The Back Matter
All that stuff after the end of a book.

back matter (also called end matter) Pages at the back of a book, following the text, usually in the following order:

appendix or appendices (multiple)
glossary
notes
bibliography
index
colophon
publisher’s advertisements
end papers

As an author, you are only concerned with the first six items on the list, ending with the colophon. Your publisher takes care of the last two items. Most books don't contain all of these items.

appendix  Supplementary, informational material at the end of a book, usually related to the text.

glossary  A list of difficult or specialized words with their definitions at the back of a book

notes  Citations of source material, comments, or explanations for specific statements or passages in the text; usually employed in academic or scholarly works.

bibliography  A list of writings or other material used or considered by an author in preparing the text.

index  An alphabetized list of subjects treated in the text, giving the pages on which each subject is mentioned.

colophon  Information at the end of a book giving facts about its printing and publication, often including technical information about photographs, and book production details such as the number of copies printed and the type faces used.

Click here to return to the HTML version of this document.