A BOOK CONSISTS OF THREE MAIN SECTIONS
The preliminary
The main text
The end pages
Each book is unique and may not need all the items listed above or to have them in the same order, this is just a guide to help you structure your book:
Title page:
The title page should feature the Title, subtitle and authors name. You may also want to place a publishers logo here.
Dedication:
Do you have someone special to thank for helping you or even putting up with you, while you have been writing your book.
Foreword:
It is not uncommon to ask someone to write a foreword for your book. Having a message from a well-known expert or a respected author can add credit to your book.
Contents:
Lists the contents of your book with the relevant page numbers.
Lists of:
It may be necessary to add a list of illustrations, abbreviations or even something like currency or metric conversions. This will depend on your particular book. If this information is of high importance it is probably better to feature it at the front of the book, if not it may be better placed at the back of the book.
Preface:
An introduction from the editor or author, you may want to discuss your reasons for undertaking this work or give special credit for permissions granted or information supplied. You may use this to summarize the content or reinforce the message presented in the book.
Imprint (ISBN) page
Disclaimers, copyright information, ISBN and cataloguing details would normally appear here.
Introduction:
This may be necessary to introduce the reader to the story or situation, just be careful not to repeat information if you use both a Preface and Introduction
Main text
This is the main information contained within your book it is normally presented as chapters but may be broken down into parts or sections.
Page numbering
Preliminary pages are normally numbered using roman numerals; the title page would not normally feature a number at all. The first page of Main text should start on page number 1. But it is not uncommon for books to start the title page at number 1. Here again each book should be judged on its own merits.
Glossary:
An explanation of terminology used within the book, this would normally be presented in alphabetical order.
Appendix:
The appendix features information additional to the main text that may disrupt the reader but is essential for inclusion.
Abbreviations:
Acronyms or abbreviations that appear within the text can be listed here.
Footnotes:
Can be listed at the end of the chapter or grouped together at the back of the book.
Bibliography:
An alphabetic listing of relevant publications used to research your book.
Index:
An alphabetic listing of information with the relevant page numbers.