Today we’ll continue to highlight the different parts of a book.
Preface
Commonly found in non-fiction books, a preface (or introduction) is an essay outlining what topics will be discussed and what the author intends to demonstrate in the following text. In some instances, a preface may be brief (one or two pages) or lengthy, comprising a chapter’s worth of material.
Foreword
A foreword is another form of preface (or introduction) written by someone other than the author of the main text. While commonly found in non-fiction works, forewords are also found in fictional titles. Forewords can be written by friends of the author, other notable writers or celebrities, or scholars of a given topic or historical personage. Forewords tend to be brief and may provide some relevant background information or express the writer’s approval of the main author’s approach to the given topic.
Table of Contents
A Table of Contents (TOC) is more common in non-fiction titles, but are often included in fictional titles where chapters have individual headings (or titles). A TOC is usually found after all of the other introductory parts of the book before the beginning of the main text. A TOC is a list of all the organized contents of the book indicating where each part can be found by page number. By convention, material found at the beginning of books (like title pages, colophons, dedications, acknowledgements, prefaces, etc.) are identified with lower case roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc.) and the remaining pages identified with standard arabic numerals.
Prologue
Prologues are common in fictional books and serve as a form of introduction to the main story. A prologue usually provides background and historical information of events — relevant to the setting of the main story or to certain characters within the main story — that took place before the main story begins. Prologues are often written in the voice of one of the main characters or in the voice of the narrator of the story.
Epigraphs
An epigraph is a brief quotation typically found at the beginning of each chapter (in both fiction and non-fiction books) intended to suggest or convey the theme of the text. The quotation can be in the form of a direct quote from an historical person of renown or a contemporary celebrity (e.g., philosophers, authors, artists, musicians, poets, etc.) or an excerpt from the writings of such persons.
Chapter
Chapters are found in both fiction and non-fiction books. Chapters often have titles and are almost always sequentially numbered for listing in a TOC. A chapter serves to divide the main text into thematic subsections whether in the service of a telling a story (as in fiction) or as a way of organizing and discussing complex information.
Epilogue
Found in fictional works, an epilogue is a brief chapter at the end of a story that describe events taking place after the conclusion of the main story. Usually placed in the voice of the story’s main narrator or character, an epilogue serves to tie up loose ends and provide a satisfactory summation and ending to the narrative.
Postscript
A postscript, similar to an epilogue, is material added after the conclusion of the main story of a fictional work. Postscripts tend to be brief, rarely consisting of more than a paragraph or two of text, and serve to offer a concise summation of the story.
If you have any questions about the Parts of a Book, give us a call at 330-597-8560. We’re happy to help you get the most out of your printing project.
