Glossary of Business Terms

This is a work in progress (and will probably remain so for a long time), owing to the sheer ambition of the project: to provide definitions for as many technical and business terms in publishing as possible. This is a writer-oriented list, and secondarily a reader-oriented one; I'm sure there are many terms specific to the intricacies of typesetting or marketing or whatever that I have not included here. The goal is for writers to know words that will be relevant to their operation in the industry.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with corrections, clarifications, or additional terms I should include.

• advance -- literally an advance on royalties. Money paid up-front to an author for a work, usually either a novel or a short story in an anthology. Often divided into several portions -- signing, delivery and acceptance, and publication. The publisher pays royalties in advance to the writer (often to feed the writer while the book is written), which then are taken out of the monies earned following the book's publication. If a book fails to earn out, the author is usually not liable to repay advance money to the publisher.
• advance review copy (ARC) -- a copy of a book printed early in the publication process, before all corrections have been made, for marketing and review purposes. May have either a plain paper cover or (more expensive) a full-color rendition of the planned cover.
• agent -- an individual who acts on someone else's behalf; in this context, someone who handles business negotations for an author in exchange for a percentage of the money earned from that contract. Agents are rare in short fiction, but many book publishers will not consider novels by authors who lack representation.
• Association of Authors' Representatives (AAR) -- the major professional organization for agents. Membership isn't a guarantee that the agent you're looking at is a good one, but any agent who doesn't belong is one you probably want to be wary of.
• auction -- if several publishers are interested enough in a book, the agent may auction it, organizing a bidding war between editors. This generally results in a much higher advance and/or better contract terms for the author.
• audio rights -- the right to publish a work in audio format. May cover audio books, podcasting, etc.
• author alterations -- once a text has been typeset, an author may be charged for excessive alterations, since these carry a real material cost for the publisher. Correction of errors that have crept in during the process, or errors not caught by earlier passes, are generally not counted as author alterations.
• backlist -- an author's previously published titles, as opposed to their most recent work.
• back matter -- the material printed at the back of a book, after the narrative is done. This may include an excerpt from the author's next novel, excerpts from the work of other authors at the same publisher, advertisements, indices, appendices, glossaries, or more.
• back to press -- when a print run comes close to selling out, a publisher may choose to order an additional run, and the work is said to have gone back to press.
• blurb -- before publication, books are sent to influential authors, reviewers, and the like for quotes that may be used in advertising. These may be printed on the cover or in the front matter.
• Book Expo America (BEA) -- an enormous book fair attended by most major publishers. This is an industry event, rather than something aimed at the general book-buying public.
• book signing -- a promotional event wherein an author at a bookstore or convention signs books for fans.
• co-agent -- usually employed in the context of foreign sales or movie rights. An author's agent may work with a colleague in another country or industry, in which case they split the commission, which is often a larger percentage than normal (20% instead of 15%).
• commission -- the percentage an agent deducts as their fee from a writer's income, in exchange for their services. 15% is common; some agents take only 10%. In some cases the commission may be higher, and split with a co-agent.
• contract -- a written document specifying the rights granted to a publisher, the conditions of their granting, the compensation for them, and other such legal matters.
• copy-edited manuscript (CEM) -- a manuscript marked up by a copy-editor, sent to an author for further correction.
• copy-editing -- the stage in the publication process when the author's manuscript is corrected for a number of issues, including spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, continuity goofs, factual errors, and unclear phrasing. This is also the last stage at which it is advisable for an author to make any substantial changes to the text. Copy-editing may also include marking the text with flags for the typesetter, such as italics or chapter headers.
• copyright -- a type of intellectual property right governing original creative work. Particularly refers to the right to make copies (i.e. publish) and the right to create derivative works. Currently lasts until seventy years after the death of the creator or (in the case of work-for-hire) ninety-five years after creation. Copyright deserves more than this nutshell description, but in the interests of keeping it from eating this entire glossary, I'll save that for another essay.
• cover art -- the images placed on a book cover for marketing purposes. May be commissioned as original work from an artist, or put together from stock imagery.
• cover copy -- the text on the back cover or inside flap of a book, advertising the plot and characters.
• cover design -- the visual design process for a cover, including not just the art, but the design and placement of the title, author's name, blurbs, and other such details.
• cover flat -- a copy of the book's cover (front, spine, and back), usable for marketing purposes.
