Books are generally divided into three parts: The frontmatter, the body of the book, and the backmatter.

Keep in mind that there is no book that has all of these parts. Use this list instead to make sure you have the right content in the right category, and that elements of your book appear in the sequence in which they are expected.

Normally, unless otherwise noted, each of these items should start on a right hand page.

Frontmatter

The Frontmatter are the pages at the beginning of a book before the body of the book. These pages are traditionally numbered with lowercase roman numerals.

Half title Page—Sometimes called the Bastard Title.  This page contains only the title of the book and is the first page you see when opening the cover.

Title Page—Contains the title, subtitle, author and publisher of the book.

Copyright Page—Is on the reverse of the Title Page, and contains the copyright notice, publisher information, the ISBN number, Library of Congress number, and printing information (usually “Printed in the United States of America”). Legal notices, credits for illustrations or cover design are also commonly listed on the page.

Dedication—Not every book carries a dedication but, for those that do, it is opposite the copyright page.  A dedication is always personal. Professional acknowledgements go on the Acknowledgements page or in the Preface.

Foreword—An introductory essay written by someone other than the author.  The Foreword is always signed, usually with the Foreword author’s name, and title.  Please note that the Foreword (literally meaning “the word before”) should never be spelled as Forward.

Preface—An introductory essay written by the author that tells how the book came into being, followed by thanks and acknowledgments to people who were helpful to the author during the time of writing.  The Preface is usually signed with the author name, place and date. .

Acknowledgments—The author expresses their gratitude for help in the creation of the book.  The acknowledgement page should not be more than 1 page.  If you have a Preface page that includes acknowledgements, then you do not need a separate Acknowledgements page.

Introduction—Here the author introduces the material that is covered in the work.  Typically, an author tells the reader what will be revealed in greater detail if they continue reading.

Table of Contents—Also known as the Contents page, this page lists all the major divisions of the book including parts and chapters and their page numbers. Depending on the length of the book, a greater level of detail may be provided to help the reader navigate the book.

Please note, you should include all your Front Matter in your Table of Contents (with the exception of the Title and Copyright Pages), even though they come before the Table of Contents.

A Table of Contents should start on a right hand page, unless it requires the use of two pages, in which case it should start on the left hand side.

Prologue—In a work of fiction, the Prologue sets the scene for the story and is told in the voice of a character from the book, not the author’s voice.

Body

The Body is the main portion or body of the book.  These pages are traditionally numbered with Arabic numerals with page 1 beginning with the first text of the main body (which means page 1 is usually the first page of the first chapter).

Parts—Both fiction and nonfiction books are often divided into parts when there is a large conceptual, historical or structural logic that suggests these divisions.

Chapters—Most fiction and almost all nonfiction books are divided into chapters for the sake of organizing the material.

Backmatter

The Backmatter are the pages after the body of the work.

Epilogue or Epilog—A short essay, in the voice of the author, that brings closure to the work.

Afterword—An Afterword either covers how the book was created (in which case you would not have a Preface) or it is written by someone other than the author, seeking to put work in some wider context (often done if the work is being reissued after many years)

Postscript— The postscript is a final “PS” note at the end of a book, providing additional information that doesn’t fit as part of the story or main point of the book.

Appendix —A supplement to the main work. An Appendix typically includes referenced documents cited in the text, or articles peripherally related to the subject of the book.

Notes—If your main text requires notes to amplify or document certain passages throughout the text, please arrange the notes by chapter in a notes section.Glossary—An alphabetical list of terms and their definitions, helpful in understanding the terms referenced frequently in the book. 

Bibliography—The bibliography section lists the sources for works used in your book. Be sure to arrange the sources alphabetically by the author’s last name.

Index—An alphabetical listing of people, places, events, and subjects cited along with page numbers.  This is typically done for a scholarly, non-fiction book.

About the Author—A brief biography, nor more than 1 page, about the author.  This is typically the last page of a book and is on the left hand side.  The author biography should either be on the last page of the book, or on the cover of the book (but not both).

