How to Create a Table of Contents That Works in Print and Ebook

A table of contents seems like one of the simplest elements of a book, a list of chapters with where to find them, but it behaves quite differently in print and ebook, and getting it wrong in either format creates a poor reader experience. In print, a table of contents is a static list with page numbers. In ebook, it's an interactive navigation tool that readers use to jump directly to chapters, and it's also what populates the "Go to" menu in reading apps. Building a table of contents that works correctly in both formats requires understanding these different roles.

This guide covers what belongs in your table of contents, how it functions differently in print vs. ebook, and the common mistakes that cause TOC problems during platform review.

What a table of contents is for, in each format

In print: a table of contents is a reference list, readers can flip to it to find a chapter's starting page, but most readers don't use it as their primary navigation (they use bookmarks, page corners, or simply remember roughly where they are). It's expected, conventional, and useful, but not load-bearing for the reading experience.

In ebook: a table of contents is functional navigation. Readers tap a chapter in the TOC to jump directly there. It's also what populates the "Go to" or "Contents" menu that's a standard feature of every ebook reading app, often the primary way readers navigate a long ebook without flipping through pages (which "pages" don't meaningfully exist in reflowable EPUB in the print sense). A missing or broken ebook TOC is a significant usability problem, not just a cosmetic one.

This difference in function is why the same content, your list of chapters, needs to be implemented differently for each format.

The print table of contents

A print TOC typically appears in the front matter, after the title page and copyright page (and sometimes after a dedication), listing chapter titles (or numbers, if your book doesn't use titles, in which case some books omit a TOC entirely) with corresponding page numbers.

What to include:

• Chapters (by title if titled, or sometimes omitted if chapters are numbered only and your genre convention doesn't include a TOC at all, common in some fiction)
• Major back matter sections that readers might want to navigate to directly (an appendix, a glossary, an index, particularly in nonfiction)
• Part dividers, if your book uses them, often as top-level entries with chapters nested beneath

What to typically exclude:

• Front matter itself (the TOC doesn't usually list "Title Page" or "Copyright Page" as entries pointing to themselves)
• Minor subsections within chapters, unless your nonfiction book specifically benefits from that level of granularity (discussed below)
• Acknowledgments, dedication, and similarly minor back matter, though some nonfiction does include these

Many novels omit a TOC entirely: it's increasingly common, especially for fiction with numbered-only chapters, to skip a print TOC altogether. A TOC that just says "Chapter 1... 1, Chapter 2... 14, Chapter 3... 27" and so on for 30 chapters doesn't add much value for most fiction readers. Whether to include one is a stylistic choice; if your genre's comparable titles commonly include or omit a TOC, that's a reasonable signal for your own book.

Page number accuracy in print

The print TOC's page numbers must match the final, formatted interior exactly. This means the TOC is one of the last things finalized, after your interior layout is complete and page numbers are set, since any change to earlier content (adding a paragraph, adjusting spacing) shifts every subsequent page number. Most formatting tools generate the TOC automatically based on the final layout, eliminating the manual page-number-tracking that would otherwise be required (and that would need to be redone after every edit).

The ebook table of contents: the navigation document

In EPUB, the table of contents is implemented through the navigation document (in EPUB 3, an XHTML file with a specific structure; in older EPUB 2 files, an NCX file). This document lists each navigable section (chapters, front matter sections you want navigable, back matter) as a link to the corresponding location in your content files.

How it's generated: most formatting tools generate the navigation document automatically based on your manuscript's heading structure, every properly-tagged chapter heading (covered in our EPUB formatting guide) becomes a navigation entry. This is why semantic heading tags matter so much: a chapter title that isn't marked as a heading won't appear in the navigation document, even if it's visually styled to look like a heading.

What reading apps do with it: when a reader opens the "Contents" or "Go to" menu in their reading app, they're seeing your navigation document's entries. Tapping an entry jumps directly to that location in the book. Some apps also use the navigation document to show reading progress (estimating how far through the book a reader is based on their current position relative to the navigation structure).

