Front Matter: Have you created it yet for your memoir?

 

After you’ve finished writing your memoir, develop your book’s Front Matter, those important documents you’ll place at the beginning of your book.

 

The task can be daunting. “The part of a book that most confuses new independent authors . . . is the front matter,” writes Joel Friedlander.

 

But we’re here to help you!

 

Keep in mind that a book’s front matter can include a variety of pages, each serving a different purpose. Below I’ll explain some of your options. (See more at “Front Matter: What It Is and Why It Is Important”.)

 

Many people begin with a Half Title Page—that is, only the name of your memoir. The subtitle and the author’s name don’t appear on the Half Title Page.

 

The Title Page will include your memoir’s full title, including its subtitle, and the author’s name. If you’ve used an illustrator, his name also goes on your Title Page.

 

If you’re self-publishing, you’ll need to create a Copyright Page. You’ll find everything you need to know at “What is the difference between a preface, a foreword, and an introduction?” This is a valuable resource for you and it includes much more than info on Prefaces, Forewords, and Introductions. Scroll down to “What goes on the copyright page?”

 

The next page will be your Dedication Page, where you name those for whom you’ve written your story. (See last week’s post, “Your memoir needs a book dedication.”)

 

Consider adding an Epigram or Epigraph to your Dedication Page. An Epigram/Epigraph is a saying or quote that pertains to what your readers will discover. It can be a parable, proverb, quotation, Bible passage, or something clever. It can be a line from a poem, an adage, a maxim, a witticism, a precept, or a prayer. (See examples in last week’s post, “Your memoir needs a book dedication.”)

 

Next, develop your Table of Contents (optional). If your memoir is a collection of essays or chapters, you will have given them titles. If so, list them for readers and include page numbers.

 

If you want to include a FOREWORD (note the correct spelling), place it after the Table of Contents. You, the author, do not write the Foreword—someone else does, someone of your choosing, someone who can speak with authority and who assures readers they can trust you and your writing. You’ll appreciate this article: “How Do I Get A Foreword For My Book?”

 

An optional Preface appears after the Foreword. Learn more about Prefaces at:

• “What is a Preface: Definition and Tips for Writers”  
• “How to Write a Preface . . . .” 
• “What is the difference between a preface, a foreword, and an introduction?”

 

Another optional feature is a Timeline. Why? Think back: You have a good grasp of the order of your life’s events. Probably your kids do, too, but how about your grandchildren and great-grandchildren? And other readers? They probably won’t have a clue.

 

If you arrange your memoir in a non-chronological order, or if you have flashbacks or insert backstory, a Timeline can be a helpful tool for readers. Your goal is to make it easy for them to follow along with you. A Timeline can clear up anything that confuses readers or hinders your stories’ messages.

 

Keep your Timeline simple—a list with dates should work, or you could create a horizontal line across two facing pages with key dates marked.

 

Some authors include an Introduction and/or a Prologue in their Front Matter, but technically neither is part of Front Matter—they’re part of the Main Body of the book. Think of your Introduction as writing a letter to your readers. State why you wrote your story. You might want to explain how and why you chose your title. Tell readers what you hope they’ll discover in your book. Make it personal. Humor is good. Love is a must.

 

Frank P. Thomas has this good advice: “Avoid making any apologies in your Introduction for your life, for your writing, or for anything else. You are better than you think. So be positive” (How To Write The Story of Your Life).

 

Read more about Introductions at “What is the difference between a preface, a foreword, and an introduction?” and “Forewords, Prefaces, and Introductions: Where to Begin?”

 

A Prologue gets the reader ready to begin Chapter One. It might include your memoir’s setting, date, and other background information. A Prologue can help readers settle into your story—which makes it more likely they’ll read your memoir all the way to the end. However, consider the pros and cons of including a Prologue: Click on “The Great  Debate: To Prologue or Not to Prologue?” See also “Does My Memoir Need a Prologue?” and “When to Use a Prologue.”

