Your book doesn’t have to stop at the end of the last chapter.  In fact, it’s these pages after THE END that we call the back matter.  Traditional books, especially nonfiction ones, have several components in their back matter.  They include an index, a bibliography, glossary, notes, and once something called a colophon.

These days, most fiction books simply contain one single blank page.  This blank page is only really necessary if your book is an odd number of pages. Some companies like CreateSpace will automatically add a blank page to the end of your book to create this even number of pages for you if needed.  You can also add it yourself by adding another section break at the end of the last chapter.  This blank page should never be numbered.

In my most recently released book, Are You Sitting Down?, I added a blank page at the end, and after it I added one more page for an ABOUT THE AUTHOR paragraph.  Also on this page I included another paragraph entitled A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR where I thanked a few people for their contribution and assistance with the work. Since both of these paragraphs were brief, I put both of them on the same page.

I have also seen some authors put their Acknowledgments page at the front, but most traditionally published books seem to put it in the back either before or after the ABOUT THE AUTHOR page. Either is perfectly acceptable.  I would suggest that if your front matter is already running long perhaps due to a long Table of Contents, move your acknowledgments to the back.

Most books end here.  Including my own.  That’s perfectly okay, but it’s also okay to keep going if you wish.  Here are a few other ideas to include in the back matter of your book which you may not have considered before, but if you check out other traditionally published books, you’re sure to find some of the following:

1. Book Club discussion questions.
2. An interview with the author.
3. A sneak peek at your next book (one or two chapters only please)
4. An author photo (format this on your ABOUT THE AUTHOR page or at least opposite it)

If you include these or not, just remember to avoid using the headers and footers you used in the body of your text.  I would also avoid numbering these pages.  A simple bold and centered title at the top of each section will suffice.

Just keep it clean and organized.  Some readers don’t even like a lot of back matter after they’ve finished a book. So in “the end,” one single blank page is enough if that is all you want.

And this is where we are going to end.  I certainly hope Book Synthesis has been useful to you and that you’ve enjoyed reading it this year. It will continue to be available to you as a resource here on the blog.  If you have questions or comments, feel free to post them on the monthly segments or email us directly.

Happy New Year! And best of luck in 2011 with formatting – and selling – your book!

Starting in January, look for a new year long feature on the Amazon Kindle.  Since I recently acquired one as a Christmas gift, I’ve decided to spend some time blogging about my experience with it being an avid reader, reviewer, and writer.  See you next year!

For the sake of fiction titles, your header will usually consist of the author’s name on one page and the title of the book on the opposite page.  Here are a few small tips to keep in mind to get you started:

• Headers should not appear on the pages of your front matter or back matter.
• Headers should not appear on the first page of each chapter.  (Remember last month we didn’t put page numbers on these pages either.)
• As a general rule to be consistent, if a page doesn’t have a footer (page number), then it should not have a header.
• Headers should not appear on blank pages.
• Headers can contain both the title, your name, and also page numbers.
• Headers can also be page numbers only if you choose.
• Headers can be centered at the top of the pages or justified to the outside margins.

I have seen some headers that were the titles of the chapters they appear in, rather than just being the title of the book.  I think that is okay if you have the time to do the extra formatting for each chapter.  However, lately I have only discovered this in nonfiction titles.

For the sake of this article, we’re going to discuss the author name and book title being in the top header.  Just know it’s perfectly okay for you to put the page numbers at the top of the page if you choose, and put your name and title in the footer. If you can’t decide, visit a bookstore and choose 10 books from the fiction section at random or 10 of your favorite books.  Study the placement of their headers and footers and see what the majority does.

If you are formatting your manuscript in Microsoft Word, start by clicking on File in the toolbar, and then choose Page Setup.  A three tab menu should appear.  Choose the last tab which is Page Layout. Change your Section Start to “New Page” if it isn’t already. Then under Headers and Footers click both options you see which are “Different Odd and Even” and “Different First Page.” 

Now, go to the second page of your first chapter or prologue and double click at the top of the page.  A dotted line should appear around the header, allowing you to type your name or title inside the box.  You can format the shade, font, and size if you wish but you also need to choose the placement while your here.  It can be centered by clicking the Align Center button, or you may choose to justify it to the outer margin. 

Now, you are ready to move to the next header on the opposite page and repeat these steps, inserting the header you want on the opposite page.  Because of your Page Setup options, you will not have to repeat this process for every page.  You’ve also set the formatting to avoid putting a header on the first page of the next chapter (where you begin the next section break).  Just be sure to be consistent throughout.

For those who want to include page numbers in the header instead of the footer, notice that when you click on the header a small toolbar pops up.  There is an “Insert Page Number” in this toolbar.  You may have to adjust the page number accordingly. 

For my own books, I prefer having the page number in the footer (at the bottom) so that I can control it as a separate function.  For my header, I put my name on the left side page and the title of my book on the right side.  In my last book, I centered the headers.  However, in my latest book that just came out this week, I justified the headers to the outer edge.

A good way to study the consistency of your headers is by clicking on “View” in your toolbar and use the Zoom option to zoom out and view more than one page at a time.  Here’s an example from my own book where I’m viewing 4 pages at once by setting the zoom to 75%.  Because of spacing and size here on the blog, you can’t read these pages, but you can see the placement of the headers and footers to get the general idea.

 Although you are looking at two sets of pages that look like the headers are justified to the inside, you are actually looking at the front, and the back, the front again, and the back of two pages in the book. If you were to open my book to two random pages that do not include the first page of a chapter, it would look like the two middle pages above.  The headers are justified to the outer margins.  So, when studying your own book, just keep that in mind when you are viewing multiple pages at a time.  I often say to myself, front, back, front, back, or left, right, left when checking for consistency.

I think it would also be acceptable to have the title of your book be the header throughout the entire book if you do not wish to mess with opposite page formatting.  If you choose this easy way out, just take the time to avoid putting headers on your front mater and back matter, and on the first page of each chapter.

