Glossary
What is back matter in a book?
Updated Also called End matter
Back matter is everything after the final chapter: acknowledgements, about the author, appendices, index, and — in a self-published book — the call to action. It is the page a reader reaches having just finished your book, which makes it the most valuable page in it.
What goes there
- A request for a review. One short paragraph, immediately after the last line. Reviews are most of what sells the next copy, and a reader who just finished is the only reader who will ever leave one.
- About the author, with a link somewhere you own.
- Also by this author — every other book, with buying links. This is how a series sells itself.
- An offer. A worksheet, a checklist, a companion lead magnet in exchange for an email address. It is the only part of a book that builds an audience you can reach again.
- Appendices, glossary, bibliography, index — where the book needs them.
Why self-published books get this wrong
Because it is the last thing written, at the point where the book is finished and nobody has any energy left. The result is a book that ends on the final chapter and asks the reader for nothing, at the exact moment they liked it most. Twenty minutes of back matter is worth more than another chapter.
Related terms
- Front matterFront matter is everything printed before chapter one — half title, title page, copyright page, dedication, contents, and sometimes a foreword or preface. It is what makes a book look like a book rather than a document.
- Lead magnetA lead magnet is something genuinely useful given away in exchange for an email address. The exchange only works if the thing is worth the address — which is why a specific, finishable guide beats a generic one every time.
- Book blurbThe blurb is the description on the back cover and on the store page. It is not a summary — its only job is to make a browsing stranger want to read the first chapter, which is a different task from describing the book accurately.
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