A reader just finished your book at 1am. She loved it. She’s wide awake and emotionally wrecked. What’s the very next thing she sees?
If the answer is “nothing,” or a page of acknowledgments, you just lost the easiest sale you’ll ever make.
Front matter and back matter are the pages before and after your story. They’re easy to treat as an afterthought. They’re also where read-through happens.
Front matter: keep it short
The front matter is everything before chapter one. Keep it lean. Amazon’s “Look Inside” preview and free samples show the start of your book, and every page of front matter is a page of story the reader doesn’t get to sample. Get her into chapter one fast.
Worth including:
- Title page: title, author name, and series name and number if it’s part of a series.
- Copyright page: your pen name, the year and “All rights reserved” is enough to start. Add a line saying it’s a work of fiction.
- Content or trigger warnings, if your book needs them. Dark romance readers appreciate these, and they protect you from angry reviews.
- A one-line series note, like “Book 1 in the Sinners of Blackwood series.”
Move to the back: acknowledgments, long dedications, author bios and full “also by” lists.
Back matter: where the selling happens
Put these right after “The End,” in this order:
- The next book, first and biggest. “Keep reading: book 2 is out now,” with a link to it on Amazon. This is the single most important line in your book.
- A preview chapter of the next book, if you have one. Hook her while she’s still emotional.
- Your newsletter invite, with a reason to join: a bonus epilogue, an extra scene from his point of view, early access to the next book.
- A short request for a review. One sentence. “If you loved it, a review helps other readers find it.” Readers are happy to help when you ask kindly.
- Your “also by” list, grouped by series and in reading order.
- A short author note or bio.
- Acknowledgments, if you want them.
Amazon’s link rules
Links in your ebook are allowed, but KDP has rules about where they can go (KDP Help: hyperlink guidelines). Allowed links include the previous or next book in your series and social media related to you or the book. Not allowed are links to other ebook stores, and links to web forms that ask readers for their information.
That last one matters for your newsletter. Link to a page on your own author website that explains what readers get and how to join, rather than straight to a sign-up form. And never make readers sign up to finish the book.
If you sell on other stores too, make a separate version of the back matter for each store, so every link points to that store’s page.
Write the next-book hook properly
The line pointing to the next book deserves the same care as your blurb:
- Name the next couple or the next problem, not just the title.
- Make it feel urgent: “Remember her best friend’s brother, the one who didn’t say a word at the wedding? It’s his turn.”
- Make the link obvious and easy to tap on a phone.
Update it every time you publish
This is the step everyone forgets. When you release book three, go back and update the back matter in books one and two so they point to it. Old books become ads for new ones. Re-upload the new file in KDP. Your book stays live while the update goes through.
Keep a simple checklist so you never miss one:
Go deeper
Chapter 14 of Plot. Publish. Profit. walks through formatting, front matter, back matter and your first launch, and chapter 16 turns them into a checklist you reuse for every release. See also: Vellum vs. Atticus vs. free formatters.
