What is Front Matter? (Part 2)
Virtus Publishing Production Tip
What is Front Matter? (Part 2)
In any published book there are pages that precede the regular text that are placed in a specific order and that are numbered separately, using lowercase Roman numerals. In some cases, some of these pages may be followed by a left-hand page (called a verso) that’s blank; a right-hand page (called a recto) is never blank according to best publishing practices.
The key elements may include (in this order):
Half title page
Frontispiece (or blank verso)
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication page
Blank verso
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Preface
What is included may vary and not all of these elements are absolutely necessary. Note that these standards apply to printed books; eBooks may delete some of these elements.
Let’s look at the next element that’s included.
Copyright page
Although as per the Copyright Act of 1989 a copyright notice isn’t required to secure copyright protection, most publishers and authors prefer that it be included. It is customarily include on unnumbered page iv.
It includes specific information about the book in a specific order and format. This information may include, as per The Chicago Manual of Style, section 1.20, the following:
Publisher’s address
Copyright notice—including, if applicable, copyright dates of previous editions and indication of copyright renewal or other changes, and followed by the statement “All rights reserved” and related language
Publication date, including publishing history
Country of printing
Impression line, indicating number and year of current printing
International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for each available format (e.g., cloth, paper, e-book)
For continuously published resources, the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), one for each available format, in addition to the ISBN
A Digital Object Identifier (DOI), if applicable.
For translations, indication of original-language title, publisher, and copyright
Acknowledgments, permissions, and other credits, including acknowledgment of grants, if applicable and space permitting
Cataloging-in-Publication (CIP) data
Paper durability statement
Self-published authors often use a simplified version, which includes the copyright date and ISBN(s). The Cataloging-in-Publication (CIP) data is replaced with a slightly different version intended specifically for small, independent publishers as well as self-published authors.
Acquiring and assigning ISBNs for each version of the book (print, eBook, audiobook) as well as having the PCIP data created are both handled by Virtus during the production process for all titles.
In the next post we’ll look at the dedication page and contents.
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