Do you wonder what kind of content should go in your front matter? Front matter is all of the pages before your first chapter or part and contains information about your book, provides a way to navigate the book, and introduces it to your reader. These pages are numbered with lowercase roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc.) and, although they shouldn't be printed on the title page through the table of contents, they are included in your total page count. Page 1 usually starts at the first chapter or part.
Tips for organizing your front matter.
The Chicago Manual of Style indicates that the order of the front matter should be:
- Book half title
- Series title, other works, frontispiece, or blank
- Title page
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Table of Contents
- List of Illustrations
- List of Tables
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgments (if not part of preface or in the back matter)
- Introduction (if not part of text)
- Abbreviations (if not in the back matter)
- Chronology (if not in the back matter)
Clearly, not all of these elements will be in every book, but this will give you guidance on how to organize the parts that you do have.
Pro-Tip: To help your book designer organize and set a design for your book, create a content map for them. This can be a simple Word document that lists each component of your book. Any special instructions that you have for each part can be included.
Help for Independent Presses
Book Design & Production
Have you written a nonfiction or fiction manuscript? After it has been professionally edited, I can design the interior pages and cover, plus guide you through the maze of book publishing and printing. To get started, contact me to discuss your project and my helpful guide for authors.