Murder by 4: Creating “Back Matter” in your eBook and Print Book

Hello, Writers.

Today I'd like to talk about an important but often overlooked topic: Back matter.

One of the administrative things you should work on if you’re not already doing it is to create what is called “back matter” in your books. This means adding excerpts from another book with links to buy, providing contact links for your social media and email, asking readers to sign up for your newsletter, listing your books, awards, and of course, your website. As you add new books, this can be an endless task, because if you write book number ten, for example, you need to add it to all the back matter for all of your previous nine books.

You need to know right up front that when you add “links” to your eBook, it’s easy. But when you add “links” to your print book, you need to spell the whole address out, because no matter how many times people “click” with their finger on a print page, nothing’s gonna happen. ;o)

Here’s how I do it.

After I type “The End,” I add the following segments.

· What’s Next? A brief description of the other books in the series, if this is a series book, or a description of my next book to be released.

· Excerpt from the “next relevant” book (several chapters that end in a "buy link" for the eBook and a web address for the print book.)

· " Author’s Note" – This could be an “afterword” that you specifically want your readers to hear, just from you. You might like to comment on why you wrote the book, where your characters came from, why you set your first scene in Paris, etc.

· Author’s Bio (with links to webpage) Try to make this interesting, and not too full of dates when you graduated from where, etc.

· List of Current Books (with embedded links)

· List of Book Awards

· Connections – links for Facebook, Twitter, GooglePlus, etc.

· Contact Page – how to contact you directly

How to Add Links:

On my MacBook Pro, when I add the above items to my Word document, and if I want to add a link, I simply highlight the word, such as “Facebook,” and right click on it. Or, you can go to “Insert/Hyperlink” from your menu above. Choose “Hyperlink” which will open up with a page including a window that says, “Link to:” Go to your Facebook page and copy the website address that is in your browser, then paste that address into the “Link to:” field. Click OK.

Now the link is embedded and only the word “Facebook” will show up in your document, not the address. If you are doing this for your print book, you need to spell it all out. Be sure to actually click on it and make sure it works. If not, then go back to the Hyperlink and "edit" the address.

Well, I hope this helps you organize your titles and stay vigilant! Have a wonderful weekend, all. And don't forget, if you love to write, write like the wind!

(from Write Like the Wind series)

Aaron Paul Lazar
www.lazarbooks.com

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Aaron Paul Lazar is obsessed with writing. He's completed twenty-four books to date, and has earned nineteen literary book awards. He writes mysteries, suspense, love stories, and more. You'll usually find him writing his heart out in the early hours of the day - preferably in the dark, quiet hours when no one else is awake in his bustling household.

“Addictive, award-winning fiction.”

Lazarbooks.com

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