Definition
Back matter
Back matter is everything after the main text: acknowledgements, appendices, notes, bibliography, index, about-the-author and any call to action. It is where an indie book earns its next reader.
Conventional order runs appendix, notes, glossary, bibliography, index, then author material. For self-published books the back matter carries commercial weight the front matter cannot: a review request, a link to the next book in the series, and a mailing-list offer all sit here, read by exactly the people who finished. Keep it short and sequenced — the reader who has just closed the story will act on one ask, rarely three.
Related tools & guides
See your manuscript as a typeset book
Ceeryo typesets your .docx manuscript into a print-ready interior PDF at your chosen trim size, plus a clean EPUB. It sets the typography; your words never change.