Next month, I’ll be discussing the back matter of a book (those last few pages that come after the last page of your story).  And as we reach December, we’ve also reached the end of your book and the end of this series.  Just like my POD Diary, this series will remain live here on LLBR as a reference you can come back to.  I hope you have found it helpful.

Headers and footers are part of your book which can sure throw up a red flag that you are a self-published amateur if you don’t pay attention to them.  It’s very easy to mess them up.  I’m no expert myself, and my second book suffered from a careless mistake with page numbering because I myself didn’t do my homework or get assistance when formatting my text.  There’s a lot of debate on the review blogs and self-publishing sites about page numbering, and there are several options in your favor.  For the sake of this article, we’ll go with the simpler side which leans more toward a universal format, that being a page number centered at the bottom of the page in the footer.  Some people prefer them to be in the header (the top of the page), and if you do too that’s fine.  Just keep the page numbers justified to the outer margins (both on the left and right) and make sure there is distinction between them and the author/title (often justified to the inside margins closest to the gutter or centered).

START AT THE BEGINNING

And by the beginning, I mean page 1.  First, none of your front matter should have a page number.  If you start your book with a blank page, a soft title page, a copyright page, a dedication page, a table of contents, that entire group of pages we’ve discussed so far this year that make up the front of your book, NONE of them should have a page number!!  Your page numbers should not start until the first page of your novel – chapter 1. That being said, the first page of your body of text usually does not have a page number either.  Meaning that while it is PAGE 1 of your novel, most authors do not put the actual number on that page.  Turn the page and the number starts on page 2.  This can be achieved very easily in Microsoft Word by clicking on “Insert” in your task bar and choosing “Page Numbers.”  You should see a check box that will eliminate the page number on the first page.

That being said, there is much debate on whether or not you should start at #1.  Some authors include the front matter in the physical count of pages.  Most front matter averages about four pages.  Front and back, that’s eight pages which means the first page of your novel would actually be page 9 in your book if you are counting right from the beginning.  If you skip putting a page number on this first page, that means that your next page would start at page 10.  I’ve seen several traditionally published books include the front matter in the page count, and several that start numbering at the first page of the story.  So, it appears either is fine.  I’ve also noticed that more books today do NOT include a page number on the first page of the first chapter, but books printed in the 70s and 80s (and some in the early 90s) do include a ’1′ on the very first page.  If you use a blank page at the end of a chapter to justify the next chapter always starting on the right side, this blank page should never have a number on it; it should always be completely blank.  That being said, this is when page number starts getting tricky.

To control the page numbers so that they don’t appear in your front matter, or on blank pages and the first pages of each chapter, you must now think of your book as if it was divided into sections.  The first section is your front matter. Go to the last page of your front matter and click at the end of that page.  Then, from your Word toolbar click on “Insert.”  Choose “Next Page.”  Your cursor will move to the next page. Now go back and click on “View” and choose “Headers and Footers.”  Notice that your front matter has now been labeled Section 1 and the page you are now on (the first page of your first chapter) is labeled Section 2.  Now, go to the end of this first page and repeat these steps again.  That single first page is now it’s on section. Now that you are in Section 2 (the 2nd page of the first chapter) click on “View” again and notice that a toolbar pops up that looks like this:

You’ll want to uncheck the link-to-previous tab in this toolbar which is the 5th tab from the right.  This will prevent your header and footer (page number) from appearing on Section 2, that first page of chapter 1. Now, you can click on “Insert” and choose “Page Numbers” while you are in Section 3 (the 2nd page of Chapter 1).  Be sure to include “show number on first page.”  That’s the page you are on. And choose the location where you want the number to appear.  I prefer centered.

Now, guess what?  When you get to the last page of Chapter 1, you will repeat these steps all over again to ensure no page number or header appears on the first page of Chapter 2 and so on. Sounds time consuming and annoying and complicated, right?  Well, yes, yes, and no.  Once you get the hang of creating these section breaks, the rest just falls into place and becomes second nature.

Check out this article at Instant Publisher for more information and some useful pictures, where the above pics came from.

Just be sure to remain consistent and that your page numbers fall in numerical order, even when there isn’t a page number shown on that page.

I’ve recently learned to use the Zoom feature in Word (thank you, Cheryl!) to zoom out and look at more than one page at a time.  I usually like to look at 4 pages at a time and it helps you to be consistent. Just click on “View” in the toolbar and then choose “Zoom.”  From here, if you change it to 75% you should see 4 pages on your screen at one time, but can adjust it to view more if you like.  Give it a try and I’m sure you’ll see that it definitely helps.

To recap:

• Do not number the pages of your front matter.
• A number on the first page of Chapter 1 is optional.
• The first page of Chapter 1 can start at #1 if you like, or can include the pages of your front matter.
• Most books these days do not number the first page of chapters.
• Create sections to be able to control whether or not a page number appears on the first page of a chapter.
• Be consistent and make sure your pages fall in numerical order (even when they aren’t visible).

Kel says: Well, maybe not every book. Only the awesome books, like ours.

Kris says: And why are they awesome? Because of the prologues.

Kel says: Exactly. The prologue of my book, Waiting For Spring, introduces its protagonist, Tess, at the age of seven as she learns a lesson in Sunday School that colors the way she views the world and herself throughout the rest of the novel.

Kris says: And mine, in my novel Homefront, allows readers a private glimpse into a relationship that’s about to be catapulted into a pretty significant upheaval (which is the thrust of the story).

Kel says: WFS’s prologue (which is presented almost as a parable) also sets the tone for the rest of the novel. Since it is character-driven, rather than plot-driven, I wanted readers to be pulled immediately into Tess’s head and to introduce the people who had the biggest influence on her life before the main action begins.

