What is front matter in a book?
Front matter is everything that comes before the first chapter: the title page, copyright page, dedication, table of contents and, in some books, a foreword, preface or introduction. It tells readers what the book is, who wrote it and how it is organised. Good front matter makes a self-published book look as professional as one from a big publisher.
The correct order of front matter
Most publishers follow the order in The Chicago Manual of Style. Not every book needs every page — a novel often has only five or six.
| # | Page | Side (print) | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Praise / reviews | Right | Books with endorsements |
| 2 | Half title | Right | Most print books |
| 3 | Also by the author | Left | Authors with more books / series |
| 4 | Title page | Right | Every book |
| 5 | Copyright page | Left | Every book |
| 6 | Dedication | Right | Optional |
| 7 | Epigraph | Right | Optional — often fiction & memoir |
| 8 | Table of contents | Right | Nonfiction; optional in novels |
| 9 | Foreword | Right | Written by someone else |
| 10 | Preface | Right | Nonfiction |
| 11 | Acknowledgments | Right | Nonfiction (fiction usually at the back) |
| 12 | Introduction | Right | Nonfiction |
Right-hand pages, blank pages and roman numerals
In a printed book, important pages start on a right-hand (recto) page, which always has an odd page number. The copyright page is the exception: it sits on the back (verso) of the title page. To make this work, designers add blank pages. Front matter is numbered with lowercase roman numerals (i, ii, iii…), but the number is not printed on display pages such as the title, copyright and dedication pages. Chapter 1 then starts on page 1, on a right-hand page. This generator inserts the blank pages and roman numbers for you and shows every spread exactly as it will print.
Front matter for ebooks and Kindle
Ebooks don’t have left and right pages, so blank pages are dropped. Keep ebook front matter short: Amazon’s free “Look Inside” sample covers only roughly the first 10% of the book, and every page of front matter is one less page of your story. Many indie authors keep only the title page, copyright page and a short dedication at the front, and move acknowledgments, “also by” lists and the author bio to the back matter. Switch the preview to “Ebook” to see the difference and get tips.
How to create your front matter in 4 steps
- Choose your type of book — novel, nonfiction, memoir, series book, children’s, poetry or academic.
- Enter the title, subtitle, author and publisher once; they are used on every page.
- Write each page — pick a dedication idea, a public-domain epigraph, fill the contents automatically, or import the copyright page you made with our copyright page generator.
- Download a PDF at your trim size, a Word file, or EPUB-ready XHTML pages.
Dedication and epigraph ideas
A dedication can be as short as “For Mum.” or “For everyone who believed in me.” An epigraph is a short quotation that sets the mood of the book. Choose quotes that are in the public domain — words from classic writers such as Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson or ancient philosophers — because song lyrics and quotes from modern books usually need permission from the rights holder.
Order and conventions based on The Chicago Manual of Style and common trade publishing practice (checked October 2026). Not affiliated with Amazon KDP.
What front matter is
Front matter is everything before chapter one: half title, title page, copyright page, dedication, epigraph, table of contents, foreword, preface, acknowledgements and more. Different kinds of books use different pages in a standard order.
Start from your book type
Choose novel, nonfiction, memoir, series book, children’s book, poetry or academic textbook. The usual pages are switched on in the right order. Then:
- Tick or untick pages.
- Move pages up or down.
- Press ✎ Edit to write the text of each page.
Typical order for a novel
- Half title (just the book title)
- Also by the author (optional)
- Title page
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph (a short quotation, optional)
- Table of contents (often skipped in print novels, needed in ebooks)
Downloads
Download a print-ready PDF, a Word file to add to your manuscript, or EPUB pages (.zip) for ebook tools — or copy all the text.
Tip: in print, the title page, copyright page and first chapter traditionally start on specific sides of the page. Check your layout after adding front matter.