Old Wounds--New Beginnings (Part II)
Figuring out the table of contents
Not one to mince words, let’s get right into it…
First, I open my formatting software program (Adobe InDesign). Then I outline each page needed for the Front and Back Matter. Things like Full and Half Title pages, Copyright, Dedication. Eazy peezy, I thought. How wrong, I was.
I did as I always do, I pulled down a few books off my shelves that resemble, in small parts, what I want my book to look like when it’s done. I also grabbed some books that are the perfect size, regardless of genre. Then a few books that are collections, regardless of size. You get the idea.
Then I sat down with the ones that are the right size and I looked them up on Amazon and jotted down their book dimensions. Hardcover and paperback. Yes, they will likely be different so size is important to note! Then I do the same with the ones that are collections. I look at what their Front Matter and Back Matter pages are and compare them to my own. This is when I notice I have forgotten the Table of Contents page! DUH!
This is my first time doing a collection of short stories so it’s my first time realizing a table of contents page is important. And so, I get to work…
I can’t say for sure if there is any real method to the madness of what order stories appear in a collection. Though I’ll wager most writers who’ve released a collection will tell you there is indeed a method! At least, for my collection I’d like there to be a method.
First, I thought of the easiest: length of story. I could try to alternate between a long story and then a short one. Give the reader a breather between the really lengthy stories? But would it seem too obvious?
Second, I thought of my favorites: sure, I love all of them, but there are some where, after I wrote them, I patted myself on the back for a job well done. Not all of these stories hit in that same way. But do I start with my favorite? Put them in the middle? Disperse them so it’s not obvious which I like the most?
Third, I thought alphabetically, and not the way you might be thinking: A lot of my stories started with “The” and while there really shouldn’t be anything wrong with using “The” to start a story title, seeing 8 of them out of 13 really irked me. So, I went about making a few changes. Then I realized perhaps I was taking this much too far! I mean, changing titles and alternating them so that two stories starting with the same letter weren’t back-to-back! Madness! Amiright?!
So, after taking several days away from this maze of confusion I put myself into, I realized I needed to just take a deep breath, look at each story individually, and just organize them however I wanted. They don’t all have a theme that unifies them, except that they were written during the pandemic.
This simplistic level of thinking, though in hindsight should’ve been something I figured out much sooner, helped me to realize I had other things to think about besides what order the stories would appear it.
Next time, I’ll share a few words on formatting, a sneak peek at the final table of contents, and a short synopsis for each!