Kris says: Oh, yeah? Well…well, HF’s prologue (which is presented entirely as a prologue) also sets the character-driven tone. In fact, my book is completely filled with characters. And they drive it. They drive it right from the prologue into the first chapter. And the second and third, and so on.

Kel says: Which is why it’s so awesome.

Kris says: I agree – the prologue as a device is a truly awesome thing. We could probably talk for weeks about The Awesome Prologue, but do you think we should talk a little bit about first chapters, and whatnot?

Kel says: Right. Because many books, even awesome ones, skip the prologue and go right to the first chapter. And when they do, I like it when the author grabs me, whether it’s emotionally or intellectually. A lot has been said about “hooking” your reader, to the point where the term has become cliche. In fact, I’m personally sick of it and hope nobody uses the term again. But it does illustrate the main purpose of a first chapter, namely drawing the reader into the story.

Kris says: I’m opposed to hooking, as well. But I do like trying to grab a reader in the first chapter, and there are many ways to do this. The most important of which, I think, is by not boring your reader. Which is to say, even if there’s no page-one murder, sweaty-palmed cliff-hanger, or other variation of hyphenated-action excitement, as long as there’s something that appeals to reader curiosity and compels them to want to turn the page, the job has been done. (Being compelled to turn the page to answer, “This has to get better, right?” doesn’t count.)

Kel says: Neither does, “Did this guy actually decide to keep writing?” But going forward to things that do count, and something I love, is foreshadowing. I dig it. Especially Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, which is chuckerblock full of foreshadowing. I also dig when the author leaves me with a question that (presumably) will be answered during the course of the book.

Kris says: I also really enjoy straight-up questions found in the first chapter–and better yet, on the first page. Particularly when the question is one that’s been pondered for ages, such as the one asked by the narrator in Pack Up the Moon by Anna McPartlin: “Men, I thought. How hard is it to aim for the loo?”

Kel says: How hard, indeed. And we can’t forget the importance of the first line. For example, Alicia Erian’s novel, Towelhead, begins, “My mother’s boyfriend got a crush on me, so she sent me to live with Daddy.” It’s not only punch-you-in-the-gut compelling, it lets you know exactly what kind of book you’re in for.

Kris says: Oh, it does. Another thing I like about a first chapter is something unexpected, something a little bit “off.” For example, on the first page of Chuck Palahniuk’s Lullaby, the first thing that screams at you are the centered, bold-face, all-caps words, GET OUT. This, of course, begs you to read the sentence before and after to find out what’s going on, but that the curiosity is quickly satisfied doesn’t diminish the interest in the book all because this writer is clearly having fun with the writing and isn’t concerned with sticking to convention. Much like (and this is done to a far greater degree, here) Kurt Vonnegut’s doodles in Breakfast of Champions.

Kel says: Agreed. Vonnegut rocks. So, in conclusion, I would say that although there is no particular formula for creating The Perfect First Chapter, drawing in your reader and setting the proper tone are important. Also, prologues can be awesome.

Kris says: They can. As can dialogue. I have to admit, I’m a very big fan of dialogue and think it may even be better than the best prologue. In all, though, I would have to agree in our conclusion that a first chapter should have some hooking, a killer first line that hits you in the face, maybe a drawing of a Vonnegut sphincter, and preceding all of it, a prologue.

Kel says: I thought we agreed to eliminate “hooking” from our literary vocabulary.

Kris says: I think we’re having a homonym issue.

Justified Text, or full justification as it is also called, is text set evenly within a column so that both the left and right margins are aligned perfectly from top to bottom.  It is common for spaces between the text in each line to be stretched so that the text aligns perfectly with the line above and below it.

The history of justification is explained as so… Justification has been the preferred setting of type in many western languages through the history of movable type. This is due to the classic Western manuscript book page being built of a column or two columns, which is considered to look “best” if it is even-margined on the left and right. The classical Western column did not rigorously justify, but came as close as feasible when the skill of the penman and the character of the manuscript permitted.

Lines that have been stretched beyond their normal width (sometimes containing too few words such as the last line of a paragraph) are called loose lines and lines that have been compressed are called tight lines.  This is important to know because you can end up with a line of text in your book’s body that looks something like this….

This  is     a      line       of       text    that     has     been      stretched  too       much.

Notice that the spacing between the text does not look even. In most cases this situation can be resolved by breaking the body of text into another paragraph or by moving a word or two from the previous line to the line that is being stretched too far.

My biggest pet peeve when looking at previews of books that have been queried to us for review is finding that the text in the book is only flushed left, and the right margin is left jagged rather than being flushed left and right.  As history notes, it is common procedure for the text to be fully justified left to right, without that jagged edge down the right.  Even though some indie authors will argue that the jagged right margin makes the text easier to read, it is not acceptable if you want your book to look and feel like a traditionally published book.  We’ve shown you before but for examples of each of these, look here.

So, how do you fix it, you ask?

When I write, I tend to leave my body of text with a jagged right edge, and only justify it once I have finished my first draft and begin the editing process.  However, you may choose to justify your body of text right from the start.  If you do this, it may make the loose and tight lines easier to fix as you go.  But remember, when you are writing, you should do just that.  Write.  Save the formatting for the editing process which comes later.

But to fix the justification, all you have to do is select the body of text and then click on the “justify” option which is located in your tool bar.  It looks something like this, mimicking the look of your lines of text:

Yep, it’s as easy as that.  And justifying your text can definitely help give your book a traditional feel.  Leaving that jagged edge is a sure sign of novice, and also one reason why LLBR may not consider your book for review.

Next month, we hope to have some special guests discussing the first chapter of a novel.  What goes into a good first chapter, and, well, makes it good?  Find out next month!

