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PREPARING
FRONT MATTER
Posted January 9, 2004
| SUMMARYThe opening pages, ahead of the first chapter, are ripe with opportunties. The inside of covers, for example, can be used for reference information to which reaedrs can refer back easily. Some content is pro forma, like copyright information. Other front matter can be used creatively and effectively to orient readers and offer navigational assistance. |
By Frank Silverman
Marquette University and the Medical College of Wisconsin
All textbooks require a title page, copyright page, table of contents, preface, and possibly other front matter.
Preparing Front Matter
Front matter consists of all the pages up to the first page of Chapter One and is usually numbered with lower-case Roman numerals. The front matter of a textbook can contain some or all of the following elements.
Printed front end papers:
Half-title page
Frontispiece
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication page
Epigraph page
Table of contents
List of illustrations or figures
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Disclaimer
Printed Endpapers
The front endpapers of a textbook are the inside front cover and the page opposite it. They usually are left blank. However, information can be printed on the endpapers from which students can benefit-e.g/. abbreviations, definitions of terms, formulae or measurements, or a map. The back endpapers can be printed with either the same information as on the front endpapers or with different information. Also, the endpapers may list special features of the textbook, such as topical boxes or cases.
Half-Title Page and Frontispiece
The half-title page is the first printed page of a book. It is found more often in hardbound books than in paperback ones. It contains only the title and is a right-hand page. The frontispiece is the left-hand page facing the title page. While it is usually left blank in textbooks, it can be used to list other books by the same author. In the history of book making the frontispiece originally was an engraved illustration, an ornament for the title.
Title Page and Copyright Page
The title page is on the right-hand side facing the frontispiece. It usually lists the full title and subtitle of the book; the name(s) of the author(s) or editor(s) and possibly also their titles and institutional affiliations; the publisher's name; and whether it is a first or revised edition. The copyright page is on the back of the title page. It is one of the pages in a book where a typographical error can have serious consequences. Proofread it carefully! It contains the copyright notice, the printing history (number of printings and revisions), the Library of Congress catalog number or control number, the ISBN, the Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data (CIP or PCIP), the name and address of the publisher (your company), and "Printed in the USA" (to avoid export complications).
Dedication Page and Epigraph Page
The dedication is on a right-hand page. You can dedicate your book to a group or class of people (e.g., "To my students, past and present") or to specific persons (e.g., to your mentor, parent, partner, spouse, and/or children). Only the person or persons mentioned are likely to be interested in your dedication. The epigraph page traditionally contains a pertinent quotation that sets the tone of the book. Most textbooks do not have an epigraph page, but may include epigraphs in the chapter opening pages.
Table of Contents and List of Illustrations
The table of contents should start on a right-hand page and include chapter numbers, titles, and beginning page numbers. It may also include major subheadings and their beginning page numbers. Front matter items such as a List of Illustrations, Preface, Acknowledgments, and Foreword also should appear on the contents page. Your table of contents is the main selling tool for your textbook or instructional material. By reading this front matter, potential adopters learn the scope, sequence, and theoretical or pedagogical orientation of your work. Thus, you would be wise to take care that your titles for parts and chapters and your headings and subheadings are clear and informative in expressing your book's content, organization, and mission. If your textbook is heavily illustrated or contains important pedagogy, you might include a list of illustrations or list of features at the end of the table of contents.
Foreword and Preface
The foreword is a pitch for a book and its author, written by one or more persons other than the author. It should begin on a right-hand page. This book has three forewords, but most books have one foreword by someone notable in the field the book covers. The name of the foreword's author helps to publicize and sell the book.
In your preface you should explain why you wrote the book and for whom and something about its content and organization. It is important that the preface is well written, because reviewers may base their reviews on it, rather than take the time to read every chapter. If you are writing a student textbook, the preface should address the students. In undergraduate textbooks it is common practice to include an instructor's preface followed by a student's preface to address the two different audiences. Your mission as an author and your objectives for your readers and your rationale for the content and organization of your book are appropriate subjects to include in a preface. Like the table of contents and foreword, the preface is a sales tool.
Acknowledgments and Disclaimer
In your acknowledgments list everyone who helped you with the book, including your editors and persons who reviewed prepublication drafts. It is particularly important to acknowledge contributors who are recognized as authorities in the field your textbook or instructional material covers. Their having vetted your book adds to its credibility. However, in commercial publishing it is important to have written permission to quote reviewers' remarks. If you are acknowledging only a few persons, you may want to do so in the Preface rather than having a separate Acknowledgments section.
Because of the possibility of someone being harmed by inaccurate information or inappropriate recommendations in your book, many authors include a disclaimer to partially protect themselves against litigation from this source. Authioringm adviser Dan Poynter (1996, Page 8) suggests a paragraph similar to the following:
This book is designed to provide information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher and author are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the information in this book.
Disclaimers can be appended to other front matter elements, such as the copyright page, rather than take up an extra whole page.
For more information on front matter:
How to prepare front and back matter
Examples of model prefaces
ickn.org
webstyleguide.com
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SILVERMAN
| This how-to column is from a chapter in Self-Publishing Textbooks and Instructional Materials,by Franklin H. Silverman, (c) Atlantic Path Publishing, 2004. AAll rights reserved.. This book is available from the publisher at half price in a prepublication special-good through February 15, 2004. See Atlantic Path Publishing |
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