Home:
Book Specification: Book Structure
Prelims
Half-title page
Title Page
Imprint page
Dedication page
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
Introduction
|
Body Text
(chapters)
|
Endmatter
Glossary
Appendices
List of Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index
|
There are three main parts of a book:
-
The preliminary pages (called ‘prelims’) such as the title and copyright pages, preface and contents listings;
-
The main text;
-
The endmatter such as a glossary, appendix or index.
Every book is different and none necessarily requires all these parts. If they are included, the following order is usual:
Prelims
These pages are usually numbered using roman numerals.
Half-title:
title of the book only, or could carry information about the author or book.
Reverse half-title:
blank, or other books by the author, or dedication.
Title page:
full title of the book, including subtitle, author or editor’s name and publisher’s logo.
Imprint page:
bibliographic, copyright and cataloguing details.
Dedication:
can follow the imprint page, or be placed elsewhere in the prelims.
Foreword:
usually written by someone other than the author.
Contents:
a full list of the book’s content including lists of illustrative material and endmatter.
You can include the first level of subheadings under the chapter title, but the senior editor and publisher will decide whether to include them or not. If the book has several contributors’ names, they should be included with the chapter title.
Lists:
eg. tables, illustrations, abbreviations.
Preface:
a statement by the author or editor outlining the reason for undertaking the work. It can also include acknowledgment for help and permissions.
Contributors: an alphabetical listing which usually includes name, affiliations, and previous and current works.
Introduction:
this is information the reader needs to know before beginning reading. It should not repeat the information in the Preface.
_________________________________________________
Main text
This will be divided into chapters usually, but the chapters may also be divided into parts or sections.
These pages are numbered with arabic numerals.
_________________________________________________
Endmatter
Glossary:
an alphabetical listing of short definitions of terms used in the book, which aren’t commonly understood. Depending on its length, it could also be placed near the end of the book.
Appendix:
contains material that’s additional to the text, which may be useful to the reader, eg. a questionnaire from which the author’s argument is drawn, or listings that would disrupt the main text if placed there.
Abbreviations:
frequently used acronyms and abbreviations may be usefully listed.
Notes:
these can be grouped together here, listed under the chapter to which they refer. Alternatively they may appear at the end of each relevant chapter.
Bibliography:
an alphabetic listing of works cited by the author in the text.
Index:
an alphabetic listing of names and subjects with the relevant page numbers.
_________________________________________________