Prologue in a nonfiction book

Klems is the online managing editor of writers digest magazine. Nonfiction might seem more straightforward than fiction, but it actually involves a host of traditions and superstitions all its own. You can use a prologue in fiction and nonfiction, but its used only to explain key information that doesnt follow the time flow of the rest of your book. A book introduction is typically used only in nonfiction. For example, if your book is intended to educate the reader about famous african scientists in the 20 th century, you may want to state this in the preface. The difference is simply that if you write a prologue, it makes sense to also write an epilogue, while with an introduction you dont expect any type. A foreword is written by a critic, subject matter expert, or. Start with a hook that answers the readers most basic need. The prologue should read like a short story in every aspect, except for its ending.

However, there is a distinct difference between preface and prologue. For example, lets say youre writing a book about a woman getting married. Readers will pick up your story and make a decision about you as an author and your book based on those first few paragraphs. They will look for the key ideas, persons, agencies, etc, that interest them. Sample book disclaimers memoir or recent history books.

Is there a difference between prologues for fiction and nonfiction. A preface, prologue, and foreword are all a part of a books front. The aim of this book is to give some background information to students who are approaching philosophy for the first time. It explains the goal of the book, its development, and acknowledges the parties who contributed to the book. A prologue to western philosophy audiobook by samuel. Dont write one out of the mistaken notion that your novel is incomplete without it. A good prologue will feel essential to the novel and not just a bonus chapter or a stalling tactic on the part of the writer. Within days, their comfortable lives would be changed forever. An authors note, often found at the end of the book in novels, would probably be the closest to an essay in fiction, and are usually used by the author to explain why they wrote a.

Separately labeled conclusions are becoming less common in nonfiction books, as most contain conclusions in the final chapter, but academic. Before students can begin to write their own nonfiction reports, questionandanswer books, etc. Preface and prologue are two sections that appear at the beginning of a literary work. Breaking this rule can make your book seem pretentious and possibly lead to some major eyerolling on behalf of the reader and editor. Prologuein a work of fiction, the prologue sets the scene for the story and is told in the voice of a character from the book, not the authors voice second half titleif the frontmatter is particularly extensive, a second half title identical to the first, can be added before the beginning of the text. The prologue appears at the very beginning of a novel as a section before the first chapter of the book. A nonfiction book provides information, guidance, andor inspiration to its readers, and the introduction should generate interest in what the book promises to deliver. In a nonfiction book, your introduction is where you make your case yes, its where you tell your readers what your book will be about. It comes before the actual beginning of the story to introduce characters or to. It is often difficult to distinguish the difference between preface and prologue due to their position in a book, and many readers assume that they serve the same purpose.

An introduction deals specifically with the subject of the book. Generally, it tells some earlier story and connects it to the main story. The six parts of a nonfiction book barbara mcnichol. What follows is a list of those parts in order of their appearance and what each one contains if you choose to include it. Some authors like to call this opening chapter the books prologue. From planning to promotion in 6 simple steps used by permission there are six parts of a nonfiction book. Rather than resolving all conflict, the end should leave the reader intrigued. Your checklist for the components of a nonfiction book, from the front cover to the back and everything in between. Writing an epilogue can be useful as long as you do it right. Writing the perfect introduction for your nonfiction book. It gives the reader supplemental information, and it usually isnt crucial for the readers. This is why, if youre writing a nonfiction book, your introduction is crucial to your book s ultimate success. It gives the reader information about the story, in the same form of the story. Except the epilogue comes after the main narrative.

All the rest are names for different types of material used in either fiction or nonfiction. It is true that most nonfiction readers, librarians, and researchers will browse the index before deciding whether they want to buy the book. So how should nonfiction authors approach this seemingly allimportant part of their book. What front matter should you include in a nonfiction book. Prologue a prologue is similar to an introduction, and in my view it is really exactly the same. The focus of many of these is the nonfiction introduction. This bit of front matter provides an opening for a story that establishes the setting and gives background details. The difference, however, is that a preface will always contain at least one section in which the author speaks directly to the reader about the project and purpose of.

Foreword first of all, be sure to spell this correctly. The parts of a book for self published authors bookstand. So if your prologue doesnt fit this criterion, either cut it or change it to chapter 1. Introductions are best for nonfiction books that have deep subject matter and may need more explanation to prepare the reader with all the information they need to understand the full story. Why do some authors separate out a preface and a prologue in a. Rowling showed her central characters when they were much older after the series main conflict resolves. In fiction, a prologue or seems to usually be used to set up the action that will follow in the body of the book. The introduction is a crucial part of a nonfiction book, and you should put your all into making it the best it can be. Meg latorresnyder is a writer, developmental book editor, vloggeryoutuber, and a literary agent apprentice with a background in magazine and book publishing, medicaltechnical writing, journalism, and website creation. Nonfiction suits an epilogue more than a novel, in my opinion, but using it to lead into the next book sounds like a good idea if there is to be a series. In the spring of 1944, german jeeps arrived in the small town of sighet, romania, where jewish teenager elie wiesel lived with his parents and three sisters. Usually found in nonfiction work, the introduction may summarize the main argument presented in the rest of the book, define any important terms, or fill in background details.

