# Where Do You Put Your Book's Dictionary?



## tlbodine (Aug 3, 2013)

This is, perhaps, an odd question, but I'm debating how to best organize things for my book that I'll be self-pubbing next month.  

For those of you who have made-up languages in your books, where do you put the glossary?  Do you put it in the back or list it up front?  Is there a way to hyper-link all the terms in an ebook so readers can easily look them up if they wanted?  

I take care to define terms in the text and use them in a way that the meaning can be figured out (and isn't totally essential to understanding the passage) but I do feel that the book would be stronger if I had a little section in there about language.  But I don't want to front-load it and then bore the reader...but I'm afraid if I leave it to the end, the reader won't think to flip back and look (especially on an ebook).

Thoughts?


----------



## teacup (Aug 3, 2013)

I haven't got one, but I remember that The Inheritance cycle does at the back pages. The problem I found with it is that it was close to the pronunciation guide and (I think) the acknowledgements or something. It was a fun type of novelty for the first book or 2, I think, but it soon got tedious, for me. Just my thoughts that may be helpful.


----------



## Svrtnsse (Aug 3, 2013)

I also don't have one, but if I did I'd put it in the front. That way the reader will know it's there and that they can reference it if they feel like it. Even if the reader doesn't actually read the dictionary they're more likely to remember it's there if they have to flip past a page or two to get to the story than if it's just mentioned in a sentence.
I believe that with eBooks you can add hyperlinks. I see them now and then in books I read, but I've never actually followed such a link. There are two reasons I've not done this. The first reason is that I don't know how and the second is that I'm too busy reading the story.
What I would do if it was me is I'd add instructions for how to follow the hyperlinks at the beginning of the dictionary - including a practical example. It may work differently on different types of readers so you'd have to do a little bit of research there. I'm assuming that following a link is both quick and easy, but since I'e never actually tried it I don't know and I'm reluctant to try it out in the middle of a story. Who knows, getting back to where I was may not be trivial?


----------



## Gurkhal (Aug 3, 2013)

Depends on. If I'm writing fantasy then I usually do not have a dictionary but if I write historical fiction a dictionary can be very much a needed part to get all the terms that are being used correct.


----------



## Asura Levi (Aug 3, 2013)

It would go in the back. With ebooks is even easier to keep track of where you were (well, I just used a kindle, at it does have the convenient button to go back to the last 'section', don't know about others e-readers).

To put it in the front would be like putting info-dump prologue, it would just get in the way.

Personally, when I open the book, I want to start with the story or with really essential information I need. A glossary is none of them, so it should be in the end. Then again, personally.


----------



## Gecks (Aug 3, 2013)

Most books that I have read that have a glossary have it in the back. I think most fantasy readers are likely to have a peek in the back to see if there's a dictionary there, especially if there are made up words. Just cause it's not an uncommon thing to have. And even if they don't look at first, any reader who comes across a term that confuses them is bound to have a look for a glossary. 

Saying that, I think I've seen them in the front too, and maps always go in the front. But only if it's short! If it was 1 page or 2 pages in the front, that would be ok, but much more would be like an information-dump as Asura Levi put it. 

Picking up a book near me that I remember has a glossary... Tamora Pierce puts a glossary in the back of her books in the Beka Cooper series (I can't remember if she does in her other series..es, I don't think so. But this one [unlike her others] is a 1st person written like a journal). She also gives a 'cast of characters' which is nicely laid out, and a list of commands that the scent hound responds to (as the hound is trained in another language). 

Trudi Canavan puts her glossary in the back, and also puts (after the glossary), "Lord Dannyl's Guide to Slum Slang" which is essentially another glossary for the slang terms she has created in her "Traitor Spy" triology.

I can't seem to find any books with front glossaries though I'm sure I've seen it somewhere...


----------



## Nihal (Aug 3, 2013)

My _The Lord of the Rings_ also have the glossary, genealogy etc in the back. I can think in another book like this—although I can't remember the name—which had these in the back too. I can't recall any book with a glossary in the front and based on my experience, I would look for one in the end of the book only for sure.

If you're worried the readers would miss it put a simple note in the front warning about the extras in the end. Linking directly from the text to the glossary seems practical, however, I particularly wouldn't like it. Distracting, with too much feel of "internet". Well, that's me; I still love physical books, I might be getting old. If I had to talk about language in the middle of the book I would rather add a note in the foot of the page.


