Writing Craft Guide

Back Matter Guide: How to Make the End of Your Book Work for Your Career

The pages after The End are where authors build long-term careers. A reader who finishes your book in an emotional high is the warmest audience you will ever have. Your back matter decides whether that moment becomes a newsletter subscriber, a series reader, or a one-time buyer who disappears. Get this right.

Back matter CTA

Highest-conversion point in your book

8x newsletter conversion

vs. website popup for engaged readers

40% of readers

Turn to back matter immediately after finishing

Everything you need to build back matter that works

The Also By list: the most important backmatter for series authors

Place your Also By list early in the back matter, right after the newsletter CTA. For ebooks, every title should be a live hyperlink to its Amazon or retailer product page. A reader who finishes book one of your series and immediately sees book two in a linked list will click through at high rates. Keep the list organized: series in order, then standalone titles. If you write in multiple genres, separate them visually. The Also By list costs nothing and directly drives read-through revenue on every copy of every book you ever sell.

The newsletter CTA: highest-conversion point in your book

The newsletter CTA belongs immediately after The End, while the reader is still emotionally invested. A generic 'sign up for my newsletter' converts poorly. A specific offer works: the first chapter of the next book before anyone else reads it, a deleted scene, a world-building appendix not in the main text, a short story set before the events of the novel. Give readers a reason that is tailored to people who just finished this book. The conversion rate of a well-placed, specific CTA inside an ebook is significantly higher than any popup or sidebar on your author website.

The author bio: first-person vs. third-person

Third-person is the standard for the back-of-book bio and for Amazon Author Central. First-person sounds informal in a book context and may signal to industry contacts that you are self-published in a way that does not serve you. Keep the book bio to 50 to 100 words: genre, one line about your setting or themes, one personal detail that signals your voice. Save the longer, warmer first-person version for your author website where that tone is appropriate. Keep facts consistent across all platforms.

Acknowledgments in back matter for fiction

Acknowledgments belong in the back matter for almost all fiction. Putting them in the front eats into the Amazon Look Inside window, and most casual buyers skip acknowledgments entirely on first encounter. Placing them in the back means readers who loved the book and want more of you will find and read them. Acknowledgments in the back matter reward finishers without penalizing browsers. The only exception is traditionally published literary fiction where front-matter acknowledgments are a genre convention and readers expect them there.

The ARC review request page

A short, honest review request page at the back of your ebook converts meaningfully. Keep it to two or three sentences. Something direct: if you enjoyed this book, an honest review on Amazon would make a real difference to an indie author and helps other readers find the story. Do not offer incentives or gifts in exchange for reviews, which violates Amazon's terms. Link directly to the Amazon review page if possible. Readers who liked the book enough to reach the back matter are already warm. You are just removing friction from an action they were already considering.

Glossaries and world-building appendices for fantasy authors

Fantasy and science fiction readers often appreciate appendices: pronunciation guides, glossaries of invented terms, character lists for multi-POV books, maps (though image rendering in ebooks requires care), and world-building notes. These additions reward engaged readers and give book clubs discussion material. Keep them in the back matter and label them clearly so readers who want to skip them can. For series authors, a glossary that grows between books is a powerful tool for keeping readers oriented across long gaps between releases.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most important element in back matter for a series author?

The Also By list is the single most important back matter element for series authors. A reader who finishes your book and loves it is in a buying state. Placing a linked Also By list immediately after The End or the newsletter CTA catches them at peak enthusiasm. For ebooks, make every title on the list a live hyperlink to the product page. The Also By list is your most direct path to read-through revenue without spending any money on marketing.

Where should the newsletter CTA go in back matter?

Place the newsletter CTA immediately after The End, before the Also By list, author bio, and acknowledgments. A reader who just finished the last sentence of your story is at maximum emotional investment in you as an author. That is the moment to ask for the email address. The CTA should offer something specific: the first chapter of the next book, a free short story set in the same world, or a bonus scene that did not make the final cut. Generic 'join my newsletter' copy converts far worse than a specific reader magnet.

Should the author bio be first-person or third-person in the back matter?

Third-person is the publishing industry standard for author bios in books and on Amazon Author Central. First-person feels informal in a book context and can read as amateurish. Keep the back-of-book bio short: 50 to 100 words covering your genre, a location detail, and one personal note that signals your voice. The longer first-person version belongs on your author website. Your Amazon Author Central page and your Goodreads bio can be slightly longer but should stay consistent in tone and facts with the book bio.

Should acknowledgments go in the front or back matter?

For fiction, the standard placement is back matter. Acknowledgments in the front matter push your story further back in Amazon's Look Inside window, which reduces the amount of actual story a potential buyer sees. In the back matter, acknowledgments reward readers who finish the book without costing anything from the sample. Traditionally published literary fiction sometimes places acknowledgments in the front, but indie fiction universally benefits from moving them to the back.

Do readers actually read back matter?

Yes. Studies and author surveys consistently show that 40% or more of readers turn directly to the back matter after finishing a book they loved. The emotional peak immediately after finishing a great read is the best possible moment to introduce your newsletter, your next book, and your community. Back matter that is thoughtfully constructed converts readers into subscribers and fans. Back matter that is an afterthought or blank space is a significant missed opportunity at the highest-intent moment in the reader journey.