A self published book can be a great way to get new prospects for your business, add value to your services and increase your revenue.   Here are just a few ways self publishing a book can help your business:

A book is the new business card

Nobody cares about your business card.  They will likely throw it away after they meet you.  A book on the other hand, seldom gets thrown away.    A business card just means you have access to a print shop.  A book differentiates you from your competitors (who are still passing out business cards).

A book gives you instant credibility

A book makes you an expert.  If you are consultant or someone who makes their money by selling their expertise, a book is about the best took you can have to establish your credentials and make you stand out among all the other consultants, counselors, and experts.

Speaking engagements, talk and radio show appearances and publicity are much more likely to happen if you have a book.  In our society being a published author equals being an expert.

A book is a lead generation tool

A book is an excellent way to generate leads and to make leads into likely customers.

If you are consultant, don’t just put a lead form on your website and wait for people to contact you.  Tell them if they register on your site, you will send them a free book with information of interest to them.  This will generate a lot more potential leads then no offer.

If you teach classes or offer a consultation service, give prospects a free book with the view that those that read the book will be more likely to pay the tuition for your classes.  You won’t make money on book sales if you give away your books, of course, but if doing so increases your sales conversions to your main business, then a book giveaway can still be a money maker for you.

Books can also be used in businesses we usually don’t associate with books.  For example, if you have a wine shop and you make your money from selling fine wines, you may want to consider offering a free book on evaluating fine wines.  An educated wine consumer is much more likely to spend money on a fine wine than someone who doesn’t know their Chardonnays from their Merlots.

A book can help educate your prospects and an educated prospect is more likely to see the value in what you offer.

A book offers added value 

Giving away a book in association with your service or class can add perceived value to your business services.

For example, you can require your clients to purchase your book as a part of the service you offer. For example, Bookstand Publishing had a doctor author who offered a weight loss service, who required all his clients to purchase his print on demand weight loss book (and he charged a lot for weight loss service too).

In another case, a consultant who published a print on demand book began including the book as a part of his speaker’s package so clients would receive something tangible when they attended his paid seminar (and, of course the book included his contact information and list of services so class participants could contact him again in the future).

A book is an additional revenue stream

Often speakers who speak for “free” or who charge a low dollar amount for their seminars take a different approach and sell books in the back of the classroom.  This is an excellent way to sell books, as customers are most likely to buy your book after having been inspired by your speaking.   Almost every big name speaker sells books in the back of the room (or offers a book as a part of their speaking package)

As another example, if you offer counseling sessions, and your book is relevant to that field, put your book on a bookstand with pricing and ordering information so that all of your counseling clients see it.  You can even offer a book signing at your place of business.  The fact is that your existing clients are the best prospects to purchase your book.

Retail sales of your book on Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com and other online sites, can happen for your book as well, if you smart about how your market and promote your book.  And being smart about how you market and promote your book will usually also help you in marketing and promoting your business as well.

In honor of National Poetry Month, I thought I would publish this list of great poets who self published their books.   This is but a very small list, as thousands of famous poets have self-published.

American poet Walt Whitman self-published many editions of his collected poems, Leaves of Grass (first edition published on July 4, 1855). Leaves of Grass continues to sell thousands of copies each year — almost 120 years after his death!

T.S. Eliot, author of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and The Waste Land, paid for the publication of his first book.

British poet Alexander Pope, author of the satirical mock-epic poems The Rape of the Lock and The Dunciad, paid for the publication of his first book.

American poet and short story writer Edgar Allen Poe, author of the poem The Raven and short stories such as The Tell-Tale Heart and The Fall of the House of Usher, self-published some of his writings.

English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, author of Ode to the West Wind, To a Skylark, Adonais, and Prometheus Unbound, paid for the publication of his first book.

English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, author of Sonnets from the Portuguese, paid for the publication of her first book.

American poet E. E. Cummings self-published No Thanks, a volume of poetry financed by his mother. On the half-title page, he listed the 13 publishers that had rejected the book, which became one of his classics.

Carl Sandburg self-published poems and essays with the financial assistance of his college professor. His work came to public notice when he began selling to Poetry magazine.

Oscar Wilde self-published a book of poetry in 1881.

If you are thinking about self-publishing your poetry, you’re in good company. If you want to add your name to this list of self-published poets, you should check out Bookstand Publishing’s affordable Paperback Book Publishing Packages.

