paratext

In literary interpretation, paratext is material that surrounds a published main text (e.g., the story, non-fiction description, poems, etc.) supplied by the authors, editors, printers, and publishers. These added elements form a frame for the main text, and can change the reception of a text or its interpretation by the public. In Gérard Genette's terminology, paratext is a subtype of transtextuality (See the overview on the French Wikipedia page paratexte).

Paratext is most often associated with books, as they typically include a cover (with associated cover art), title, front matter (dedication, opening information, foreword, epigraph), back matter (endpapers, indexes, and colophons), and many other materials not crafted by the author. Other editorial decisions can also fall into the category of paratext, such as the formatting or typography. Paratext functions to inform and guide the reader, to promote the (meta)text, and to shape appearances.