----------



## Gurkhal (Aug 3, 2013)

Hm... seems I can't edit my last post. Anyway I saw that I didn't really answer the question of the thread, and the dictionary should of course be placed in the back of the book.


----------



## skip.knox (Aug 3, 2013)

Such things go in the back for books published in English. The French put that sort of thing in the front, so it's sort of a cultural thing. But when you're famous and they start translating your work, the publisher will handle all that for you.


----------



## Edankyn (Aug 3, 2013)

Maps in the front, dictionary in the back.


----------



## Butterfly (Aug 3, 2013)

Katherine Kerr, in her Deverry series, placed in the front, notes on pronunciation of her language, then maps. Her glossary at the back.

Take a look inside...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/reader/B003U2TA24/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link


----------



## Steerpike (Aug 3, 2013)

Butterfly said:


> Katherine Kerr, in her Deverry series, placed in the front, notes on pronunciation of her language, then maps. Her glossary at the back.
> 
> Take a look inside...
> 
> A Time of Justice: Days of Air and Darkness (Westlands) eBook: Katharine Kerr: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store



Great series. I don't think I ever looked at the dictionary, but still, I recommend the books.


----------



## Devor (Aug 3, 2013)

For me, I try to alternate pages between the story and the glossary.  That way people don't have to flip back and forth.

. . . . 

Sorry.  Typically glossaries go at the end.  I would find hyperlinks annoying and probably put the book down over that.


----------



## tlbodine (Aug 3, 2013)

Wow, this got popular overnight  

Alright, looks like the consensus is glossary in the back.  Works for me.


----------



## Addison (Aug 3, 2013)

Dictionaries and other terms are usually put before the chapter index or between it and the story. But as you're self publishing I believe, with my kindle reading experience, that if there's a strange word that you made yourself then it can be clicked and defined. But I think it takes some sort of techy-know-how. Or the terms could be explained in the story.


----------



## Vicki (Aug 5, 2013)

tlbodine said:


> This is, perhaps, an odd question, but I'm debating how to best organize things for my book that I'll be self-pubbing next month.
> 
> For those of you who have made-up languages in your books, where do you put the glossary?  Do you put it in the back or list it up front?  Is there a way to hyper-link all the terms in an ebook so readers can easily look them up if they wanted?
> 
> ...



In some of my science fiction novels, if there are several languages used, I make a glossary and put it at the end, but I include a note at the front end, before the novel begins, saying: Glossary page NNN. You can also use this method for notes such as dating and time periods, methods of measuring, and other cultural miscellanea.


----------



## Graylorne (Aug 5, 2013)

My glossary and list of characters go into the back as well.
And like Vicky, I place a note on the copyright-page to direct people.

Hint: Check those lists for possible spoilers. I forgot once, and got a load of comments...


----------



## Somniphil (Aug 6, 2013)

Glossary at the end seems conventional, and as a reader that's where I expect it, whether I'm notified there is one or not. Personally, I enjoy footnotes. Perhaps, some of the terms that are more significant to understanding the context you can footnote meanings, while some of the terms that aren't necessary to know their exact definition can be listed in the glossary. I know readers who don't like footnotes, who don't like to pause while reading, so I get that this wouldn't work if every other word was something that needed defining. 

Best of luck!


----------



## Guru Coyote (Aug 6, 2013)

Anything (written) in the front of a book feels like 'essential for understanding.' If a book requires me to read a dictionary just to follow along... I'm likely to put it down.

You do state that most terms can be picked up from the context of the story, so the dictionary is added bonus and goes in back.

I'm personally not so sure if flipping back and forth in a eBook actually works that well. In a physical book it is easy to keep tabs on where you were in the story and special spots in the back etc. In ebooks I think that works, but it's cumbersome.
Actually, if I were reading such a ebook, wheat I'd like to see would be a link to a companion website. That way I could read the book without distraction, and check up things of interest on the website if I wanted - a bit like looking up things of interest in wikipedia.


----------



## T.Allen.Smith (Aug 6, 2013)

I don't ever plan to use a dictionary. For my style, I make sure everything is either understood by context, or well-informed in the narrative/dialogue (without obvious info-dumping).

Leaving some mystery to the made up words & terms, defining them partially by context, can add an air of mystery to your tale.


