My chapter is 20000 words, am I allowed to put an epigraph for each subsection? How would I format it

Question

Each sub-section of my chapter has its own topic, I thought it would benefit from having its own epigraphs, should I instead put many epigraphs at the start of my chapter?

Answer 1

If you want your sub-chapters to have epigraphs, put epigraphs at the start of your sub-chapters. The standard format is to indent the entire quotation, but don't use quotation marks. On the next line, an em-dash followed by the name of the person you are quoting -- also indented. There is no reason to italicize or switch fonts since those are typesetting choices made by the publisher -- according to their style guides.

But from your description, particularly chapters with sub-chapters, I think there are alternatives to a massive 20k word or 80 page chapter. Looking at my copy of The Columbia History of the World, they organize the book into parts -- Part 1: The Ancient World, Part 2: The World 500-1500 AD stuff like that.

Another way to organize a lot of information is illustrated by the Cambridge World History. It written in multiple volumes -- which each volume covering a different topic like agriculture and empire. The time periods of the volumes overlap.

Answer 2

The answer to your question depends on whether you plan to submit it to a traditional publisher. If yes, you should be following a style guide, probably the Chicago Manual of Style.

How many subsections are there? You probably shouldn't put all of the epigraphs on one page. But putting an epigraph in each section is also unusual. Chicago Manual of Style 1.37: "Epigraphs are also occasionally used at chapter openings and, more rarely, at the beginnings of sections within chapters."

My concern is that using an epigraph in each section could become redundant. Also, 20,000 words (80 typed, double-spaced pages) is very long and could be a challenge for readers.

But of course, if you're self-publishing, you can do whatever you want.