This week I’ve been reading a book called Kick-Ass Creativity by Mary Beth Maziarez. If you need some help focusing your creativeness or just need to get your creative juices flowing in general, I highly recommend it.  Mary Beth acts as a cheerleader for you and writes in a very personal and humorous style that made the book a quick read for me.  She focuses on how to harness your energy and use it to the best of your ability.  A big problem for me has always been structure and focus.  Mary Beth provides simple steps and routines to keep you on track no matter if you are a painter, a crafter, or writer.  This book is for all creative minds!  I’ve never been much of a “self-help” reader, but I do recommend this one. So, check it out.

We’re approaching the summer months and if you are like me, you want to get out doors.  Memorial Day weekend is right around the corner.  Then, Independence Day.  Next thing you know, it’s vacation time and then Labor Day and then summer is gone again. If you find yourself spending more time away from the computer, that’s not such a bad thing.  We all need a break from time to time, even if it’s a whole season.  But there are ways to stay focused on the writing that you will eventually get back to.

• First, take notes.  Put a one subject notebook in your suitcase when you go on vacation or a small notepad in your pocket when you go to the family barbecue.  When thoughts hit you, and if you are like me they always do, grab that pen and paper and write it down.  Write down random words, names of places and people you like, or pieces of conversation you overheard. You never know but you may just end up with a nice outline for a whole new chapter, or even a new book, by the time summer is over.
• Second, take photos.  Chances are you’ve got that camera right there anyway.  When you aren’t shooting the kids at Disneyland or the cousins in the swimming pool, takes photos of whatever catches your eye.  It might be a flower in granny’s garden or a statue in a park, maybe someone walking down the street wearing funny clothes (be discreet!).  I once snapped a photo of some artwork on the side of a KFC.  I was waiting in the drive through line of a brand new KFC and there was some interesting artwork on the side intended for marketing.  It caught my eye and luckily I had my camera with me, so I snapped a shot of it.
• Third, collect postcards and brochures if you are traveling.  This is a good step to follow if you don’t have a camera with you or you are in a place where you can’t use it.  When you check into a hotel, check out the brochures in the lobby or buy postcards in the airport gift shop.  I”ve been known to rip pages from magazines that are lying around in car garage waiting rooms.  By the time you are done, you’ll have a collection of local flavor and useful information that might help you establish place and setting for a new book.
• Lastly, blog or journal about what you’ve done or what you saw. If you have time at the end of the day, whether it be on the laptop your wife doesn’t know you brought or in that notebook you packed, recount your day and write it down.  What did you eat today?  What did you see?  Who did you talk to?  What did they say?

So what if you aren’t pounding out chapters these next few months!  Like I said, we all need a break from time to time and summer is a perfect time to take it. So, take notes, take photos, collect things that inspire you, and when you get home lay it all out on the table and look at what you have.  Read your notes and thoughts.  Take a deep breath and then sit down and get back to writing.  You’re rested and rejuvenated and you’re armed with a whole array of inspiration. Harness that energy and use it!

Summer is here!  Enjoy it!

Cheryl Anne Gardner is a writer of dark, often disturbing literary novellas. She is an advocate for independent film, music, and books, and when at all possible prefers to read and review out-of-the-mainstream indie published works, foreign translations, and a bit of philosophy. Her love of literature began at an early age with Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Captivated by the Gothic and Dark Romantic stylings of Poe, Lovecraft, Kafka, and de Sade, her passion for the macabre manifests itself throughout her own work to this day. She lives with her husband and ferrets on the east coast USA, is an enthusiastic gardener, and her weekly blog column titled “Thoughts on The Craft” can be found at The Pod People Indie Book Review and Commentary site.

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When Shannon Yarbrough asked me to contribute to his Book Synthesis column, I was thrilled to death. I didn’t know what topic he would choose for me, but it didn’t really matter. When I received an email from him tasking me with the first page, I was delighted. Why? Because the first page is a Chapter Start and will affect every single chapter start in the entire book.

Johannes Cabal ~ Jonathan Howard

Chapter starts are another area where you can get a bit creative or you can be as plain and straight forward as you want. The sky is the limit, and I have seen all kinds of crazy stuff in Chapter Starts.

Now, first and foremost, size does matter when it comes to how creative you should get with your Chapter Starts: smaller book sizes look better if you keep the starts uncluttered, and the larger sizes like 6×9 have more room to get a bit fancier. Scale is very important. Now I won’t go into the canons of page construction here because that’s a whole lot of geometry the average self-published author doesn’t really need to understand in order to make a decent looking book.

The elements of a chapter start are as follows — this list is basic and by no means inclusive, and design choices will need to be made by the individual author. It’s all about choices, and my advice to any Self-published author who has tasked themselves with the interior design of their book is that they need to get their hands on a couple hundred or so books and look at the Chapter Starts. In this process, you will discover things you like and things don’t like, and this will help you to decide how creative you want to get … or not.

Chapter Starts include some and sometimes all of these elements and the trick is that the choice of elements needs to be consistent throughout the entire book:

High Fidelity ~ Nick Hornby

* Chapter Numbers
* Chapter Titles
* Chapter Subtitles or Epigraphs
* Flourishes such as images and drop caps and type ornaments
* Body Text
* Footers or Drop Folios

As a start, Chapter 1 of your book should start on the recto — always. All Chapters can have either a drop folio (page number) or a blind folio (no page number) but should not have a running head (header). When I am looking at the blank page, I like to work in what we artsy types call “the rule of thirds” which is where we divide the page into thirds. As a personal preference, I like to keep the first third of the page reserved for white space. My book size of choice is small – 5.25×8 — and so the white space works better for me. In the second third, I like to put the chapter number, chapter title, and chapter sub if there is one, and in the final third of the page is where I normally begin the text.

1. Chapter Numbers, like most creative elements of the chapter start, are optional. You don’t need them, but they help readers keep track of where they are in the book. You can do all kinds of crazy creative things with Chapter numbers, but most often, a decorative font will be used and the font size will be noticeably larger than the text, but it doesn’t have to be. In Clive Barker’s Mr. B Gone, you will notice that there is no chapter number, and that is because the book has no chapters. A type ornament separates the sections throughout the book and the text is continuous. In Hornby’s High Fidelity, the chapter numbers do not begin until chapter two, and then it is spelled out in the header. In Rice’s Sleeping Beauty, the chapters have only titles – no numbers.

