Glossary of Publishing Terms-Part One

by Laura Fabiani @ NouveauWriter

You’re reading about a freelance writing job when you come across some words you don’t know. Every trade and profession has its own vocabulary and the writing field is no different.

The following are words that will be useful to you as a writer:

#10 ENVELOPE: A standard, business-size envelope.

ADVANCE: Money a publisher pays a writer prior to the publication of a book. It is usually paid in installments, such as one half on signing the contract and one half on delivery of a complete and satisfactory manuscript.

AGENT: A liaison between a writer and a publisher. An agent shops a manuscript around to editors, receiving a commission when the manuscript is accepted for publication. Agents usually take a 10-15 % fee from the advance and royalties.

ARC: Advance reader’s copy.

AUCTION: When publishers bid for the acquisition of a book manuscript that has excellent sales prospects. The bids are for the amount of the author’s advance, advertising and promotional expenses, royalty percentage, etc. Auctions are conducted by agents.

AVANT-GARDE: Writing that is innovative in form, style, or subject.

BACKLIST: A publisher’s list of its books that were not published during the current season but that are still in print.

BIMONTHLY: Every two months.

BIO: A sentence or brief paragraph about the writer; can include education and work experience.

BIWEEKLY: Every two weeks.

BLAD: Book layout and design. A sample folio produced by a publisher from a book in production, used by sales and publicity departments for pre-publication promotion.

BLURB: A testimonial from a book reviewer or a well-known person in a book’s field, usually found on the outside cover or jacket of a book.

BOILERPLATE: A standardized contract.

Source: Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner