What to Include – Front & Back Matter of Your Book

JTM Books

“Front matter” and “back matter” are terms used to describe the first and last pages of a book (but not the actual story or body content of the book). This includes pages like: table of contents, copyright, bio, etc.

The purpose of front matter is mostly to make sure your book looks as professional as possible. While it might not seem like a marketing tool, book front matter does have an influence on sales.

As a self-published author, you must be able to impress readers during their first look inside your book. This means it needs to look indistinguishable from a traditionally published book. If readers don’t see what they usually expect (like a copyright page or functioning table of contents), this signals to them: “poor reading experience.”