If you spent hundreds of hours writing, editing, and re-writing your book only for your sales and reviews to stay stagnant, you might wonder what’s wrong with your writing. Chances are that your book is amazing, but you’re simply not utilizing back matter in the best ways possible! So what is back matter? Read on to learn more.
What is Back Matter?
Back matter in the last few pages of a book, which appear after the story ends. Back matter offers an amazing spot to promote your other books. But many authors simply use it include information about the author, excerpts from other books, or as a space to say thanks to the people who helped on the book. But think about it, if a reader made it to the end of your book, then they like your writing and they might want to know about your newsletter or your other books.
Authors who choose not to include back matter miss out on several opportunities to expand their audience and generate more sales. One survey conducted by BookBub concluded that authors who included back matter in their books saw twice the number of sales than authors who didn’t.
Authors can choose a number of different kinds of back matter that can help drive sales, depending on the type of book they published. But first let’s at traditional back matter that is considered to be standard for any kind of book:
- Acknowledgements. Show your gratitude to everyone who helped you along your writing journey and let them know how much you appreciated their input.
- About the author. Include a small blurb about who you are, what you enjoy, and other information to help the reader get to know you better.
- Other books by the author. If someone enjoys reading one of your books, they’ll likely want to know if you’ve written other novels! Include a list of all the other books you’ve published so your audience knows what to look for when they need another great read.
- Credits. This is where to credit illustrators, editors, photographers, and anyone else who helped create your book.
Back Matter for eBooks
Back matter on ebooks can be highly beneficial for authors. For example, you can make it easy for readers to leave a review or purchase your next book by providing direct links to the web pages where they can do so.
If you create the right kind of back matter for your ebook, your book sales, reviews, and even your followers on social media can dramatically increase! Here are six ideas to revamp your ebook back matter:
- Request a review from readers. Many readers are more than willing to write book reviews, but the thought doesn’t usually cross their mind when they finish reading. Immediately following the last chapter of your book, kindly asking your readers to click on a link to write a brief reflection can do wonders for your reviews.
- Provide order links. If your book is part of a series, make it easy for readers to find out what happens next by clicking a preorder link for the next book. You can also provide order links for your other books so fans of your work can find more content from you.
- Newsletter. Ask readers to sign up for your newsletter so they can get updates on your next books.
- Bonus chapters or excerpts. Authors of more than one book can further entice readers to continue viewing their work by incorporating a sample chapter or excerpt from another book. Make sure it’s an exciting excerpt or a chapter that ends on a major cliffhanger. Put a link at the end so that when readers eagerly click on it, they’re directed to where they can purchase the book!
- Links to social media. Kindle authors can gain a huge following on social media by providing readers with the links to all of their accounts. You can include your author Facebook page, Twitter, Amazon author page, your blog, or whatever else you use to connect with your audience.
- Q&A with the author. Readers are often curious about the author’s inspiration behind the book, what they’re currently working on, or they just want to know more about the author. Physical book copies can merely provide the script of an author interview, but Kindle books can offer a much more immersive experience. If you’ve ever been recorded while doing an interview, such as at a conference or on a podcast, put these links at the end of your ebook so readers can actually listen to your answers or watch your in-person interviews.
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