! If you’ve already published a book, you can add ‘also by’ near the start of the book. This is especially helpful if your book is in a series, as is the case for many for fiction writers.
Back blurb: the summary of your book to inform and entice readers. (I have a personal gripe here for the current trend that replaces the back blurb with endorsement quotes. I want to know what the book is about!)
How to organise the timings of the front and back matter of your book
Ideally, when you send your manuscript to your editor (line editor or copyeditor), include the following:
Table of contents (to make it easier for your editor to navigate your manuscript).
Bibliography, recommended reading, and appendix: send these during the editing or proofreading round so the copyeditor or proofreader can check these for you and alert you of any amends needed before publishing.
While your book is with your editor, now is the time to sort:
Author bio and photo for cover flap/back of book (can also repurpose for websites and PR)
Copyright page (or see if your editor will add one for you, like I do!)
Dedication page
Acknowledgements
I recommend doing this after you submit your book for editing because this needs a completely different headspace to when you’re writing the body of your book.
Back cover blurb
You can’t write the blurb until the book has been written, so save writing it until the body of the book is being edited.
Don’t worry if you find this one tricky, there’s a certain skill to getting this one right, as there’s a large dose of marketing required to strike the right tone. Writing 100 words for the back blurb is so very different to writing 70,000 words of a book!
Have a go and send it to your editor or proofreader for feedback.
If you get really stuck then seek out a book marketing professional.
Don’t forget to make sure every single one of these elements is proofread, including the front and back covers.
How to get endorsements and a foreword for your book
I’ve treated these two separately as they take the most time to organise, due them involving other people to get them done.
The foreword
A foreword generally applies to non-fiction over fiction, but even then, it’s not obligatory.
The foreword is written by someone involved in your industry who can comment on why your book matters and why you are the right person to write this book.
Explore this once you have written your first draft. Start with a small list of people you think fit the bill, but only contact one person at time (you don’t want to have an awkward conversation where you say ‘thanks, but no thanks!’). It’s best you contact people you already know – or perhaps through another close contact if needed.
What to include when asking someone to write the foreword for your book:
Contact them with an outline of your book and perhaps include the first chapter (but tell them it’s an early draft).
Ask if they would prefer to read the whole book or if they want to write it based on the outline you’ve sent.
State how long it should be.
Let them know when a proof copy or final draft should be available, if they want to read the whole book first.
Allow 6 to 8 weeks for them to send you their foreword, so add this to your publishing timeline. You don’t need to send them the final or proofread version of your book.
Why should you add endorsements to the covers and front matter of your book?
Including a few quotes from ARC readers will instantly add that sparkle of PR. While you can ask well-known personalities for an advanced book review, personally, I wouldn’t worry if these people aren’t famous or experts. (Rachel Cullen wrote a book about motherhood and included a quote from her mum and daughter, which set the tone for her book perfectly!)
You can also add these quotes to your social media, website, Amazon page (just check the permissions from the endorsers).
How to get endorsements for your self-published book:
Come up with a list of people you think either should read your book or you know will read it.
Follow the same timings as your foreword: start looking and asking for these around the time you submit your book for its main round of editing (copyediting or line editing).
Send them an outline of your book and let them know the estimated date the proof copy will be available and that you will update them once the book has been formatted.
You can’t just send an outline to these readers. You’ll need to send proof or e-book copies to your advanced readers (‘ARC’, advanced readers copy), reviewers, or endorsers (e-books will be cheaper!).
You need to allow up to 6 weeks for them to read the proof copy and send back their feedback/quote for your cover.
Give them a date to have this done by and add that time frame to your publishing timeline.
Top tip: make sure your typesetter/book cover designer knows you want to add some review quotes to the covers of your book so they can include this in their fee and schedule.
Recap on the front and back matter of your book
Look, I get it. By the time you’ve finally written the final draft of you book and plucked up the courage to send it to an editor and commit to getting it published, you’ll feel like the hard work is done and you can kick back. Absolutely, celebrate that as a huge milestone, but then commit to an extra push.
Your book should reflect your hard work from cover to cover. You and your book both deserve these extra professional approaches to your book.
But also remember, you don’t have to tick off everything on this list, and certainly not all at once. Just start with a couple of elements you hadn’t considered before or that seem the most relevant to you (especially if this is your first book).
Above all, take away these 3 points:
1) Include a copyright page. Have I said that enough times now?
2) No matter how many of these elements you decide are relevant to your book, ADD ENOUGH TIME TO DO THEM. Most elements need a good 6–8 weeks to sort before your publishing date. You only get one official book launch, so make the most of it and don’t rush it!
3) Please make sure it’s all proofread!
Oh, and get practising your author signature for your title page, now that you’ll definitely have one, right?
The best way to keep up to date with my future blog posts is by signing up to my newsletters. If you can’t wait until my next one, I recommend reading this one on what you should know about your first draft
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