---
title: "What Is Front Matter in a Book?"
description: "What a book's front matter includes, the order KDP's formatting guide gives, which pages fall on the right, and how front matter affects a Kindle book."
url: "https://www.superebook.ai/glossary/front-matter"
updated: "2026-10-23"
---

# Front matter

**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 October 23, 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.

## Questions

**Is a copyright page required?** KDP's formatting guide lists it among the usual front matter and says where it falls, on the first left-facing page after the title, while noting that many front-matter elements are optional. Most books include one to state the rights and edition.

**Should an ebook have the same front matter as the paperback?** It can, but keep it short. A Kindle book typically opens at chapter 1, so long front matter mostly goes unread, and Kindle+ counts pages from the Start Reading Location.

## Sources

- [KDP: Format Front Matter, Body Matter, and Back Matter](https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GDDYZG2C7RVF5N9J): What front matter includes, the usual order, right- and left-facing placement, page numbers and headers, matching the contents to the body, and chapter one on a right-facing page.
- [KDP: Kindle Edition Normalized Page (KENP)](https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G5HHMLVVEW48MQYW): The Start Reading Location, typically chapter 1, as the start of the KENP count.

## Related terms

- [KENP (Kindle Edition Normalized Pages)](https://www.superebook.ai/glossary/kenp.md)
- [Trim size](https://www.superebook.ai/glossary/trim-size.md)
- [ISBN](https://www.superebook.ai/glossary/isbn.md)

## Read next

- [How to write an ebook with AI](https://www.superebook.ai/guides/how-to-write-an-ebook-with-ai.md)
- [Sample books](https://www.superebook.ai/samples.md)
- [How long should an ebook be?](https://www.superebook.ai/guides/how-long-should-an-ebook-be.md)
- [All glossary terms](https://www.superebook.ai/glossary.md)