Avoid a bad self publishing experience. Follow these rules!

Here are 7 rules for any author shopping for a good self publishing company:

1.  You want to keep 100% of your rights

Any self publishing company that does not allow you to keep 100% of your author rights is not a legitimate company, in my opinion, and you should avoid them at all costs

2.  You want a non-exclusive contract

You don’t want to work with a company that restricts your rights and who you can work with.  You want someone who is trying to help you, not restrict you.

3.  You want a company with a good reputation

Only deal with self publishing companies with a good rating with the Better Business Bureau.  In addition, do an online search of complaints regarding the company.  A lot of big self publishing companies have gotten themselves a bad reputation because they use very aggressive sales techniques, they don’t or won’t resolve problems when they arise and their staff is not well trained to answer questions about sales and distribution.  Avoid them.

4.  You must have these essential services

Your self publishing company must provide you with:

• ISBN number
• Bowkers Books in Print Registration
• Distribution on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com
• Distribution through the wholesaler Ingram and/or Baker & Taylor
• Print on Demand order fulfillment

If you are looking at a company that doesn’t offer these basic services, then they are not a publishing company, they are a printing company.  They are going to print books for you, but no online or offline bookstore will make them available for sale

5.  Decide if you need Full Service or Self Service

There are two types of Self Publishing companies, Full Service and Self Service.  Full Service self publishing companies will help you lay out your manuscript, help you with your cover, give you advice, provide you with electronic proofs of your book before it goes to press and much more.  Self Service companies, on the other hand,  expect you to come to them with everything formatted and complete and if there are problems they are your problems.  Most authors new to publishing should use a Full Service self publishing company to start

6.  Compare publishing packages

Publishing packages come with a variety of services.  When comparing publishing packages between companies be sure you are comparing apples to apples.  In particular compare:

• The number of books that come with each package
• The price to purchase additional books
• EBook services such as Kindle, Nook and iPad editions
• Any additional fees such as shipping costs

7.  Consider other services you may need

In evaluating self publishing companies, you need to consider what other services you may need beside the basic publishing services.  You may want to consider:

• Editing services
• Cover design services
• Illustration services
• Marketing services

For example, if you want to aggressively market your book you will need to be sure that the publishing company you choose offers a variety of marketing services for your book.

The Road Less Published – by Fishn4Souls Radio

I was on a panel discussion on Wednesday on Self-Publishing on the Christian Blog Talk Radio station Fishn4Souls hosted by Matt S. Senge.  You can listen to the entire discussion here at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fishn4souls/2013/01/24/road-less-published-1.  I thought the discussion was very instructive and I think Christian authors in particular will enjoy the panel discussion (and the weekly radio program). 

If I could summarize my advice to the many aspiring and published Christian authors who were on the panel and who called in, it would be this:

There may be many reasons God has put the desire in your heart to write and publish a story.  It may be that He wants you to:

• Publish a story to leave a record, or legacy, for your children and grandchildren.  Many memoirs of faith are motivated by questions asked by children and grandchildren.
• Write as therapy to help you make sense and learn from the trials you have had.  By giving your story to the world by publishing it, others may benefit from what you have learned.
• Share your testimony with your church and friends to encourage and strengthen their faith.

However, if want to make money from your book and/or want to reach an audience beyond your family and friends, you will need to give some serious thought to marketing your book.  Marketing your book is just thinking about your book from the standpoint of your customer.

Jesus talks about putting yourself in the place of others in Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.”  If you want your customers to buy from you, you need to think about what they want, not just what you want to say.  If you want them to give you something (book sales) then you should give to them what they want from you (a compelling story, advice they can apply to their own situation, etc…).

