By Colin Dunbar
Body Matter
The body matter is the meat of your book – the main content.
Parts
Parts are usually not found in fictional works, and depending on the topic, they may not be found in a non-fiction book. A Part starts with a dividing page, with either only the Part number (often as Roman uppercase), or sometimes the title of the Part also. This is a right-hand page, with the back (left-hand) blank.
Chapters
A new Chapter starts on a right-hand page. Where a chapter ends on a right-hand page, a blank (left-hand) page is inserted, so that the new chapter starts on a right-hand page.
Back Matter
Epilogue
Wikipedia defines an Epilogue as, “a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work. The writer or the person may deliver a speech, speaking directly to the reader, when bringing the piece to a close, or the narration may continue normally to a closing scene.”
Afterword
An Afterword is often found at the end of a piece of literature. It generally covers the story of how the book came into being, or how the idea for the book was developed[1].
This is not common in modern books, and leaving this out of your book will not do anything to the quality of the book.
Conclusion
This is not commonly found in books today. It is a summary of the most important points of the book.
Postscript
The freedictionary.com defines Postscript as “additional information appended to the manuscript.” See also: Appendix.
Appendix/Addendum
The Appendix usually is additional information, related to the main body of the book. This can include forms, checklists, lists of web sites, etc.
Glossary
The Glossary is a list of terms, in alphabetical order, found in the book. This is found in a non-fiction book.
Bibliography
The Bibliography details sources used as references or material quoted in the book. It is rarely found in fictional books.
Index
The Index (also called the Alphabetical Index) is found in non-fiction books, and is an alphabetical listing of useful terms (with page numbers) in the book.
