Glossary
Back matter
Also called end matter
Back matter is everything in a book after the main text, such as the author's note, acknowledgments, an index, and links to the next book or the author's newsletter.
What it means
Front matter comes before the text: title page, copyright, contents. Back matter comes after. In fiction it is often an author’s note, a preview of the next book, a list of other books and a newsletter offer. In nonfiction it can be notes, a bibliography, an index, resources and a link to a companion workbook.
A romance author might end each book with “Want to know what happened at the wedding? Get the bonus epilogue” and a link. A business author might end with a link to download the worksheets that go with the book. A poet might add notes on the poems and a link to their next collection.
Why it matters when you sell direct
Back matter is one of the few places you can reach every reader of your book, including readers who bought it on a retailer. A link there can bring them to your newsletter and your store.
Links in back matter last for years, so they need to keep working. If you change stores, a broken link in a book that sold thousands of copies is a real loss.
How Lanternbee handles it
Every title has its own book page on your store, at your own domain if you want one, so it is easy to link to from back matter. When you move from Shopify, old product addresses send readers to the new book pages, so links in your back matter keep working.