Mr. B. Gone ~ Clive Barker

2. Chapter titles/subs are again optional. I personally like them because I use them to lead the reader into the chapter with a premise or a bit of foreshadowing. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing and Howard’s Cabal are examples of chapter titles used to set mood and entice the reader.

3. As for the flourishes, have at it. In small books, I find that flourishes tend to clutter the page, but in the larger sizes like the 6×9 you have more room to work.

4. I love Drop caps as well, but you have to be careful of the Font style and formatting because it is easy to throw the alignment of the page off if you misstep. Some designers indent the drop cap, some don’t. Some indent all the way to the centre of the page too, and some designers don’t use drop caps at all choosing instead the use of small caps for the first line or even just the first word. What ever suits the feel of YOUR story. I have tried to show a wide range of drop cap uses.

5. For headers and footers, well, chapter starts should not have a running head. I don’t like headers or footers on chapter starts, but a page number footer or drop folio is acceptable.

With my own books, as you can see, I have adopted a house style, and I keep my Chapter Starts very simple and streamline, preferring to focus instead on the words versus flourishes. I use a Garamond drop cap because it’s crisp and works well with the Palatino typeface I use, and I do indent them to keep them in line with the Chapter title and number. I use Bold and Italic for my numbers, titles, and subs, but I use the same font as the body text, one font size larger, with a simple line boarder to delineate the “indexing” information from the actual body text. I like this look, and it makes it easier to reformat the manuscript

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty ~ Anne Rice

for ebook later. A poorly formatted Chapter start can look slapdash and amateurish and can turn a reader all the way off, and too much flourish is distracting. You will need to look at the project with an artist’s eye, so if you do not have an artist’s eye, seek someone out who does, or get a professional book designer to help you. The idea is to enhance the appearance of the words or the set the mood for the story, not muck everything up. When in doubt, keep it simple. Simple is always the elegant choice. The scanned examples are from my own personal library. As you can see there is simple, funky, fanciful, elegant, and over the top elaborate. Whatever you decide, make sure it suits your story. For more insider information on book design, visit Joel Friedlander at The Book Designer.com.

Antiquity ~ Cheryl Anne Gardner

Table of Contents

First of all, self-published authors should know that a Table of Contents is not required for fiction.  It is okay to have to have and I have even seen it used in traditional published book, but just know that it is not necessary.  For nonfiction books though, I would say a table of contents is a must.

The Table of Contents is the next page after your Copyright page (which should be on the left side)  and should be on the right side and continue on the back (the left side) if it is very long.    No other information should be on the Table of Contents page except for the chapter headers (the number), the chapter title (if applicable), and the correct page number that each corresponding chapter begins on. That’s it!  Nothing else!

Setting the Table

You should treat your Table of Contents almost like an outline when it comes to organization meaning the information is kept brief and should be organized in an understandable manner. Did you know that if you are using MS Word to write that you can also use it to help create your Table of Contents?  I’m not going to go into the lengthy steps involved, but if you are interested in learning how, just click here.

There are two main types of Table of Contents: one for a lengthy book containing at least more than a dozen chapters, and one for a shorter book that contains no more than a dozen chapters.  I think even a dozen is pushing it, and would probably only use a shorter format if my book contained under ten chapters.

A longer table of contents should list the chapter headers and names down the left side, and the page numbers justified down the right side.  To make this a bit easier on the eyes to follow, you often see a row of dots connecting the two.  Here’s an example:

Chapter 1………………………………………………2

Chapter 2……………………………………………..7

Chapter 3…………………………………………….11

To give your book and its table of contents a bit more personality, I much prefer to name the chapters and use the titles in the table instead of the numbers.  Fellow author and reviewer LK Gardner-Griffie used this version in her most recent book, Nowhere Feels Like Home. Click on the title and go to the Search Inside feature if you’d like to take a look at her table of contents.

But for those of you who might prefer a chapter header, title, and page number, here’s an example of how to organize your table of contents:

Chapter 1
The City…………………………………………..2
Chapter 2
Drugs and Dreams……………………………7
Chapter 3
Diamonds……………………………………….11

The line containing the chapter title and page number can even be indented just a bit, giving the table the feel of an outline if you want.

For the shorter table I mentioned for books with under 12 chapters, you can still use all three key points I’ve pointed out that can be put on the table.  But instead of the row of dots, just center all of your information.  Here’s an example using all three points:

Chapter 1
The City
2

Chapter 2
Drugs and Dreams
7

Chapter 3
Diamonds
11

Notice again that this shorter version will work just fine without the chapter headers.

Here’s a quick review of things to consider for your table of contents:

• A table of contents falls on the right side in your front matter, usually opposite your copyright page.
• A table of contents is optional in fiction books, but nonfiction books should always have a table.
• A table of contents should contain only three elements: chapter headers, chapter titles, and page numbers. Nothing else.
• Chapter headers are also optional.
• If your book has more than 12 chapters, use the longer table of contents where information is justified down the left and right side of the page, separated by dots in the middle.
• If your book has less than 12 chapters, use the shorter version where information is centered.
• Make sure your page numbers correspond correctly to the pages in the book.

Dedicated to the One I Love

One of my favorite parts of a book is its dedication page, though 98% of the time I’m disappointed just to find a simple To Mom or To My Parents or To My Husband there instead of something more profound and out of the ordinary.  A dedication page is nice and personal, but again, it is also optional if you don’t want to dedicate the book to anyone.  Often, you will find an Acknowledgments Page in place of the Dedication Page. The Acknowledgments Page is your Oscar speech where you think your agent, your editor, your proofreader, God, your friends, your spouse, your canary, and whoever else helped you with the creative process along the way. If you feel the need to have both a dedication page and an acknowledgments page, then your dedication page should fall in the front matter on a separate page on the right side, usually the next page after your table of contents.  Your acknowledgments page goes in the back matter, and is usually the page after the end page of your story, but comes just before your About the Author page (more about this page later).

