Who Needs to Know the Parts of a Book?
The best way for artists to improve their ability to draw the human body is to study the skeletal structure and muscle placement. And when we plan a book, understanding structure helps create beautiful flow.
“But whyyyyyy do we need to understand book structure if we’re planning to let a publisher do all the work?”
Because the publisher doesn’t do all the work, and the ability to speak intelligently with the people who help you create your book is important.
Trying to build a house without understanding the difference between a 2×4 and a 2×10 would be silly.
Attempting to birth a baby without knowing the definition of “contraction” (and I don’t mean can’t-type contractions) won’t end well.
Misunderstanding the definition of “back matter” could be embarrassing.
Agent: “Your back matter is a little heavy. You should probably trim a bit.”
You: “Who do you think you are? I thought I hired a book agent, not a nutritionist.”
Agent: *blink blink*
Yep, this stuff is important for many reasons.
Parts of a Book
Not all books include every component–and this isn’t a definitive list of every
possible part.
This summary of CMOS 1.3-1.4 outlines the general breakdown we find in most books:
Front Matter
- information about the book (title, publisher, copyright)
- dedication
- table of contents (TOC)
- foreword
- preface
- acknowledgements
- introduction
Text
- first text page (usually on page 3)
- subsequent chapters
- conclusion
- epilogue/afterword
Back Matter
- documentation (sources, source notes, appendixes–or, if you prefer, appendices–glossary)
- bibliography/references
- acknowledgments (if this wasn’t in the front matter)
- about the author
Knowing the Parts of a Book
Now, if your agent says, “The publisher wants to make a change to one of your front matter components,” you can say, “Oh? Is there a problem in my table of contents or preface?” instead of calling your lawyer about potential harassment.
And your now-impressed publisher will know they’re working with an educated author, so they’ll offer you a higher royalty.
Just kidding. They probably won’t.
But in that conversation, YOU’LL know that you know what they’re talking about, and that knowledge is worth more than a higher royalty.
Right? Right.
