What is Front Matter? (Part 1)
In a series of posts Virtus will provide tips and advice covering many aspects of publishing. This series will be an ongoing selection of production tips, covering areas that many authors find difficult or confusing. These will be short and to the point. The best practices follow the recommendations of The Chicago Manual Style and the specific section is cited as appropriate.
Virtus Publishing Production Tip
What is Front Matter? (Part 1)
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 first three key elements in terms of what’s possible.
Half title page
This is the very first page in a printed book, and is counted as page i, although no page number (called a folio) is used. It includes only the main title (minus any subtitle) and does not show any additional information. It is generally followed by a blank verso, or in some cases a frontispiece. (Blank pages never show a folio.)
Frontispiece
This is a very old-school element, which may include an illustration related to the text. It traditionally appears on the verso that faces the full title page, which always appears on a recto. I happen to like this element, and it can serve a number of purposes. Many years ago an author submitted a hand-drawn image created by his daughter for Father’s Day, depicting a tree with falling leaves. The book was a physics title related to entropy. He wanted to use the image from the Father’s Day card on the front cover, but the neither the editor nor marketing team were receptive. I suggested that the image be cleaned up, converted to black and white, and placed as the frontispiece. The author was thrilled and both editorial and marketing were happy that they wouldn’t have a crayon drawing on the front cover of a prestigious physics title.
The frontispiece page may also feature a listing of other books by the same author. This page never shows a folio.
Title page
Counted as page iii without a folio, this includes the title, subtitle (if any), the author name without academic degrees or affiliations, the edition number (if the book is not a first edition), and the name and location (city or cities) of the publisher, plus the logo of the publisher, if applicable.
It is preferable to list the academic degrees of the author on a section of the cover, such as within a short bio, or in an “About the author” page, which may be included in the backmatter of the book. It is not considered a best practice to list degrees on the title page.
If the book is self-published, the publisher information can be omitted. If a self-published author wishes to promote their company, the name and logo may be included, in place of the publisher listing.
In the next post we’ll look at the copyright page.
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