Dedications can be centered or can fall closer to the top of the page.  I often space my down about three lines from the top.  Dedications can be in bold face or even italicized.  For self-published authors, putting the dedication page all by itself is often a waste of a page, meaning that you want to try to cut your page count as much as possible to keep the overall list price of your book down.  Going back to LK’s book, she combines both her dedication and acknowledgments into one and italicizes them at the top of her copyright page to create separation.  Click here to view this page in the Search Inside feature at Amazon. Again, this is perfectly acceptable and I have seen this done in some traditional published books as well.  As long as there is a distinct separation from your copyright, it’s perfectly okay.

I myself prefer to have the dedication all to itself on it’s on page.  I also prefer a sentence or two with a bit of mystery for the blind reader (someone who doesn’t know me personally), and I often find a way to tie it into the book.  For my most recent book, Stealing Wishes, I dedicated it to my partner John and then wrote, “It’s been a long time since that first cup, but I still look forward to coffee with you every morning.”  The book itself takes place mostly in a coffee shop and the lead character is a barista. On our first date seven years ago, John and I had coffee and have probably shared a pot of coffee every morning since.

Reviewing the dedication page:

• Dedications usually fall on their own page on the right side just after the table of contents.
• Dedications can be placed at the top of the copyright page as long as there is distinct separation.
• Dedications can be short (To Mom) or more personal, but should not be a laundry list of thank yous.
• Dedications can be bold faced or italicized, or plain font.
• Dedications can be centered in the middle of the page or at the top of the page.

In closing, remember that a table of contents page and a dedication page are both completely optional.  I’ve seen plenty of self-published books without either, and that’s okay.  It’s definitely two pages that if you don’t feel the need to include them, will help cut down your page count.  I myself always include a dedication page, but did not include a table of contents in my last book.

Next month, for Book Synthesis we’re pushing ahead to the first page of your story!  Join us at the end of April for a special guest who will discuss your first page and proper formatting.

© How do you make that “C” in a circle? ©

We’ve all seen the copyright symbol in books before, but do you know how to make one?  You should if you are self-publishing and completely formatting your manuscript yourself.  Here are simple instructions on how to create the symbol for your copyright page:

On a mac: option (alt) + g = ©

On a pc: hold down the ALT key and then type 0169 on the ten key pad to the right (make sure your number lock is on) = ©

or hold down CTRL and ALT at the same time and then type C = ©

or depending on what version of Microsoft Word you are using, click on Insert, click on Symbols, and look for the © there.

Where does the copyright page go?

Most books place the copyright page on the back of the title page, whether that be the soft title page or full title page.  Both are acceptable.  Whichever you choose, the copyright page should always fall on the left side in your front matter. The copyright information should never be on the very first page as soon as you open the front cover. The information contained in the body of your copyright should be justified to the left or it can also be centered.  Again, either is acceptable.

Depending on the length of your copyright information, the body usually starts half way down the page and ends right at the bottom of the page.  If you examine textbooks or nonfiction-type books, you may find that the copyright fills up an entire page.  Also, if you use a lot of quotes with special permission, these are often cited on the copyright page which can also make the body take up more of the page.  Need a good example of this?  Examine any book by Stephen King.  He is notorious for quoting songs and they are always given credit on his copyright page.

No matter what, the copyright page of a fiction book should be limited to one page or half of one page.  If you have too many quotes to cite, move these to the end matter of your book (more about that in a later post).

What information does a good copyright page contain?

For the sake of most books we review here at LLBR, without song quotes or other citations, I’m going to examine a very simple copyright.  The first line of your copyright, again either justified to the left or centered half way down the page, contains the year and either your name or publishing company:

Copyright © 2010 by Shannon Yarbrough

There should be a single space after this line.

For the next line, you have several options.  Most authors put the title of their book, or the name of the publisher. I’ve also seen people include the format of the book and what edition it is.  I would probably not include the edition, unless this is NOT the first edition of the book.  This is also a good place to put your ISBN. You can also incorporate all of this information into the second line if you want. Here’s an example of the second line incorporating all of these options:

Sitting Next to Nothing
Second Edition, Paperback – published 2009
ShanLian Wordlit Press
ISBN: 123456789

There should be one single space after this body of information. If your book had a previous edition with a copyright as well, cite it on the next line.  For example:

Sitting Next to Nothing, 1st Edition Hardcover -  Copyright © 2007  Shannon Yarbrough

If this is your first edition, you can disregard this line.  I would also probably delete the “Second Edition, Paperback – published 2009″ line from above as well.

All rights reserved.

Your “all rights reserved” text should come next.  What does this mean, you ask?  For copyright purposes, it means you as the author (and publisher) hold all the rights to the book such as distribution, creation, marketing, etc.  If you are completely and totally formatting your own book and not using the formatting services of a print on demand company, then it is perfectly okay to include an All Rights Reserved notification in your book.  Most copyright laws in most countries no longer require such notices.  In my opinion, it still gives your copyright page a professional feel.  Here’s an example of how this text should be worded:

All rights reserved.  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

I’ve seen several versions of this statement, and for those who prefer something a little more simple, just the words “All Rights Reserved” will do.  This is usually followed by “Printed in the United States of America.”

All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

You can also break this into two lines if you prefer, with a space between.

The Countdown.

You may have seen a row of numbers on a copyright page as well, that look like this:

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

If so, the smallest number to the right is what edition you have of this book.  So if you see a 1, then it means this is a first edition.  This system is usually used in textbooks, but it is completely acceptable in fiction books as well.  The row of numbers should stand alone though.

Is this real life?

