Glossary of Publishing Terms

Acknowledgements – An optional component in a book, which can be inserted at the beginning or end of the book, where the author writes words of thanks to those who helped with the book. This may include literary agent, editor(s), fellow authors, book contributors, interviewees, family, friends, etc.

Advance – A payment by a traditional publisher to an author as part of a publishing agreement. Advances are often paid in installments. For example, one third paid upon contract execution, one third paid upon submission of the manuscript to publisher, and one third paid upon publication of the book.

Appendix – Supplemental material inserted at the end of the book.

ARC (Advanced Review Copy, AKA: “Galley”) – ARCs are often printed versions of a book that are made available to media ahead of the book’s release date. ARCs are often un-edited and used solely for the purposes of generating publicity of early reviews. When printing ARCs, the cover and interior should be stamped with a notice such as: “Advanced Review Copy – Not for Resale.”

Back Matter – The materials included at the end of a book including an appendix, resources, end notes, etc.

Back-of-the-Room Sales – The act of selling books after giving a speaking engagement.

Backlist – Titles a publisher printed previously that are still actively selling through retail channels but are not newly released.

Bar Code – A graphic representation of a unique ISBN that is placed on the back of a book (or other retail product) to help retailers with inventory and sales management.

Beta Readers – People who are given pre-publication access to an author’s manuscript or book for purposes of providing feedback, reviews, and word-of-mouth marketing.

Binding – Refers to how a book is physically assembled. Common types of binding include:

• Perfect Bound – Pages are bound together and glued to the spine of the book. • Saddle Stitch – Pages are bound together by wire. • Hardcover or Case Bound – Pages are usually sewn together in sections and then glued to end papers, which are secured to the spine of the hardcover book.

• Comb Bound – Holes are punched into the file and wire rings are threaded throughout and then covered by plastic comb. This process allows the book to lay flat. • Spiral or Coil Bound – Uses a spiral coil to bind pages together. Commonly used with manuals and workbooks.

BISAC Codes (Book Industry Standards and Communications) – Categories and corresponding reference codes used by the publishing industry and booksellers to identify where books should be shelved in a store. Codes are governed by the Book Industry Standards Group.

Bleed – Term used for image that extends beyond the trimmed edge of the page so that it can be printed all the way to the edge of the page.

Boilerplate – A standard agreement provided by a publisher to an author.

Case Laminate – A hardcover book without a dust jacket, where the cover image is printed directly on the book boards.

CMYK – Refers to the basic colors used in printing: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black.

Copyright – Intellectual property such as a book manuscript is protected by copyright law when a copyright statement is placed on the work (example: “Copyright © 2018 by Annie Author”). For best protection, register your work with Copyright.gov.

Copyright Page – The page in a book that lists the copyright statement, book title, author, book categories, disclaimer for readers, and publisher information.

Digital Printing – A printing process where

DPI (Dots Per Inch) – Indicates the print resolution and quality of a graphic image. For commercial printing purposes, high resolution images of 300 DPI or better are recommended.

Dedication – An option section in the front of a book where the author dedicates the book to one or more people. Usually appears before first chapter.

Distributor – Company or agent that makes products (books) available to retailers.

Draft – Refers to the various stages of a manuscript, such as initial writing (first draft) and completed manuscript (final draft).

Dust Jacket – Paper wrap of a cover that goes around a hardcover book.

Editing – A professional reviews a manuscript or other written document for errors and consistency. There are several different types of editing:

• Developmental Editing – A comprehensive review of a manuscript where the editor may rewrite or rework parts of the manuscript to improve overall readability. • Copy Editing – A line-by-line review of a manuscript for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and inconsistencies. • Proofreading – After copy editing has been completed, proofreading is a light review of a manuscript to catch any remaining typos or errors.

Editor – A professional who performs editorial duties.

Endorsement (AKA: “Testimonial” or “Blurb”) – Refers to praise for a book, usually one paragraph or less, written by a fellow author or recognized expert. Endorsements are typically printed on the front and/or back of a book cover and in the opening pages of a printed book.

Errata – A written list of errors found in a book.

Fiction – Writing that is not based on fact, but instead on imagination and storytelling (novels).

Footnote (AKA: “Endnote”) – When citing statistics or quotes from reference material, footnotes/endnotes are used to indicate the original source of the material. These can be listed at the bottom of the page, end of the chapter, and/or summarized at the end of the book.

Foreword – An optional mini-chapter of a book, typically written by a fellow author or industry expert. The foreword introduces the book to the reader and acts as an endorsement by the writer.

Formatting – The process of applying design elements to a manuscript, such as setting font size, paragraph alignment or line spacing.

Front Matter – The materials included at the front of a book including the title page, table of contents, acknowledgements, etc.

Frontlist – Books released in the current season and featured in a publisher’s current catalog.

Genre – Indicates the category of books, such as memoir, history or self-development.

Ghostwriter – A writer-for-hire who writes a manuscript on behalf of another person. A ghostwriter may or may not receive author credit for the book.

Glossary – A list of words with definitions.

Grayscale – When a color image is converted to black and white for purposes of high- resolution printing. Converting an image to grayscale helps ensure the best print quality in black and white.

