Elements of a Book

Whether you’re self-publishing print or digital books, you’ll need to craft a digital master file that contains all the elements of a complete book. Obviously, the main body of this will be your manuscript, but there are a number of other things to include. The order I’m listing is fairly standard, and derives from publishers wanting to capture the attention of people browsing through books in a bookstore. Many readers will open a print book and peruse the first few pages before they decide whether or not to purchase.

The following are suggested layouts. If Author E.M.S. is formatting your book, we’ll use the layout order that you submit to us.

Elements of a Print Book

A sample layout of a print book includes the following:

Cover, including front cover art, back cover art and copy, and spine
Title Page: simply title and author of the book
Copyright Page: list your copyright notice (Copyright YEAR by AUTHOR) on the page following the Title Page (per U.S. Copyright Office guidelines). This page should also include a rights statement (All Rights Reserved), the publisher name, contact information, and ISBN for this edition should be listed. You may also wish to include other credits such as the cover artist, interior formatter, credit certain special fonts (be sure you have the right to use them). Many authors include a disclaimer, such as “This is a work of fiction…” or “The use of trademarks does not imply any connection or endorsement….” Print books should also state “Printed in the United States” or whatever country. Review many printed books to see options.
Teaser Scene: a short sampler scene, often from a key moment in the book
Review Quotes: a page highlighting the best quotes from key reviews; these should be recognizable industry names.
Table of Contents: often not included in novels or books that merely have chapter numbers. More common in non-fiction or fiction books with chapter names or sections.
Acknowledgments: a page by the author acknowledging assistance with research and preparation of the book. Not an absolute necessity. Also, some print books are moving the Acknowledgments to the end of the book.
Dedication: a single page listing whomever you wish to dedicate the book.
Body of the Book: your manuscript, in its entirety.
Note to Readers: if you wish to include a personal note to readers, perhaps thanking them or suggesting they leave a book review or sign up for your mailing list to learn of upcoming books. You can also give perspective about the story and characters or what you’re working on next.
About the Author: your biography.
Other Books/Titles by Author: a list of your other available or soon-to-be-released books. (May appear in front matter instead.)
Excerpt from Another Book(s): you may wish to include an excerpt or a teaser of the sequel or other related books or include an excerpt by a different author.

Elements of a Digital Book

For the most part, the elements within a print and digital book will be mostly the same; however, you may want to lay out the order of the elements a little differently in a digital book. Online shoppers often have ready access to your author bio, your full book list, a description of the book. You don’t need to “sell them” on your book inside the first few pages. The more important key is to get the main body of the book closer to the front. This is because the online retailers create an automatic sample of your book for shoppers to review. You don’t want them to have to scroll through pages of marketing. You want them to read (and love!) your story.

Here’s a suggested layout for digital books, based on feedback from a number of successful indie authors and current retailer guidelines.

Cover Art: your cover art should appear within the book file
Title Page: Lists the title and author. (May combine with Book Description.)
Book Description: This is the short book description that appears on the selling page. The philosophy here is that once someone buys and downloads your ebook, it may be weeks before they actually read it. They’ll see it on their e-reader device, but they may not remember exactly what it’s about. Putting the book description immediately after the cover art is similar to including a front and back cover for them to review.
Copyright Page: note that copyright page may also be placed “inside the back cover” or “at the end of the main body of the book.” If you choose to put your copyright page at the back, you may want to include a one-liner copyright notice under the title on the Book Description page so the copyright appears in the sample.
HTML Table of Contents: as required by Amazon.
Dedication
Body of the Book
Note to Readers
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Books/Titles by Author
Excerpts, Teasers, Review Quotes: beware of including too many excerpts. Online shoppers may gauge your book’s length by the file size listed on the retailer site. If you start with a 25,000 word story and add 25,000 more words of front and end matter, it will skew the file size and may disappoint people who purchase the book.

A note about excerpts, teasers, images and links: a picture may be worth a thousand words. Digital books make it easy to include cover art for other books you’ve written. A book cover and short teaser or book description may be as good or better a sales tool than a first chapter excerpt. You can also include a photo of yourself on your bio page or your note to readers. This is your opportunity to make a personal connection!

For hyperlinks, less may be better than more. Remember that most people are reading digital books on dedicated e-reader devices or within an app on a smartphone or tablet. To click a link in a book kicks the reader out of the book and takes them to the Internet. So choose carefully and wisely—how many places do you really need to suggest to a reader? If you send them to your website, does your homepage have your social media links and mailing list signup?

Elements of a Book