You’ve all read this before or something like it:

This book is a work of fiction.  Any similarities to real people, living or dead, is purely coincidental.  All characters and events in this work are figments of the author’s imagination.

There are several ways to word this, and this statement is optional unless you are worried that someone might actually try to sue you for using their persona, even if you didn’t intend to.  So, I’d probably included it just in case.  Here’s the version I like which I use in my own books:

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

What else can I put on my copyright page?

I prefer to have nothing else on the copyright page, however, to save pages I have seen self-published authors (and some traditionally published books as well) put their acknowledgments and dedication at the top of the copyright page. If you do this, I suggest you put these in italics to create a distinction between them and the copyright information at the bottom of the page. For a good example of this, check out LK Gardner-Griffie’s copyright page of Nowhere Feels Like Home.

What should a copyright NOT contain?

For the most part, in books I review, the copyright page usually contains most of the information I’ve reviewed above.  The one thing I see the most which should not be on your copyright page is the “stripped book” statement that says if you bought this book without a cover, then the author and publisher have not been paid. You usually find this statement on the copyright of mass market sized books.  The reason is because if you pick up one of these books and open the front cover, you’ll notice a UPC bar code printed on the inside cover.  Because of the small cost of these books, publishers usually allow bookstores to strip off and return just the cover of the book for credit.  The rest of the book is intended to be discarded.

A self-published book is never printed in mass market, so while this statement may give your copyright page a traditional feel, it is actually a false statement in regards to a trade paper or hardcover copy of your book.

Quick Review:

• Your copyright page goes in the front matter, usually on the back of your title page on the left side.  It should not be the first page in the book.
  
• Your copyright information should either all be centered or justified to the left and should start half way down the page.  It should not cover more than one page.
  
• Your copyright page should contain the year, your name, and the publisher’s name.
• Your copyright page should contain the ISBN of your book.
• Your copyright page can contain citations of quotes used in the book, or these can be moved to the back matter of your book and cited there.
• Your copyright page should mention what edition this book is.  You can spell it out or use the line of numbers.
• Your copyright page should list previous copyrights if your book has any.
  
• Your copyright page should contain an All Rights Reserved statement.
• Your copyright page should tell where the book is printed, although this is optional.
• Your copyright page should contain a “This Book is Fiction” statement if your book is fiction.
• Dedications and acknowledgments on a copyright page are okay as long as they are separate from the copyright information.
• Your copyright page should not contain a “stripped book” statement if your book is self-published.

My best advice for good examples of copyright pages, if you need them, is to go to your bookshelf or bookstore or library and examine the copyright page of several books. Take note of where they start on the page, what they have in common, and what is different. You can also use the “Search Inside” feature on Amazon.com to take a look at copyright pages of books as well.

Now, all of this information above is good and makes for a nice copyright page with a traditional feel, but when it comes down to actual copyright laws, the information you have on your copyright page can be minimal at best and still protect you.  Here’s a (made up) example of a very simple copyright page which still contains all the pertinent information:

Copyright © 2010 by Shannon Yarbrough

Are You Sitting Down?
ShanLian Wordlit Press
ISBN: 123456789
First Edition

All Rights Reserved.
Printed in the USA

This book is a work of fiction.

That’s it!  As you can see, copyright pages can be complex if you want them to be and if you want to use the examples I’ve spelled out above, or they can actually be quite simple.

In next month’s Book Synthesis post, we’ll take a look at the Table of Contents, Acknowledgment, and Dedication Pages.  If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them to this article or email us.  See you next month!

Synthesis is defined as “the combining of the constituent elements of separate material or abstract entities into a single or unified entity.”  In book terms, those elements are your title page, copyright page, table of contents, dedication page, body of text, etc. which all together make up your single book.

My plan is to dissect a book page by page to help authors, who are considering self-publishing, with steps to how to properly format their book.  Along the way, I’ll use actual self-published books as examples, we’ll have interviews and guest posts from other authors, and hopefully we’ll have some Q&A time as well.

So, if you plan to follow this post each month and you come up with questions or ideas that you’d like us to discuss, let us know.  Feel free to post comments to the Book Synthesis posts here on the blog, or email us directly at llbookreview@gmail.com.

But for now, let’s get started…

_____________________________________________________________________________________

To “Blank” or Not to “Blank.”

I’m referring to the very first page of your book.  Once you open the front book cover of any book, you often find a single blank page.  It is usually blank on the front and back.  Most self-published authors with at least one book under their belt will choose to opt out of including this blank page in their book.  The reason is because  self-publishing companies include the page count in their manufacturing costs, which increases the list price of your book in the end.  Just visit Lulu.com’s Help Page and click on the Book Cost Calculator for a good example.  So, finding proper ways of cutting your book’s cost by cutting out certain pages is completely acceptable, and cutting out this blank page is a good start especially if your manuscript is over 200 pages (6″ x 9″).

But for those who wish to include the page, you should first properly format your manuscript to leave this page blank, front and back, without affecting the rest of your formatting.  For those who are using Microsoft Word (I use 2003 which is pretty basic and is what I’ll be using for the sake of these posts.), open your manuscript and set your cursor at the top of the first page. Then, click on Insert in your task bar, then click on Break. Then, click on Page Break.  This should now create a single blank page at the beginning of your manuscript.  Set your cursor at the top of this new blank page and immediately repeat these steps again. You will now have two blank pages at the beginning of your manuscript.  This is the front and the back of that first blank page in your book.  You should NOT just continuously hit the space bar again and again until you have two blank pages; this will create problems later with spacing and with page numbering.  It can also cause formatting problems when turning your manuscript into an Ebook. We’ll discuss that more later.

Looking back at the two books I reviewed this month, Cheryl Gardner’s Antiquity includes this blank page.  LK Gardner-Griffie’s Nowhere Feels Like Home does not. Cheryl used this page to write a nice inscription and to sign the book for me. Cheryl’s book is also only 134 pages, so this blank page probably didn’t hurt her overall page count when it came to pricing. LK’s book is just over 200 pages, so cutting this extra page might have helped her keep the price down a bit. LK used the first page in the book as her title page, which brings us to our next topic.