----------



## Steerpike (Aug 6, 2013)

Flipping back and forth in an eBook is not a reader-friendly experience, in my view. I'm not really fan of doing it with a regular paperback book, but the eBook just doesn't lend itself well to doing so.


----------



## WooHooMan (Aug 6, 2013)

T.Allen.Smith said:


> I don't ever plan to use a dictionary. For my style, I make sure everything is either understood by context, or well-informed in the narrative/dialogue (without obvious info-dumping).



I'm basically the same way.  I've always heard that most people kind of dismiss made-up words as jargon and tune it out.  I even try to keep names really simple and familiar-sounding.


----------



## wordwalker (Aug 7, 2013)

T.Allen.Smith said:


> I don't ever plan to use a dictionary. For my style, I make sure everything is either understood by context, or well-informed in the narrative/dialogue (without obvious info-dumping).
> 
> Leaving some mystery to the made up words & terms, defining them partially by context, can add an air of mystery to your tale.



I think this principle, if not its literal truth, may be the most important thing on this thread. I admire the world-building that can fill up a glossary (which is really the proper term), but the best thing about terms is to use them as a goal for your scenes: steer the action so that when a term is used it's clear, and is conspicuous enough that the reader will remember it after that.

An actual glossary after that could still add convenience, and remind the reader how impressive your world has been. But if readers *need* to use it to understand even one of the worlds, you've just shoved them back into school, and that's even without e-reader limits. It's a lot like introducing characters, actually-- these also need to be made clear and memorable, while "I needed the Dramatis Personae list to follow the tale" is pretty damning.

So I'd say: don't just use the trick words as if they were natural, also write with "could I leave out the cheat sheet?" as their acid test.


----------



## Graylorne (Aug 7, 2013)

I don't fully agree, Wordwalker. T.Allen said 'For my style.' I agree with that. But it's not a universal principle.

Several of my books are based on historical and mythological concepts. For a large part I explain these in the action, but for some things the reader needs some basic knowledge I can't explain story-wise. For example the word 'alves'. The original Nordic form of what we know as elves. Swartalves and lightalves. In the book, all characters knows what they are supposed to be. Several beta readers did not. So I add this to a small list at the back of the book. It's not necessary for understanding the story, but for those who are curious, it's additional info.

And a list of characters - all my characters are memorable . But there are a great many of them; it's epic, after all. That's why I add a list as a reminder.

So for my style, I do need those lists. As a service to my readers, not as proof of how clever I am


----------



## kayd_mon (Aug 7, 2013)

@wordwalker (and I guess T.Allen.Smith)

Of course unfamiliar words, etc. should be clear in the reading.  Of course characters should be memorable.  But what if you have over a hundred important characters?  Glossaries are helpful to the reader when there is a lot of unfamiliar things to remember.  

Think about the reader as an average person - they go to work, pick up their kids from school, run to the supermarket just before cooking dinner, check up on the kids' homework before tucking them in, all the while thinking about that project that they have to finish for their boss the next day.  As they jump into bed and grab the book from their nightstand, the one they haven't been able to read for a few days due to life and its demands, they might not remember every interesting thing or memorable character.  A glossary serves as a refresher, so that they don't have to spend what little reading time they have flipping through the beginning of the book to remember who someone was.

If you have a lot of characters, or if you're using a lot of elements that are invented or just very different, then include a glossary.  Write your book with the mindset that you won't have one, but add it in for the people who might benefit from it.  It shouldn't be a depository for all the worldbuilding you did but couldn't fit in the story.  If you got a big enough fan base, you could put that sort of thing in subsequent editions of your book, or on a website or blog.


----------



## T.Allen.Smith (Aug 7, 2013)

It's perfectly acceptable to use glossaries or character trees if that's what you wish to do. I'd never suggest that you shouldn't if that's the direction you choose. My post was merely in response to the question "Where would you put one"... I wouldn't. My reasoning comes from my experiences as a reader. I never use them... Heck I never look at maps for that matter. I just want the story. That said, I can understand why some readers appreciate those details. 

As long as the author isn't using reference pages as a crutch, I don't see the harm. I would however, question the clarity of terms & character distinction if it's necessary for the reader to use a reference page to remember what is what or who is who, regardless of real world factors. If my characters aren't memorable (and disparate), or if my foreign terms aren't crystal clear and interesting enough to remember, then I'd think there's a problem. I'm not saying that's the case with anyone's work here, just an additional consideration.


