Nonfiction Books Consist of Several Parts

When writing the manuscript of a nonfiction book, you’ll want to think about more than just the main content that forms its chapters. While the main content is what readers primarily look at, there are several other parts.

Generally, the parts of a nonfiction book can be divided into three groups.

The first is the front matter. This is the material that comes before the main content. It includes:
• Title page
• Half-title page (aka copyright page)
• Acknowledgments
• Dedication
• Table of contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction
Of these pages, only the title page and the half-title page really are necessary. In addition, sometimes the acknowledgments are wrapped into the introduction.

Following the front matter comes the bulk of the book, known as the main content. It consists of:
• Parts (i.e. Part I, Part II, Part III)
• Chapters
• Subsections of chapters
The main content can be organized in a number of ways, though the most common structure is by chapter with subsections. Extremely long nonfiction books might have chapters grouped into parts.

The last section, after the main content, is the back matter. Its components are:
• Bibliography
• Appendix/Appendices
• Glossary
• Index
• Author’s bio
None of these back matter elements need be included. Sometimes the author’s bio is placed on the back cover or the book packet.

_________________

My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

Check out some of my book marketing guidebooks: