Most print novels do not have one, and leaving it out is correct rather than lazy. Ebooks are a different matter: a navigable table of contents is required by the EPUB specification and by every major retailer, whatever the genre. So the honest answer is that the same novel usually has no contents page in paperback and must have one in its ebook edition.
Chicago's own editors put the print side plainly: "Most novels do fine without a table of contents. But don't reject the notion out of hand as old-fashioned or pointless."
Why Print and Ebook Differ
They are not the same object, and that is the whole explanation.
A print contents page is a courtesy. It helps a reader find things. In a novel read front to back, with chapters that are simply numbered, it helps very little. Chicago's blog notes that where chapters are numbered without titles, a contents list is "of limited value".
An ebook's table of contents is the file's navigation structure. It is what populates the Go To menu and lets a reader jump between chapters. It is not a page the reader necessarily sees, and its usefulness does not depend on whether your chapters have interesting titles.
A missing navigation document is one of the faults a validator will catch, alongside the other common EPUB validation errors. That distinction is why the requirement exists at spec level. The W3C EPUB 3.3 specification states that an EPUB navigation document "MUST include a nav element with the toc type". There is no exemption for fiction and none for short books. The predecessor spec described this element as corresponding "to a table of contents in a printed work", which is a helpful description but understates what it does: in an EPUB it is the navigation spine, not a page.
Retailers say the same thing in their own words. Apple states: "A table of contents is required for all books." Amazon states: "Amazon requires all Kindle eBooks with chapters or sections to have a working TOC." Kobo is the most explicit about the two objects being separate, telling authors that even without a visible contents page, "if you have formatted your chapter headers properly, when users read your book using our app or devices, they will be able to navigate to the various chapters of your book using a built-in navigation function".
When a Print Novel Should Have One
Chicago's blog lists the cases where it earns its place:
- Chapters have real titles that carry thematic or marketing value.
- The novel is part of a series or has a complex structure a reader may need to re-enter.
- It is a novel of linked stories, where sections stand alone.
- Reviewers, teachers or book groups will need to locate passages.
Where chapters are bare numbers, omitting it in print is the norm. Chicago's example is a novel published with no contents page in paperback and one in the Kindle edition, which is exactly the split described here.
Formatting Rules
For print, New Hart's Rules gives three that are easy to get wrong. The contents page is headed simply Contents, not "Table of Contents". It "always falls on a recto". And there are no leader dots: "No full point is needed at the end of any heading, nor are leader dots wanted between titles and page references." The wording must match the chapter headings exactly as they appear in the text.
For ebooks, the rules invert. Do not include page numbers, because a reflowable file has none that map to anything; Amazon says to exclude them and Kobo warns they can cause conversion errors. Place the contents near the front rather than the back: Amazon's navigation guidelines say to put it "toward the beginning of the book and not at the end", which contradicts a widespread piece of indie advice about protecting the sample.
What Deckle Does
Deckle has a Table of Contents page type under Front Matter in the Binder's + menu, and it also generates one automatically at export.
One behaviour matters here, because it is not obvious from the label. The Include table of contents checkbox in the export dashboard controls both the visible contents page and the EPUB navigation document. Leaving it unticked produces an EPUB with no nav.xhtml, which is the file that satisfies the specification and the retailers quoted above.
So if you are following print convention and want no contents page in your novel, leave the checkbox ticked anyway for EPUB export. The correct way to get a print book without a visible contents page is to leave the checkbox on and simply not add a Table of Contents document to your Binder order.
Common Mistakes
- Assuming "novels don't have a contents page" applies to the ebook. It does not. The navigation document is a file-format requirement.
- Unticking the contents option for an ebook export. That removes the navigation document, not just a page.
- Putting page numbers in an ebook contents list. They are meaningless in a reflowable file and can break conversion.
- Moving the ebook contents to the back to protect the sample. Amazon's guidelines say to place it toward the beginning.
- Using leader dots in a print contents page. New Hart's Rules says they are not wanted.
- Heading the page "Table of Contents". The heading is Contents.
FAQ
Q: Will Amazon reject my book if it has no navigable contents? A: Amazon's documentation states one is required for books with chapters or sections. Apple's is stricter still, requiring one for all books.
Q: Is a contents list of "Chapter One, Chapter Two" worth having? A: In print, rarely. In an ebook the question does not arise, because what matters is the navigation structure rather than the visible list.
Q: Where does the contents page go? A: In print, on a recto, within the front matter. Chicago places it before the foreword and preface, New Hart's Rules after them, which is a genuine transatlantic difference.
Q: Does a contents page need to list the front matter? A: It lists what follows it. Items appearing before it are not listed, which is why the two ordering traditions produce visibly different contents pages.
Q: What is the difference between the visible contents page and the logical one? A: The visible page is HTML content a reader can scroll to. The logical or navigation one is metadata powering the device's Go To menu. Retailers care most about the second.