 

Composing your memoir’s Front Matter can be a huge task, but if you persist and work with today’s resources, you should do fine. Also, in conclusion:

 

This blog post by Joel Friedlander is a valuable resource for you when crafting all your Front Matter: “How to Organize Your Book’s Front Matter.”

 

I highly recommend you use “What is the difference between a preface, a foreword, and an introduction?” as you compile your memoir’s Front Matter. In writing my memoir, I referred to this article many, many times. It contains much more than info on prefaces, forewords, and introductions. It’s a long article so keep scrolling down. It’s a rich, rich resource!

 

Have fun!

 

Tuesday Tidbit: If you’re giving an early edition of your memoir for Christmas, it needs a Table of Contents and an Introduction

Have you decided to give an early edition of your memoir to your family for Christmas? I  hope so.

If you haven’t completed your memoir—even if you’ve written only a few vignettes—no problem. Give what you have completed. 

In recent posts, we’ve covered your memoir’s Title (If you’re giving your family an early edition of your memoir for Christmas, it needs a title) and Dedication Page (Your memoir: Does it have a dedication page yet?).

Today let’s think about your Table of Contents and Introduction.

Table of Contents:

If you’ve written a collection of vignettes/chapters, give each a title and create your Table of Contents: List those stories and include page numbers.

Introduction:

Think of your intro as a letter to your readers. Tell them why you wrote your stories. (See Deuteronomy 4:9 and Psalm 66:16.) Explain that a memoir is just a segment of a person’s life (review the definition of memoir). Tell them what you hope they’ll discover in your stories. Make it personal. Humor is good. Love is a must.

Here’s excellent advice from Frank P. Thomas:

“Avoid making any apologies . . . for your life, for your writing, or for anything else. You are better than you think. So be positive.” (How to Write the Story of Your Life)

For now, make a commitment to give what you’ve written—however long or short—as a down payment, a pledge of more to come. Promise your recipients a finished memoir in the future—maybe next Christmas.

Your memoir: Does it have a dedication page yet?

Have I convinced you to give family and friends an early edition of your memoir for Christmas? —as a preview, a sneak peek, a promise of your completed memoir soon? I hope so! (Click on this link: You might already have the perfect Christmas gift for your family.)  

You can do it! Even if you have written only a few vignettes so far, you can print them and make them into a meaningful gift—a gift of yourself.

In Tuesday’s post, we looked at your need to pin down a title. (Click on If you’re giving your family an early edition of your memoir for Christmas, it needs a title.)

Today we’ll look at the dedication page.

Do you know what a dedication page is?

It often begins with “For” or “I dedicate this book to…” followed by names of people for whom you’ve written your memoir.

But if that seems too spare and dull, get creative—give your dedication some pizzazz!

Lucille Zimmerman over at Wordserve Water Cooler is fascinated with book dedications. She says the book dedication is not “the acknowledgments page where you thank everyone who ever helped you,” but rather it’s “that mostly blank page tucked in the beginning of a book, after the title page and publishing credits.” Her blog post, 7 Ways to Do Book Dedications, includes charming examples for you.

A book dedication should be personal. Joseph C. Kunz, Jr., emphasizes the emotional connection a book dedication can create and writes, “Whether your book’s dedication is only a few sentences or an entire paragraph, you shouldn’t miss this opportunity to give the reader a small look into your life’s story.” Click here to read his post, Book Dedications to Spur Your Imagination, which includes a dozen sample book dedications for you.

Study dedications in books you have on your shelves, or go to the library, or check out the “Look inside” feature on Amazon.com. These will give you added inspiration.

In crafting your dedication page, ask yourself: Which special people did I write this book for? And why did I write it for them?

Your memoir: A gift that will live long beyond your lifetime.

Tuesday Tidbit: If you’re giving your family an early edition of your memoir for Christmas, it needs a title

If you’ve written a few vignettes for your memoir, consider giving your family an early edition for Christmas. (See Thursday’s post, You might already have the perfect Christmas gift for your family.)