Preface a preface may look similar to an introduction, but the goals of the two are very different. An epilogue, like a prologue, is a section of a book that stands outside the narrative. A prologue should also adopt the same type of tone that a story offers. In a nonfiction book, your introduction is where you make your case yes, its where you tell your readers what your book will be about, but its also where you tell them why its so. If at the end of the prologue the reader isnt saying wow. Many authors of nonfiction books get trumped up starting their book because they cant decide which they needa foreword, a preface.

Im currently working on my fifth nonfiction book and starting is always the hardest part. Nonfiction isnt limited to memoirs and biographies, either. Most often found in nonfiction books or academic writing, a preface is a short. Chaucer used his prologue as a kind of roadmap for the entire work, which tells the story of a group of pilgrims on their way to canterbury. Whats the difference between a nonfiction books foreword.

Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the authors imagination or used in a fictitious. Conclusion for nonfiction an section that sums up the core ideas and concepts of the text. Many authors of nonfiction books get trumped up starting their book because they cant decide which they needa foreword, a preface, a prologue, or an introduction or may its some combination of these. That, in my opinion, is the biggest questionnot should i write a prologue but does a prologue improve my story. But many a times authors write so bad prologues that it actually kill the mood of the reader. Write it to fill in whatever aspects didnt fit in the story. Prologuein a work of fiction, the prologue sets the scene for the story and is told in the voice of a character from the book, not the authors voice.

In modern literature, geoffrey chaucer started the tradition of using a prologue with his canterbury tales, a collection of 24 stories written from 871400. Try to make the prologue be about half the length of your average chapter length. How to write an awesome introduction for your nonfiction book. Otherwise its a personal preface rather than an opening chapter. There is more to a nonfiction book than a catchy cover and table of contents much more. Make it very short, no more than a few hundred words, and work at it like you would the first paragraph.

A books introduction is closely related to the content of the book itself. Book design is the art of incorporating the content, style, format, design, and sequence of the various components and elements of a book into a coherent unit. If the book is serious, the prologue shouldnt be funny. The page following is usually blank but may contain an illustration or. State the purpose of the book, especially if the work is nonfiction. A prologue is for fiction books, so dont include one in your nonfiction book. Prologues serve an integral role in fiction writing, as well as playwriting. Why do some authors separate out a preface and a prologue in a nonfiction book, instead of just including them as extra sections in chapter 1. It gives the reader supplemental information, and it usually isnt crucial for the readers understanding of the rest of the book. This means youve been given the opportunity to grab their attention and make them reach for their wallets. Personally i would say write the prologue once you have finished the rest of the story. Hi, holly, per the chicago manual of style the style guide for the nonfiction book publishing industry, notes on the text are usually treated typographicallly in the same way.

Nonfiction books span the gamut of human experience, and some people have done unbelievable things. You know, that chapter before a chapter inserted at the beginning of a book, intended to fill the reader in on important needtoknow info, so that he and the writer will be on the same page when they dive into the real beginning of the story. A preface gives the reader a look at how the book came to be. The prologue should always be an integral part of the novel, written in the same spirit and style. This is why, if youre writing a nonfiction book, your introduction is crucial to your books ultimate success.

The introduction is actually considered to be part of the body of the book, so it is. Breaking this rule can make your book seem pretentious and possibly. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. The introduction to your nonfiction book should clearly and concisely explain what the book is about, what the reader can expect to gain from the book, the motivation behind the book, and any background the story behind the story that may be interesting and relevant. Foreword, preface, introduction, or prologue which one. In the best of fiction it serves as an action clip to engage the reader because the first chapter is boring or otherwise not engaging enough to get the reader to read on. When to write your introduction contrary to popular belief, theres no rule that says you actually have to write your first chapter first. Herded like animals from one confining ghetto to the next, and then onto train cars bound for who knew where. By bobbi linkemer, from her book how to write a nonfiction book. Epilogues and conclusions function the same, but conclusions tend to be found in nonfiction books, usually accompanied by an introduction chapter at the start of the book, whereas epilogues tend to be found in novels and memoirs. In the words of renowned typographer jan tschichold 19021974, book design, though largely forgotten today, relies upon methods and rules upon which it is impossible to improve, and which have been. Prefaces are employed mainly in nonfiction books, but may be used in fiction as well. Between the covers of your nonfiction book bookbaby blog.

Rowling controversially used this device to end her harry potter series. When we teach this first, the research they do and the writing they create contains more meaning. Since most books follow a 2,000 to 4,000word structure for chapters, the prologue should only be 1,0002,000 words in length. Fantastic post prologues certainly are very important for novels based on some past time or some research work. A prologue, however, is really meant for novels or dramas. Prologue means not only before the word, but by extension, the story before the story. If you write nonfictionespecially the selfhelp varietyyour book should include an introduction, not a preface. Fiction authors, you can stop reading here, as the rest of this information is for nonfiction authors only. History has always been a popular form of nonfiction, largely because there are so many different kinds of history.