To help you think from marketing or customer oriented standpoint, I recommend all authors consider these four basic marketing questions:

1. Who is my most probable customer for this book?  Some people are more inclined to buy your book than others.  Who are they?  Are they mothers with small children.  People suffering from cancer?   To understand things from the standpoint of your customer you need to understand who your customer is and what they need.
2. Why should my most probable customer want to buy my book?  Why would someone want to buy your book?  What are they going to get out of the book that will help them, inspire them, or give them a better life?  If you want to sell books, your book should be written for your customer not yourself.
3. What do I have to say to my most probable customer to make them want to buy my book?  Does the title and subtitle of your book match what your customer is looking for?   Does your book description match what your customer is looking for?  Does your cover design tie into your compelling message?
4. How do I reach my most probable customer?  What magazines, newspapers, websites, blogs, stores etc… does your most probable customer visit?  This information becomes very important when it becomes time to promote your book. These are the places where you want reviews of your book, where you want to advertise your book, do book signings, etc… 

Quotes from published books
Generally you need to get permission if you quote, in total, more than 100 words from a published book.  Less than 100 words is usually considered fair use for which you don’t have to have permission.

Quotes from periodicals
Generally, you need to get permission if you quote, in total, 50 words or more from a magazine or journal.  Less than 50 words is usually considered fair use for which you don’t have to have permission.

Quotes from poems or song lyrics
You must have permission to quote from a poem or song if you use two lines or more.

Quotes from a book, magazine or song published previous to 1923
Anything published previous to 1923 in the United States is considered in the Public Domain and you can use the material in your book without permission.

Quoting the Bible 
The King James Version of the Bible is in the Public Domain since it was published previous to 1923.  Most every modern Bible translation has a permissions web site that outlines how you can quote their Bible translation.  Typically, they allow you to quote from their Bible translation proving you provide proper copyright attribution; the quotes do not comprise an entire book of the Bible, and the quotes are less than 25 percent of the entire work.

Using Pictures and Graphics
You need to have permission of the photographer or artist to publish their photo or artwork in your book.  Just because a picture is on the web, does NOT mean that it is in the Public Domain.

Your best bet in using pictures for your book is to purchase images from a stock photo company (such as www.istock.com) where they have the rights to the images and will sell those rights to you for a nominal fee.

The other site that is good for finding images you can use in your book (especially if you need photos of a public figure) is Wikipedia. Wikipedia always indicates if an image they use on their site is in the Public Domain and, if not, they will tell what you need to do to get permission to use the image.

Using Pictures You Have Taken
Usually, you need to have permission to use a photo from anyone in the picture that is recognizable.

When in doubt, get permission or check with your attorney

1.       Get customer reviews

You need to have customer reviews for your book on Amazon.  Reviews establish that your self-published book is credible and enjoyed by someone besides the author.  If you don’t have any reviews on Amazon, it is unlikely that anyone will purchase your book from Amazon.

Get family members and friends to write reviews for you on Amazon.  When you give away a free copy of your book to one of your friends, do it on the condition that, if they like the book, they will write a review for you on Amazon.  If you have to, pay to have a review written and posted on Amazon.  Your goal is to have at least three reviews on Amazon for your book.

2.      Review other books

You should write reviews for other books on Amazon.  This establishes your credibility as a published author, it increases the exposure of your book, and it allows you an opportunity to showcase your expertise and/or writing ability.

You should write reviews for other books similar to yours on Amazon, and reference your book in your review. For example, if you wrote a book on white water rafting you might write a review about another book on white water rafting and add, “I really liked this book on white water rafting. It is my favorite along with my book, [TITLE OF YOUR BOOK], and I think both are essential reading for the white water rafter.” The key here is to create awareness of your book among the people who will be the most interested in it.

Please keep in mind that your reviews should always be signed with your name and the words “Author of [TITLE OF YOUR BOOK]”.

3.       Set up an Amazon Author Page

An Author Page on Amazon will allow you to share the most up-to-date information about yourself and your works with many potential customers.  Setting up an Author Page is free and easy.  At a minimum you should include an author photo and a short author bio in your profile.  You can also include a book video trailer, blog, and tour events to the Author Page.

Go here to set up your Author Page: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/

4.      Set up a Listmania

Listmania is another free tool on Amazon that allows you to post a list of book recommendations on a related topic.

Your Listmania should be a list of books similar to yours and should include your self-published book. For example, if you wrote a book on white water rafting, you should create a Listmania of your favorite white water rafting books, being sure to include your new book on the list. This will allow customers who are already reading the other white water rafting books to become aware of your book. You can create a Listmania here: www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/createpipeline?

In this video I discuss the differences between traditional publishers and print on demand publishers.