Think of it as a preview, a pledge of more to come, a promise that you’ll hand them your finished memoir in the future.

You have about ten weeks to get it ready! You can do this!

In addition to editing and polishing your stories (very important!), begin working on the documents you’ll place at the beginning of your book.

For today, let’s work on just one: the title page, the first page your readers will see. Your title will appear on the front cover of your memoir and also on your title page. Give yourself a by-line. Your title page might look something like this:

From Desert to Mountaintop: A Journey to Joy

by Jane Jones

And remember, you can always finalize your title later when you’ve finished the whole memoir. Consider this first title just a working title. Feel free to use it for your preview edition this Christmas.

Check out these links to my earlier blog posts about titles. They’re packed with good info for you.

Does your memoir have a title yet?

Craft your memoir’s best title, Part 2

Your memoir’s title, Part 3: The art part

Your memoir needs an outstanding subtitle

There you have it—your Tuesday Tidbit.

Front matter: Have you created it for your memoir?

After you’ve finished writing your memoir’s chapters, or maybe even while you’re still writing, develop the following front matter, important documents to place at the beginning of your collection of stories:

The Title Page is the first page your readers will see. Your memoir’s title* will appear on the front cover as well as on your Title Page. Give yourself a by-line, too, such as “Swimming with Sting Rays,” by Buck Alexander. (I know people who used to swim with sting rays, including my husband and children!)

The next page is your Dedication Page where you name those for whom you’ve written your stories and why. Consider adding an Epigram on the Dedication Page. An Epigram is a saying, poem, Bible verse, or quote that pertains to what your readers will discover; an Epigram adds depth or clarity or pizzazz. (You can also include Epigrams at the beginning of your chapters. Read more in our earlier blog post, “Add Richness to Your Memoir’s Chapters.”)

Next, develop your Table of Contents (optional). If your memoir is a collection of vignettes or chapters, you will have given them titles. If so, list them for your readers and include page numbers.

After that, write your Introduction. Think of this as writing a letter to your readers. State why you wrote your stories (see especially Deuteronomy 4:9 and Psalm 66:16). You might want to share why you chose your title. Explain that your memoir is merely one slice of your life (a collection of stories pertaining to a certain theme—review What is a memoir at this link).  Include what you hope people will discover by reading your accounts. And here’s a bit of good advice from Frank P. Thomas: “Avoid making any apologies in your introduction for your life, for your writing, or for anything else. You are better than you think. So be positive.” (How To Write The Story of Your Life)

Some authors include a Prologue which gets the reader ready to begin Chapter One. A Prologue might include your memoir’s setting, date, and other background information. A Prologue can help readers settle into your story—which makes it more likely they’ll read it all the way to the final page.

Another optional feature is a Timeline. Why? Think back: You have a good grasp of the order of your life’s events. Probably your kids do, too, but how about our grandchildren and great-grandchildren? They probably won’t have a clue.

If you arrange your stories in a non-chronological order, or if you have flashbacks or insert backstory, a Timeline can be important for your readers.

Your goal is to make it easy for readers to follow along with you.  A Timeline can clear up anything that confuses your readers or hiders your stories’ message.

Keep your Timeline simple—a list with dates should work just fine, or you could create a horizontal line across two facing pages with key dates marked.

OR: Here’s a simpler way to organize your front matter: 

• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction—In this case, your Introduction would include the following from the above list: Dedication (and Epigram if you’re using one), Introduction, and Prologue.  Some authors write two or three pages of introductory material.
• Timeline (optional)

Look through other memoirs for front matter ideas—you probably have a few memoirs stacked on your bedside table, right? You can also browse the shelves at libraries and bookstores.

Enjoy developing your front matter.

Give yourself permission

to write in rough draft form,

knowing you can come back later

to tweak and polish.

*For  more on titles, click on these recent blog posts:

Does your memoir have a title yet?

Craft your memoir’s best title

Your memoir’s title: The art part

Your memoir needs an outstanding subtitle