Front matter Defined.
Definition
Front matter is everything in a book before chapter one or the main text begins: the half-title and title pages, the copyright page, praise, a dedication, the table of contents, and any preface, acknowledgments, prologue or introduction. KDP's formatting guide gives the usual order, and says many of these pages are optional.
Sources checked 23 October 2026.
How it works
In print, KDP's guide puts the half-title, title page, table of contents and dedication on right-facing pages, the copyright page on the first left-facing page after the title, and keeps page numbers and headers off them. Chapter one then starts on a right-facing page. The contents must use the chapter titles exactly as they appear in the body. In a Kindle ebook, Amazon typically sets the Start Reading Location at chapter 1, so the book opens past the front matter, and the Kindle+ page count (KENP) runs from that point.
An example
A nonfiction paperback might open with a half-title, title page, copyright page, dedication and contents. The half-title is page 1 on the right, the title page lands on page 3 on the right, the copyright page sits on page 4 on its back, and the dedication and contents each begin on the next right-hand page, with blank versos where needed.
Common mistakes
Letting the table of contents drift from the chapter titles in the body after late edits. Starting chapter one on a left-hand page in print. And loading a Kindle edition with pages of praise and acknowledgments before chapter 1, which readers skip and which don't add to the Kindle+ page count.
