2026-06-25 · all guides

Book Back Matter Guide: What Goes After the Last Chapter

The traditional order

Back matter is everything after the main text, and like front matter it has a conventional sequence: appendix or appendices first, then endnotes, glossary, bibliography or references, and index, with the about-the-author page at or near the very end. The logic is rough order of connection to the text: material that extends the chapters comes first, reference apparatus comes next, and pages about the author and publisher close the book.

Unlike front matter, back matter keeps the arabic page numbering; the count simply continues from the last chapter. Nothing switches back to roman numerals. Each back matter section opens like a chapter, traditionally on a new page, with major sections such as the index conventionally starting on a recto.

What a typical self-published book actually needs

Most self-published nonfiction needs far less than the full apparatus. A practical how-to book rarely warrants an index, and unless you cite sources heavily you will not have endnotes or a bibliography. The high-value pieces for a typical 150 to 250 page book are: an appendix or resources section collecting templates, checklists, or links referenced in the chapters; an optional glossary if your topic is jargon-heavy; acknowledgments if you did not place them in the front matter; and an about-the-author page.

Resist the urge to pad. Paperback printing cost is per page, so ten pages of ceremonial back matter cost real margin on every copy sold. Include a section only if a reader who just finished the book would use it.

Back matter as marketing: the pages traditional publishing forgets

For a self-publisher, the last pages of the book are the only advertising space you fully control, positioned exactly where your most convinced reader is standing. Three pages earn their printing cost. First, a review request: a short, direct page asking the reader to leave an Amazon review, since reviews are the single biggest lever on a new listing. Second, an also-by page listing your other books once you have them. Third, a lead capture page offering a free bonus, a checklist, a template pack, a companion resource, in exchange for joining your email list.

Order these with the reader in mind: review ask first while goodwill is highest, then the free bonus, then also-by and about the author. Keep each to a single page with one call to action. In the ebook edition these pages can carry live links; in print, use a short memorable URL.

Assembly details that trip people up

Start each back matter section on a new page with the same heading style as your chapters, but do not number them as chapters; the heading is just Appendix, Glossary, or About the Author. Keep running heads consistent with the body of the book. If you built your table of contents by hand, remember to add the back matter sections to it, another place where automated TOC generation saves you from a stale listing.

An index deserves a special warning: a real index is written by a human indexer against final page numbers, not autogenerated from keywords, and a bad index is worse than none. For most self-published nonfiction, skip it. If you want the whole structure handled for you, ebookdone generates the closing sections and a print-ready PDF as part of its 9 dollar build, with the page numbering and TOC kept in sync automatically.

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