Tasnif Style Guide — Page 7
CHAPTER 2: THE PARTS OF A BOOK 7 The following two terms are important to be familiar with when discussing the parts of a book: RECTO―the right-hand page of a spread: a recto always has an odd page number VERSO―the left-hand page of a spread: a verso always has an even page number Our publications are generally based on page totals that are a mul- tiple of sixteen pages. This formula permits the optimal number of sheets during the printing process. As a publisher, we target our books to be at a length of this multiple (called an even work- ing), or just below it to be on the safe side. For example, a book length of 256 pages is perfect for our printing process, a 254-page book is acceptable (there will be some blank pages at the end), but a length of 257 pages causes problems as there will be too many empty pages. Writers, translators, and editors should plan accordingly. Front Matter Overview Front Matter (also referred to as Preliminary Matter or Prelims) refers to any text or material that precedes the Main Text of a book. This section generally contains information about the book, its author, publication details, an ISBN page, and any other