A good title is the title of a successful book.  - Raymond Chandler

Title pages  obviously should contain the title of the book and the authors name, right?  Generally, they are centered and spaced apart to some degree.  It’s also okay to have a small graphic on your title page if you choose.  I’ve seen several variations and they are all acceptable.  Cheryl’s book only contains the title of the book and it’s centered directly in the middle of the page.  This is often referred to as a soft title page, half-title or fly title page.  I’ve also seen it called the bastard title page. Like Cheryl, I used this version in my own book, Stealing Wishes.  If you use this soft title page with just the title of the book, then your full title page with book title and author name often comes next or even after the copyright and dedication page (more about these in the next post).  My full title page followed my soft title page, whereas Cheryl’s full title page comes after her copyright and dedication page.  Again, either is acceptable.  LK also skipped the soft title page and the first page in her book is a full title page containing both the title of the book and her name.

Left, right, left…

Confused yet?  That’s completely understandable.  To help, we’re going to start referring to pages based on their location in the book.  Are they on the left side or the right?  If on the right, you are looking at the front of the page.  When you turn that page, the back side is on the left now and a new page is now on your right.  Right?  This is very important (and can get very confusing) when you are formatting your manuscript. So, when you open the book, the first page (on the right) is either that blank page we first mentioned or your soft or full title page.  Let’s quickly review the three books I’ve used as examples so far, just to give you some good options for the line up of these first few pages.

The Splendor of Antiquity by Cheryl Anne Gardner

Opening the cover, we see the first page is completely blank (front and back).

Turning this blank page, we see a soft title page on the right containing only the title of the book centered directly in the middle of the page.

Turning this soft title page, we see the copyright page on the back of it (on the left) and a dedication on the right (new page).  More about copyright and dedications next month!

Turning the dedication page, we see it is blank on the back (left) and Cheryl’s full title page with book and author name appear on the right.

Nowhere Feels Like Home by LK Gardner-Griffie

Opening the cover, we see the first page is a full title page containing both the title of the book and the author’s name.

Turn this page and we discover that LK chose to save more room by putting her dedication and copyright on the same page on the back of the full title page.  Again, this is fully acceptable.  I’ve seen it done in many traditionally published books, and as long as this information is formatted properly, it’s perfectly fine to do this.

LK’s next page (on the right) is a Table of Contents.  Again, we’ll be saving Table of Contents for a later post.

Stealing Wishes by Yours Truly

Opening the cover, we the first page is completely blank (front and back).

Turning this blank page, we see a soft title page on the right containing only the title of the book which is centered near the top of the page.

Turning this page, you’ll discover something new on the back (left side) of the soft title page.  Here, I included a list of my books, even though there are only two of them.  The page says: BOOKS BY SHANNON YARBROUGH with the title of my two books underneath.  These three lines are all bold and centered.  I chose to include this after seeing it in several other traditionally published books.  Look for it in any bestseller from an author who has multiple books out there.

My full title page can be seen on the right now, with title and author name centered.  Here, I also included a simple graphic: a black and white photo of a cup of coffee which is centered between the title and my name.  At the bottom of the title page in a much smaller font, I put the publisher’s name and the name of the city. Again, a feature you see on lots of title pages of traditionally published books.  Everything on my full title page is centered.

My copyright page is on the back of my full title page.

Still confused?

If the whole left, right, left thing is confusing to you, just go get a book off your shelf and turn through the first few pages as an example.  However, when you are formatting your manuscript it often helps to also adjust it so that you are looking at two pages at a time.  I even like to write using this feature. Here’s how you can set up your page in MS Word 2003 so that you can view two pages at a time.  First, open a new blank document.  Then, under File, click on Page Set Up. Click on the Paper tab and adjust the width to 6″ and adjust the height to 9″ (or adjust to whatever size you plan to publish your book in).

Now, go back and do the first step I went through to create your first page that is blank on the front and back.  You should now be viewing two pages on your computer screen side by side.  If not, click on View in the Toolbar and adjust the Zoom to 100%.  This should help.

Now, here’s where the left, right, left can get confusing.  Think about it.  If you decide to put your title page on the first page, then technically it’s on the left side of your screen even though we know that’s going to be the first page in your book and in your book, it will be on the right side.  So, if you are going to view your manuscript like this – two pages at a time – think of it like this: the left is now the front of the page, and the right is the back.  Front, back, front, back…  Got it?

You might ask, “Is this important?”  It will be later when we get to page numbering so stick with me!  This graphic might help put it into perspective though.  It shows the first two pages of your book – front and back – with the first page being a blank page.

Last Minute Tips

I know we’ve only covered about the first three pages of the front matter of your book, but as you can see, their lay out and placement can be very different and is just as important.  So, here are some last minute tip to review concerning these pages:

• A single blank page in the front of your book is optional but perfectly acceptable, but does add to your overall page count which can affect pricing.
• A soft title page, containing only the title of the book, is also acceptable but should be followed by a full title page next or at least a few pages later.  A soft title page is also optional.
• It is acceptable to make the first page of your book a full title page containing your book’s title and your name.
• You can put your copyright page on the back of the title page to also save on page count.
• A graphic on the title page adds a nice touch.  Keep it simple.
• Consider putting the name of your publisher and the city at the bottom of your title page.
• If you have published more than one book, consider listing them on the back of your soft title page.
• None of the page numbers in your front matter should be numbered!
• If you have an auto-tab set in Word, be sure to turn it off when centering your title and name on your title page.

So, that’s it for this month and my first Book Synthesis Post. In February, we’ll be covering Table of Contents, Copyright Pages, and Dedication Pages. And again, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to email us or post them on this page.

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