What is Front Matter? (Part 3)
Virtus Publishing Production Tip
What is Front Matter? (Part 3)
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 components 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 two key elements that may be included.
Dedication
If a dedication page is desired, it generally appears on unnumbered page v. In lieu of an actual dedication, an author may choose to include an Epigraph. This is usually a quotation that’s relevant to the subject matter of the book, but not directly related to the text.
If both a dedication page and an epigraph are to be included, the epigraph usually appears unnumbered page vi, facing the Contents. (Without an epigraph that page would be blank.)
Another possible approach would be to combine the epigraph quotation with a dedication, and place it on the same page, as shown in this example. This is entirely up to the author.
Contents
The table of contents generally starts on either numbered page v or numbered page vii depending on whether a dedication or epigraph appears. It include all elements of the front matter that follow it, but does not include any elements that precede it.
The contents lists the title and first page number for all primary sections, including elements of the front matter, main text, and back matter (such as an index). Some books may be divided into parts; the part titles should be listed, but no page number would be shown unless text appears as an introduction on the part opener page.
Normally subsection titles and page numbers are not shown, unless, as is the case in some complex titles, inclusion of the subsections is determined to be useful for the reader.
For books that include multiple contributors, the names of the contributing authors may be listed on the contents, along with the title of their contribution. Practices regarding the contents for contributor titles varies.
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