Welcome to the Back Matter Break Down, my blog series all about back matter in picture books! I wanted to try something new with post and answer a common question I have encountered from picture book authors who are working on manuscripts with back matter. It’s a question I also had when I first started writing, so hopefully some of you find this post helpful.
Should I include back matter when submitting my picture book manuscript to agents / editors?
The short answer is YES.
Here’s the long answer: Generally, speaking, if you want to include any kinds of back matter text, you should write, revise, and submit it along with your manuscript when you’re querying agents or editors. By text, I am referring to author’s notes, glossaries, recipes, additional biographies for PB bios, bibliographies and references, etc. These are all the types of things that you can write up yourself, so you should go ahead and include it in your submission so agents and editors can see it with your manuscript.
There may be graphic elements that you’d like to include in your backmatter, like photos, maps, graphs, or diagrams. Unless you’re an author-illustrator, I suggest leaving a note in your back matter section with the heading “Suggested Back Matter” or “Proposed Back Matter” and then list out the graphic elements you’d hope to include. Your book’s illustrator and design team will then create those elements with your help, but it’s great to show agents and editors that you’ve at least thought of these things.
I hope that helps!
Do you agree with my answer? Have tips for authors about submitting back matter? Leave a comment!
And if you have any other questions about back matter, please drop a comment and maybe I’ll answer it in a future FAQ blog post!
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Judy Campbell-Smith 