Front Matter, Back Matter and Submissions
Every book project has a Publishing arrangement, listed after the Manuscript, with three folders. Each document's synopsis explains what it's for. (A screenplay has only the Submission folder. A journal has Front Matter and Back Matter, for the journal as a book, and Opening & Sign-off instead of Submission: see Journals.)
| Folder | Documents |
|---|---|
| Front Matter | Half Title, Title Page, Copyright, Dedication, Epigraph, Contents |
| Back Matter | Author's Note, Acknowledgements, About the Author, Also By |
| Submission | Synopsis, Pitch, Logline, Query Letter, Author Bio, Comparable Titles |
These documents never count towards your manuscript's word count.
In the book
The Print interior, Ebook and Audiobook formats include front and back matter. Empty documents, and documents with Include in compile turned off, are left out, so fill in only what you need.
- Contents is created when you compile: with page numbers in print, and as links in an ebook. Leave the document empty.
- A Title Page you write replaces the preset's own title page.
- Use these placeholders in any of these documents; they're filled in when you compile:
| Placeholder | Becomes |
|---|---|
| {title} | The project's title |
| {author} | The name the book is published under: your own, or its pen name (see Compiling) |
| {year} | The current year |
| {words} | The manuscript's length, rounded, e.g. "92,000" |
The copyright page
The Copyright page is a layout of placeholders, such as {publisher} and {isbnPaperback}, filled in from the book's publication details when you compile. A line whose details are blank is left out, so the page lists only what applies.
To enter the details, choose Publication details… in the Publish room (for the Print interior and Ebook) or in the banner above the Copyright page.
| Section | Details |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Name, address and website. Publishing it yourself? Use your imprint's name, or leave these blank. |
| Copyright | Holder (your name unless you give another), year (the compile year unless you give another), first published, edition and printing line |
| ISBNs | Paperback, hardcover, ebook and audiobook. Each is checked as you type. |
| Credits | Editor, cover designer and cover image. Print interiors add "Typeset in" with the book's typeface. |
| Notices | Moral rights, the fiction notice, the rights-reserved wording, a catalogue record, other notices and your website |
The preview shows the page as it will print, for each edition. The details are saved with the project and sync to your other devices.
Preflight warns about an ISBN whose check digit is wrong, two editions sharing one, and a placeholder it doesn't recognise. The ebook's ISBN and publisher also go into the EPUB's metadata.
If your Copyright page is written out in full, for example from Scrivener, choose Use the Standard Layout… to switch to the placeholder layout. A checkpoint keeps your old text. You can also type any placeholder into your own page:
| Placeholder | Becomes |
|---|---|
| {publisher}, {publisherAddress}, {publisherWebsite} | The publisher's details |
| {copyrightYear}, {copyrightHolder}, {firstPublished}, {edition}, {printingLine} | The copyright details |
| {isbnPaperback}, {isbnHardcover}, {isbnEbook}, {isbnAudiobook} | Each edition's ISBN |
| {isbn} | The ISBN of the edition being compiled |
| {editor}, {coverDesigner}, {coverImage}, {typeface} | The credits |
| {moralRights}, {fictionNotice}, {rightsNotice}, {catalogueRecord}, {otherNotices}, {authorWebsite} | The notices |
Submission documents
In the Publish room, Submission pack builds the Synopsis, Query Letter, Pitch and Logline together and saves them in one folder (Save the Pack…), leaving out any you haven't written. Choose a document above the preview to see it as it will be built. Before it's built checks the synopsis's length, and that the length your query letter gives matches the book.
Each document is set like this:
- Synopsis and Pitch: Word or PDF, with a title block and a header on each page showing your surname, the title and the page number.
- Logline: plain text.
- Query letter: Word, with your own name and contact details from Settings > Author at the top, even when the book has a pen name. Query letter, plain text (under More formats) is for pasting into an email.
Write "{words}" in your query letter, and it always gives your manuscript's current length.