Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
Although Reedsy Studio provides several page templates for back matter, you’ll have to create the bibliography manually. That’s OK, though, because it’s relatively quick and easy. It’s just a matter of creating a new page and moving it to the back matter of your book.
Bear in mind that Reedsy Studio seems more geared toward the fictional writer. That means you might have to add certain kinds of pages depending on the kind of book you’re developing.
Today, we’ll take a look at how to quickly set up the bibliography and why it’s important.
Why Create a Bibliography in Reedsy Studio?
A bibliography is a list of resources the author used to craft a paper or a book. It allows the reader to verify the information while understanding the research method of the author.
Sometimes, the author will include short descriptions or annotations alongside each source. However, this isn’t always the case as a lot of authors will simply include the source material and possibly the pages or timestamps from where the information was gathered.
Essentially, a bibliography is used to offer credibility by citing sources. It works much like how links do on a website or blog. A good example of how the bibliography works is when visiting Wikipedia. The list of sources is often found at the end of the article supporting the information.
Bibliographies are usually most common in scientific, medical, and legal informative works. You don’t really see a lot of them in fiction. So, whether or not you’ll need a bibliography depends on the book you’re writing.
If at all possible, try to avoid citing websites directly, especially personal blogs. The information changes so rapidly online that the odds of something being a permanent citation are extremely low.
I’m constantly having to rework links for myself and clients because the source material was either deleted or the URL changed to the page. In other words, it’s a major pain in the ass to cite website information. And the last thing you want is for your book to become obsolete overnight.
Creating the Bibliography Page in Reedsy
Creating pages in Reedsy Studio is quite simple. All it requires is creating the page, moving it where you want, and filling in the information.
Let’s get started.
Step 1: Create a New Page in Reedsy Studio
I’m going to assume you’re in Reedsy Studio and are ready to make your bibliography page.
Click the “Add” button on the top left of Reedsy.
This will open the chapter/part window.
Click the “New Chapter” option.
The new “untitled chapter” will be created and Reedsy should change your focus to it once it’s available. It should be at the bottom of any other pages you have added to Reedsy’s front matter.
Step 2: Change the Chapter to Bibliography
With the untitled chapter selected, click on the header of the page.
Change the text to read, “Bibliography.” You’ll notice the page on the left of Reedsy Studio will also change as you type.
From here, you can start adding sources if you’d like. The information will remain on the page as we move it about the book.
Step 3: Move the Bibliography Page in Reedsy
The bibliography is usually placed in the back matter. So, we’re going to drag this down to just before the “About the Author” page I’ve created.
Hover your mouse over the six-button icon of the page. Your pointer should turn into a multi-arrow graphic.
Hold down your mouse-click and drag the bibliography to the back of the book. In my case, I am placing it before the bio and marketing materials for myself and my other novels.
Step 4: Add the Information
All that’s left is to input the information for citing sources on the page. There are a few different ways you can do this, but most bibliographies follow certain criteria per an industry standard. It’s best not to deviate from that layout.
The TL;DR Steps
Adding a Bibliography to Reedsy Studio
- Click the blue “Add” button on the top left.
This will open the new chapter or part bubble.
- Change the chapter text on the page to read “Bibliography.”
This will also change the text under the Manuscript bar on the left.
- Drag and drop the bibliography where you want it in Reedsy.
The bibliography is usually toward the end of the book.
- Start adding your sources.
Citing sources makes you look professional and lends credibility to your work.
In general, it maybe takes about 10 seconds or less to add any kind of page to Reedsy Studio and move it. Just make sure you’re citing credible sources in the bibliography that people can easily find.
What Information Should You Include in a Bibliography?
The bibliography should include any of the following that are relevant:
- The author’s name
- The title of the piece (book, article, or webpage title)
- A publisher’s name and location (if available)
- The date and/or year of the publication
- Any page numbers if they are relevant
- URL of the webpage you are citing and the date
As I pointed out earlier, be wary of citing websites and blogs. These can easily be changed, altered, deleted, or moved at a moment’s notice. The purpose of the bibliography is to give readers an easy way to see the source. Websites don’t always offer that accessibility, especially over the long term.
In the case of publishing an eBook, it’s relatively easy to update the file to reflect new information or to change links. But you’ll have to remain vigilant to ensure the URLs are still valid in the bibliography.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with using website sources. A lot of authors do so nowadays. This is more of a personal insight, and I am quite anal when it comes to providing the best information possible at all times.
Not All Books Need All Types of Pages
When setting up any kind of book across various genres, you don’t need to include all of the page types available.
For instance, you’d be hard-pressed to find a fantasy novel with a bibliography or appendix. However, some fantasy or sci-fi authors may include something like an appendix or glossary to help understand certain terms in the book.
Things like a glossary, index, and even an introduction all depend on the type of book you’re writing. There’s nothing wrong with adding them to include some flavor or to expand on the novel, but most fictional pieces don’t have a lot of these pages available.
Luckily, Reedsy Studio has the most common page templates for fictional writers, which is probably why a bibliography template doesn’t exist yet. Still, it’s quite easy to add any page for any purpose.
Carefully consider the pages you want to add. It’ll make you look more professional and provide details your readers may need.
Do You Use Bibliographies Often?
As I am mostly a fiction writer, I don’t often have the need to include a bibliography. I have a few ideas of non-fiction works that I am toying with writing, but in the meantime, it’s not a necessary element to what I publish.
There’s no doubt that a bibliography can do wonders for boosting credibility. That is as long as you’re using credible sources and not citing conjecture, hearsay, or flat-out lies or misleading information.
When writing non-fiction and focusing on informing, always cite your sources, whether it’s in a book or on a blog.
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