The "guide" landmarks: EPUB 3's navigation document can also include "landmarks", special markers for things like the start of the main content (useful for "skip to content" navigation) and, in some cases, a reference to where page numbers would fall if the EPUB includes a page-list (covered below). These are optional but contribute to a more accessible and navigable ebook.

Visible TOC vs. navigation-only TOC in ebook

There's a subtlety in ebooks: the navigation document (which populates the reading app's "Contents" menu) is somewhat separate from a visible "Table of Contents" page that appears as part of your book's actual content, a page readers see when reading through the book linearly, listing chapters as clickable links.

Many ebooks include both: a visible TOC page early in the book (functioning as an in-content navigation page, similar to print, but with working links) and the navigation document (which populates the app's menu, generated from the same chapter structure).

Some ebooks omit the visible TOC page: relying solely on the navigation document (the app's "Contents" menu) for navigation, particularly for fiction where, as in print, a visible TOC page listing only chapter numbers may not add much value. This is a stylistic choice similar to the print TOC omission discussed above.

If you include both: ensure they're consistent, the visible TOC's chapter list should match the navigation document's chapter list. A formatting tool that generates the navigation document from the same heading structure as a visible TOC page (if included) keeps these synchronized automatically.

TOC structure for books with parts or sections

For books organized into parts (Part One, Part Two) with chapters within each part, the TOC (both print and ebook navigation) can be structured with parts as top-level entries and chapters nested beneath them, or with all chapters listed at the same level with part titles interspersed as section headers.

Nested structure: in ebook navigation, this often appears as an expandable/collapsible hierarchy in reading apps that support it (tapping "Part One" reveals chapters 1-10 beneath it). Not all reading apps render nested navigation the same way; some flatten it, displaying everything at one level regardless of the nesting in the navigation document.

Flat structure with section markers: simpler to implement and displays consistently across reading apps, at the cost of not visually grouping chapters under their parts in the navigation menu itself (though the part divider still appears within the book's actual content as readers read through it).

For most fiction with parts, either approach works; the flat structure is more predictable across the wide range of ebook reading environments.

TOC granularity for nonfiction

Nonfiction often benefits from a more detailed TOC than fiction, since readers frequently use nonfiction books as references, jumping to specific topics rather than reading linearly start to finish.

Chapter-level TOC: lists each chapter, sufficient for nonfiction that's meant to be read mostly in order (a narrative nonfiction book, a memoir).

Chapter-plus-subsection TOC: for reference-style nonfiction (a how-to guide with multiple distinct topics per chapter), including major subsections in the TOC helps readers find specific information quickly. This requires marking subsections with appropriate heading levels (h3, for example, beneath chapter h2 headings) so they can be included in the navigation document at an appropriate nested level.

Balancing detail and usability: a TOC with every subheading in a 20-chapter book might have 100+ entries, which becomes unwieldy as a navigation menu. A practical balance: include subsections in the TOC for books where readers genuinely use it as a lookup tool (reference books, technical guides), and keep it chapter-level for books read more linearly.

Common TOC mistakes

• Chapter titles not marked as headings: the single most common cause of missing TOC entries in ebook; the heading exists visually but isn't tagged correctly, so it's invisible to the navigation document generator.

• Print TOC page numbers that don't match the final layout: happens when the TOC is built early and the interior is edited afterward without updating page numbers; always finalize the TOC after the interior layout is complete, or use a tool that generates it automatically from the final layout.

• Inconsistent TOC between visible page and navigation document: if both exist, they should list the same content; a discrepancy (a chapter in one but not the other) is confusing.

• Overly granular ebook navigation: every subheading included as a separate navigation entry, creating an unwieldy "Contents" menu with far more entries than is useful.

• TOC entries that don't link anywhere (broken links): in ebook, a TOC entry that doesn't successfully jump to its target (due to a broken internal link) is a functional failure that platform reviews may catch, and that readers will definitely notice.