----------



## kayd_mon (Aug 7, 2013)

I think you're right in a lot of cases, maybe most, but as a reader, I have appreciated glossaries.  The two most recent examples are ASOIAF and Mistborn.

In ASOIAF, there are just too many characters.  A cousin or a bastard of someone might pop up, and the family trees in the BOB there are very helpful in these cases.  

In Mistborn, I was over halfway through the first book, and I still couldn't remember what each metal did in the magic system.  The Allomancy reference guide was helpful.  Granted, the glossary in Mistborn contained a lot more than that, but I didn't look at it, since it wasn't hard to get the characters straight.  

But the main thing is as you said - it can't be a crutch.  Because then there's another type of reader who hasn't the time or interest to flip through glossaries to get the story.  That's why I say to write like it won't be there, but include it in cases where it will be helpful to the readers who will use it.

I like maps in general, so if a book has one, I like it, whether it's necessary or not.


----------



## wordwalker (Aug 8, 2013)

Actually, I'm not against glossaries. They do add an extra option of convenience, plus the clout of reminding the reader just how much stuff you have. (Or with an organized magic system like Mistborn, it's Just Kewl.)

But I think they shouldn't be a crutch. There's a continuum between maximizing the drama of a few terms and carelessly swapping in words on the grounds that "That's how they talk, and the reader Can Use the glossary," ignoring that flipping back and forth is hard to justify as exciting reading behavior. (And e-reader limits matter!) But new words do make a good writing focus, a priority on what to dramatize in a scene. "Could this work without a glossary" makes writing better, but I wouldn't say just not to use one.

(Of course, I just don't write thousand-page epics. But even there, that has more to do with whether a word can use help being remembered later than how casually you can throw it in.)


----------



## Graylorne (Aug 8, 2013)

wordwalker said:


> Actually, I'm not against glossaries. They do add an extra option of convenience, plus the clout of reminding the reader just how much stuff you have. (Or with an organized magic system like Mistborn, it's Just Kewl.)
> 
> But I think they shouldn't be a crutch. There's a continuum between maximizing the drama of a few terms and carelessly swapping in words on the grounds that "That's how they talk, and the reader Can Use the glossary," ignoring that flipping back and forth is hard to justify as exciting reading behavior. (And e-reader limits matter!) But new words do make a good writing focus, a priority on what to dramatize in a scene. "Could this work without a glossary" makes writing better, but I wouldn't say just not to use one.
> 
> (Of course, I just don't write thousand-page epics. But even there, that has more to do with whether a word can use help being remembered later than how casually you can throw it in.)



Now I'm with you 
A glossary is for the words/concepts you can't explain any other way. Not an excuse for lazy writing.


----------



## Guru Coyote (Aug 11, 2013)

Graylorne said:


> Now I'm with you
> A glossary is for the words/concepts you can't explain any other way. Not an excuse for lazy writing.



That sums it up nicely!

I think 'coming up with a lot of stuff' is only the first part - it is world building. Or in the case of historical fiction, research.
The part I think that is the real task of a writer is to transport all this info to the reader's imagination. "Teaching your reader magic" - the magic system can be as kewl as you can make it,but it is your task to teach your reader to understand it. At least, that is my own aspiration. Otherwise, I'd be better off writing RPG source material, and not fiction.


----------



## wordwalker (Aug 11, 2013)

Or, at the risk of re-using the classic, a glossary is Telling, not Showing. Doesn't mean it can't reinforce the real work on presenting a word (or I _guess_ some minor phrases that can only be explained there are still worth having), but don't let it be your copout.


----------



## xcodeex (Aug 14, 2013)

I put a map in the front of mine. I debated putting a dictionary in the back but decided to save that for a later release.


----------



## Steerpike (Aug 14, 2013)

wordwalker said:


> Or, at the risk of re-using the classic, a glossary is Telling, not Showing. Doesn't mean it can't reinforce the real work on presenting a word (or I _guess_ some minor phrases that can only be explained there are still worth having), but don't let it be your copout.



I agree with this. I don't mind a glossary is someone wants to put it in, but if your book _needs _a glossary, something has gone wrong in the writing process.


----------

