if you’re confused about what a prologue is, you’re not alone.
A new writer, especially someone looking to self-publish a book, has a steep learning curve ahead of them.
You are reading: What does foreword mean in books
There are so many new skills to learn (building and managing a book launch team, finding a book cover design, making Amazon marketing services work for you, etc.) and new vocabulary words to go along with them.
These are the questions we answer:
- what is a foreword?
- how to write a foreword
- do I need a foreword for my book?
- who should write a foreword? Foreword? ?
- what should be included?
- what is the difference between a foreword and an introduction?
- what is the difference between a foreword and a preface ?
- what is the difference between a prologue and a foreword?
pro tip: sign up for a free book summary below, for fiction or non-fiction, delivered to your email inbox as you continue reading this article. your book outline will be fully formatted, including key pages such as the book’s foreword page, copyright page, acknowledgment page, and more.
what is a prologue?
A foreword is a piece of writing that serves to introduce the reader to the author and the book, usually written by someone other than the book’s author or publisher. they can also serve as a kind of backing for the book.
if the author writes this section, it could be to explain how the book was created or the connection between the work and themselves, as stephen king often does in his novels.
always goes at the beginning of the book (with one exception, which I’ll get to later), and it’s rarely more than a couple of pages long.
You may see it written with typical lowercase Roman numerals or Arabic numerals, or without page numbering at all. that’s between you and your book formatter.
how to write a prologue
You’re pretty sure you’ve seen book prologues before, or maybe your favorite classic literary work has one on the front. you have a book now, or are on your way to finishing it.
Do you need one too? do you need preliminary material?
on the other hand, maybe you’re not new and have been on the proverbial block enough times to know how to do it. maybe you’ve gained enough recognition that you’ve been asked to write a foreword for someone else’s work.
and maybe you’re someone looking to write one for someone else’s book and have no idea where to start.
This is how to write a foreword:
- understand what the author is looking for
- know the tone and style of the book
- start with a list of what you want to cover in the foreword
- be sure to mention your credibility
- link your own experience to the value of the book
- get feedback from others and the author
- make any necessary changes to meet what the author wants
- be honest about the book and its impact
Do I need a foreword for my book?
Now that we know what a foreword is, it’s time to get to the heart of whether your book really needs one. This is what you’ve been waiting for!
The first thing to note is that it’s certainly not necessary.
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many books don’t have one, and never add them. Unless your book needs the elaboration and context provided, you won’t miss it.
what you really need to consider is whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction.
A nonfiction book is much more likely to need one than a novel, especially if the subject is dense or interesting, or if the author is deceased. again, stephen king tends to produce them for his own fiction novels, but this is seen much less with authors who are not as established.
for example, the fourth edition of the elements of style has an excellent one by roger angell who argues that the guide is as relevant today as it was the day strunk and white submitted the manuscript to the publisher.
But if you are writing fiction, are you covering a period of history, or some other topic, in depth?
can be useful if the reader needs a bit of background knowledge to sink their teeth into your book. Charles Todd wrote one explaining who the titular character was in Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot: The Complete Tales.
It is also not uncommon for works of great literary renown to have one added to the original manuscript, or added as a way of explaining the difference between the current edition and previous editions.
alicia l. George’s in the 150th Anniversary Edition of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott was written to illustrate why the book is so beloved all these years later.
who should write a foreword?
can be written by multiple people, but not just anyone.
If you think your job needs one, approach an expert on the subject of the book or one of your colleagues in your field, especially if this person is well known.
This gives the book social proof.
Unless you have something particularly noteworthy to say, it’s probably best not to write your own book. you may want to write a preface instead.
That said, if you’ve established yourself as an expert in your field, you may be asked to write a foreword for someone else.
what should be included in a prologue?
If you’ve been invited to write one, congratulations! what an honor and what an impressive achievement to add to your resume!
Avoid writing a witty, humorous foreword if the book is more serious, and vice versa.
You don’t want the writing styles to conflict, or you risk disturbing the reader as they turn the page.
what is the difference between a prologue and an introduction?
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the introduction is reserved for a non-fiction book. can be used to explain the content, but can also be used to summarize the work.
the introduction is sometimes made up of everything that comes before most of the text, which means that the prologue would be placed inside the introduction.
other times, the introduction is a separate section written by the author himself.
what is the difference between a prologue and a preface?
if you want to write something like an introductory statement for your own book, you might want to write a preface.
In a preface, you can include what your goal was in taking on the project and thank the people in your life who helped make the book a reality.
Unlike the approach in this guide, prefaces are always written by the author and are not signed. if his work includes both, the prologue comes first.
what is the difference between a prologue and a foreword?
A prologue is always written for fiction and takes place within the world of the story.
Prologues never take place within the world of your story, unless you’re writing a fictional prologue for one of your characters. you could do this if you are writing as a fictional person to lá daniel handler.
if your paper includes both a foreword and a foreword, again, the foreword comes first.
and again, a prolog is not signed. (you can probably guess why!)
Forewords can be an important part of your book
Whether or not to include one in your book is, as is most of the art of writing, a matter of personal preference, but not just preference. consider what your particular job requires.
Only you can make that call.
trust yourself that you will do the right one.
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