• Including front matter as TOC entries pointing to themselves: a TOC entry for "Table of Contents" linking to the table of contents page itself is circular and unnecessary.

How formatting tools generate the TOC

Most formatting tools, including LiberScript, generate both the print TOC (with accurate page numbers based on final layout) and the ebook navigation document (based on your manuscript's heading structure) automatically. This means:

• Your TOC stays in sync with your actual chapter structure; add, remove, or rename a chapter, and the TOC updates automatically.
• Page numbers in the print TOC are always accurate to the final layout, since they're generated after layout is finalized, not tracked manually.
• The ebook navigation document is generated correctly as long as your headings are properly tagged, which the tool handles as part of normal chapter formatting.

This automation removes what would otherwise be a manual, error-prone, and tedious process, particularly for longer books or books that go through multiple editing rounds where chapter content (and therefore page counts) shifts.

Testing your table of contents before publishing

Before uploading your final files, a quick TOC check catches most issues:

Print: open your interior PDF and check that the TOC's page numbers correspond to the correct pages, spot-checking the first chapter, a middle chapter, and the last chapter is usually enough to catch a systemic offset (which would indicate the TOC was generated before a late change shifted page numbers).

Ebook: open your EPUB in an EPUB reader (or use Kindle Previewer for the KFX-converted view) and tap through every entry in the "Contents" menu, confirming each one jumps to the correct chapter. For a long book, at minimum check the first few chapters, a few from the middle, and the last few, along with any back matter entries, since these are the locations most likely to have heading-tag issues if something was formatted differently than the rest of the book.

Validation tools: running your EPUB through EPUBCheck (mentioned in our EPUB formatting guide) will flag certain navigation document errors, such as links that point to non-existent locations, though it won't catch a heading that was simply never tagged (which produces a valid but incomplete navigation document, not an error).

Frequently asked questions

Does every book need a table of contents?

Not strictly. Many novels, particularly with numbered-only chapters, omit a print TOC and rely on the ebook's navigation document alone for ebook navigation (which is effectively required, readers need some way to jump between chapters in an ebook, even if there's no visible "Table of Contents" page). Nonfiction benefits from a TOC more consistently, given its more reference- oriented reading patterns.

My ebook's table of contents is missing some chapters. What went wrong?

The most common cause is that the missing chapters' headings weren't marked with the correct heading tag, so they weren't picked up when the navigation document was generated. Check that every chapter title uses a consistent heading style (the same heading level as your other chapters) in your manuscript.

Can readers turn off the table of contents in their reading app?

Readers can't remove your navigation document, but they're not required to use it either; it's simply available via the app's "Contents" menu whenever they want it. A visible TOC page within your book's content (if you include one) is part of the book itself and appears in reading order like any other page.

Should my table of contents include the front matter sections (copyright page, dedication)?

Generally no for the visible/print TOC. Some ebook navigation documents do include front matter sections as navigation entries (so readers can jump to the copyright page or dedication if they want), which is a reasonable inclusion since it doesn't clutter a visible TOC page, just adds an entry to the app's "Contents" menu.

What about a TOC for a multi-book box set or anthology?

Box sets and anthologies need a TOC that reflects the multi-book structure, typically with each included book or story as a top-level section, and that book's own chapters nested beneath (if included at that level of detail) or simply listed as one entry per book/story. This is one of the cases where a detailed, navigable TOC is particularly valuable, since readers are navigating between distinct works, not just chapters of one continuous narrative.

The bottom line

A table of contents serves a mostly reference role in print and a functional navigation role in ebook, and building one that works in both starts with the same foundation: properly structured, semantically tagged headings throughout your manuscript. From that foundation, a print TOC with accurate page numbers and an ebook navigation document both follow, ideally generated automatically by your formatting tool rather than built and maintained by hand.

For the heading structure and styling decisions that underpin a working TOC, see our guide on chapter headings and section breaks. For what else belongs in your front matter alongside the TOC, see our guide on front matter and back matter. To generate an accurate, working table of contents for print and ebook automatically, get started in LiberScript.