---
title: "Front Matter and Back Matter: The Right Order for a Novel"
description: "Every page that comes before and after your story (half-title, title, copyright, dedication, acknowledgements) in the order printers and readers expect them."
source: https://usegalley.com/blog/book-front-matter-order
---
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# Front Matter and Back Matter: The Right Order for a Novel

July 8, 2026 [Formatting](https://usegalley.com/blog/tag/formatting)

![The opening pages of a printed novel laid out in sequence](https://usegalley.com/images/blog/book-front-matter-order.png) TL;DR Front matter runs in a fixed order: half-title, title page, copyright, dedication, epigraph, then (rarely, in fiction) a table of contents. Back matter holds acknowledgements, about-the-author, and any also-by list. Get the copyright page and the recto/verso (right/left) placement right and your book instantly reads as professionally made.

The pages around your story are small and nobody thinks about them, which is
exactly why getting them wrong is one of the clearest tells of a self-formatted
book. There’s a conventional order, the one codified in the
[Chicago Manual of Style](https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/) and followed by
every trade publisher, and readers register it without knowing they do.

## Front matter, in order

1. Half-title (just the title, nothing else)

2. Title page (title, subtitle, author, publisher/imprint)

3. [Copyright page](https://usegalley.com/glossary#copyright-page) (on the verso, the left-hand page)

4. Dedication

5. Epigraph (optional)

6. Table of contents (usually skipped in fiction)

Fiction skips the table of contents because chapters are numbered, not named for
navigation. If you include one, it reads more like a textbook, which is not the
signal you want.

## The copyright page

This is the page nobody reads and everyone unconsciously judges. It’s where a
book quietly proves it was made by someone who knew what they were doing. It
should carry:

- The copyright line: © year, author name

- “All rights reserved” language

- Your [ISBN(s)](https://usegalley.com/blog/do-you-need-an-isbn), and edition line if relevant

- Publisher/imprint name and location

- A fiction disclaimer (“This is a work of fiction. Names, characters…”)

- Credits for cover, editing, or typefaces if you want them

You don’t need legalese you found on someone else’s book. You need the copyright
line, the reservation, the [ISBN](https://usegalley.com/glossary#isbn), and the disclaimer. That’s a real copyright
page.

## Recto and verso

Two words worth knowing: **recto** is the right-hand page, **verso** is the
left. New chapters and major sections traditionally open on a recto. That means
the previous page sometimes has to be left blank, and that blank page is
correct, not a mistake. The copyright page sits on a verso.

This is the small thing that makes an interior feel bound rather than printed.
Chapters landing on the right, blanks where the flow needs them, nothing
crammed to save a page.

## Back matter

After the story, in roughly this order: acknowledgements, about the author, and
an “also by” list if you have other books. This is prime real estate for a
next-book link or a newsletter signup, so don’t waste the last page a reader
sees.

Galley [sets front and back matter](https://usegalley.com/docs/structure) in the correct order for
you, recto and verso handled, so you’re filling in text rather than sequencing
pages by hand.

There is a [front and back matter checklist](https://usegalley.com/resources/front-and-back-matter-checklist)
on this site as well, which switches between the print order and the ebook one,
because they are not the same list.

## More on formatting

- [How to Choose a Trim Size for Your Novel](https://usegalley.com/blog/choosing-a-trim-size)What trim size means, the standard sizes for fiction (5x8, 5.25x8, 5.5x8.5, 6x9), and how to pick the one that fits your genre and page count.

[Every formatting post](https://usegalley.com/blog/tag/formatting)

[← All posts](https://usegalley.com/blog)

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