Hardcover – A book bound with boards for the cover, which may or may not include a dust jacket.

High-Resolution – Refers to quality of a graphic image, which shows a high level of detail. High resolution graphics are required for commercial printing. See also “DPI,” “JPEG,” and “TIFF.”

Imprint – A division of a publishing house that encompasses certain types of book from that publisher. Some large publishers have many different imprint names.

Index – An alphabetized section at the back of the book to reference key words, titles, places, and phrases from the book and the corresponding page numbers where they appear. An index is typically created by a professional indexer using a combination of software and human intervention.

ISBN (International Standard Book Number) – A unique identifier (13-digit number) assigned to each edition of a book or other type of media. Each version of a book must have its own ISBN including paperback, hardcover, ebook, audio book, etc. ISBNs in the United States are purchased through Bowkers.

JPEG (JPG) – A format for a graphic image. The file extension is denoted by “.jpg.” See also “TIFF.”

Keyword – A single word or short phrase used to aid in searching for important terms or concepts online.

Kill Fee – Payment made to an author when a publisher cancels a publishing agreement.

List Price (AKA: “Retail price”) – The retail price of the book.

Literary Agent – A professional who represents authors in pursuing traditional book publishing contracts.

LCCN (Library of Congress Control Number) – A unique identifier assigned to a book to help track it within the Library of Congress catalog.

Manuscript – A written document that can be converted into book form.

Mass-Market Paperback – Smaller paperback typically used for novels and other works of fiction. Also see Trade Paperback.

Midlist – Books that publishers don’t expect to be bestsellers, but are expected to achieve strong sales.

Nonexclusive Contract –

Nonfiction – Writing that is based on fact/truth.

Offset Printing – A type of printing process. This term is also used to describe large quantities of books printed at once.

Out of Print (OP or OOP) – When a book is no longer being printed by the publisher.

PDF (Portable Document File) – An industry-standard file that can be opened across all kinds of platforms including PC, Macintosh, mobile devices, etc. All kinds of documents can be converted to PDF format, included Microsoft Word and Excel, Google Pages and Sheets, etc.

Permissions – When publishing work by someone else, such as a photo or long excerpt from a book, authors/publishers must obtain written permission by the intellectual property owner.

Pixels – A small unit of color that, when combined with other pixels, produces a graphic image.

POV (Point of View) – The perspective of the narrator in a story. For example, first-person point of view tells the story from the author’s perspective using “I” references. Third- person point of view tells the story from the perspective of an outsider who is not involved in the story.

Preface – An optional introductory chapter written by the author.

Print on Demand (POD) – A printing process that allows publishers to produce one book at a time, instead of the old requirements of printing hundreds or even thousands of copies at once.

Print-Ready – Indicates a file, typically a PDF document, that is completely formatted and ready for printing.

Proof – A physical copy of a book printed as the initial sample to review before books are printed in larger quantities.

Pub Date – The targeted date when a book will be officially released to buyers.

Query Letter – A pitch written to a literary agent or editor when seeking representation for traditional publishing.

Remainder – Books that weren’t sold by retailers and have been returned to the publisher.

Returns – Unsold copies of books sent back to publishers by retailers. Publishers are expected to issue a full refund for all returns, regardless of condition of merchandise.

Revision – Changes to manuscript or work, often denoted with a numbering system. Example: Rev 1.1.

Rights (AKA: Subsidiary Rights) – When entering into an agreement with a publisher, either the author or the publisher may request rights to film/screen, foreign language versions, audio book versions, etc.

Royalties – Monies earned by authors based on the sales of books. Royalties are typically calculated based on a percentage of sales and royalty rates can vary greatly.

Running Head – The section at the top of the book where the book title, chapter title or other information is listed in the header of the page. The content is typically different on right vs. left pages.

Self-Publishing – When an author publishes his/her own book and retains copyright ownership.

Sell Sheet – A promotional flyer used to sell a book.

Style Guide/Sheet – A document that details standard design preferences for a document, such as font type and size, spacing requirements, etc.

Slush Pile – Term used by traditional publishers for unsolicited manuscripts, which may or may not be considered for publication.

Table of Contents – A list of chapters and content with corresponding page numbers.

Target Audience – A specific group of people identified as potential book readers. Example: single moms.

TIFF – A file format for graphic images. See also “JPEG”.

Title Page – The first page in a book that lists the book title and author name. May also list the publisher name and city where book was published.

Trade Paperback – Indicates a large-sized paperback book, such as 5”x 8” or 6” x 9”.

Traditional Publishing – When an author is paid for the right to publish their work in a book.

Trim Size – The physical dimensions of a book, such as 6” x 9” or 8.5” x 11”.

Typesetting (AKA: “Layout”) – The process of laying out the interior pages of a book. This is typically achieved by importing a manuscript file into graphic design software. Typesetting includes placement of graphic images, starting chapters on the right side page, and formatting the book to be visually appealing and consistent.

Upload – To transfer a copy of a file from one location to a server or other location.

Wholesale Price – The pre-tax price of the book either to retailers or to the author.

YA Books – Term use to indicate books for Young Adults.