• cover letter -- included with a submission to an agent or an editor (book or short story). It should be written in a business-like style and include a short, representative list of your publishing credits, and any other credentials (such as degrees or professional experience) that are relevant to the work.
• Creative Commons -- a licensing setup which allows creators to release works on the Internet under specific terms governing their attribution, commercialization, and derivation.
• delivery and acceptance -- the portion of an advance paid out to an author upon receipt of an acceptable manuscript.
• derivative work -- work (whether fiction, art, music, etc.) deriving from a copyrighted piece, i.e. using the same characters, setting, and so on. Copyright reserves the right to create derivative works to the copyright holder.
• die-cut -- a cut-out in a book's cover, revealing something else behind.
• digest magazine -- a perfect-bound magazine format of a particular (small) size.
• distribution -- the process of getting a book into stores. There are a very small number of distributors for books and magazines in the United States, which poses an obstacle for small press publishers, who may lack the capital to arrange for distribution through those companies.
• distribution sphere -- a region usually treated as a whole for the purpose of book distribution. The U.S. and Canada form one distribution sphere; the U.K., Ireland, and Australia form another.
• drive-by -- an informal signing, where an author stops at a bookstore and autographs whatever copies of their work are in stock.
• earning out -- when a book has earned sufficient money that the royalties which would have been paid to the author have surpassed the amount of the advance, the work is said to have earned out. At this point the publisher will begin paying royalty income to the author.
• editorial letter -- the revision notes an editor sends to an author, before copy-editing occurs. The length, format, and focus of the letter vary depending on the editorial relationship.
• electronic rights -- the right to publish a work in an electronic format. This can include both Internet publication and e-books.
• fair use -- conditions under which a copyrighted work may be used without infringement. Judged on the basis of four major factors: the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the usage, the effect on the market for the copyrighted work, and the nature and purpose of the usage. Not-for-profit educational usage of a work, especially nonfiction, is generally considered fair use; so is parody, due to its transformative nature. Fair use is deliberately fuzzy in its definition, and left to the discretion of the judge, if a case is brought to court.
• fan art -- derivative visual art based on a copyrighted work such as a book or TV show. Individual cases may or may not qualify as fair use, but are rarely prosecuted.
• fanfiction -- derivative fiction based on a copyrighted work such as a book or TV show. Individual cases may or may not qualify as fair use, but are rarely prosecuted.
• foil -- metallic highlights used on a book cover.
• foreign rights -- this usually indicates foreign language rights, which govern the translation of a work into other languages, for publication in other countries. Foreign rights are usually exploited through sub-licensing them to a foreign publisher.
• French flaps -- front and back flaps on a soft-cover book, comparable to the removable wrapper of a hardcover book.
• frontispiece -- a piece of art placed in the front matter of a book. Very characteristic of nineteenth-century books, and some nonfiction.
• front matter -- material placed at the beginning of a book, before the main text starts. Can include blurbs, copyright information, maps, a table of contents, and more.
• full manuscript -- if an agent or editor has read a portion of a submitted book and likes it, they may request the full manuscript. Few places accept the initial submission of full manuscripts.
• galleys -- a term used somewhat interchangeably with both page proofs and ARCs.
• gloss -- slick, shiny finish on a book cover.
• gutter -- the inside edge of pages, where they are bound together into the spine.
• handshake agreement -- many authors operate on a "handshake agreement" with their agents, where the terms of their partnership are discussed and understood, but not formalized in a written contract.
• hardcover -- a book bound between rigid covers.
• imprint -- a subdivision within a publishing house. Imprints are commonly set up for particular genres or subgenres, or to promote a specific category of books (such as "classics" or "fiction by women").
• kerning -- the spacing between letters in a typeface. Too-close kerning can result in confusion, as when "clear" is mistaken for "dear," or "kerning" for "keming."
• licensing -- the granting of specific, limited-term rights by a copyright holder. Contracts identify which rights are granted and which are withheld.
• marketing -- not entirely distinct from promotion, but generally refers to the publisher's efforts to sell a book to bookstores, as opposed to readers. This can include methods such as ads in trade magazines.
• mass-market -- in casual usage, books of the "standard" small paperback size in the U.S. Actually refers to a particular production and distribution model characteristic of (but not universal to) that trim size.
• matte -- non-glossy paper used on a cover.
• midlist -- used to refer to authors who are neither new to the field nor bestselling names, but rather somewhere in the middle of their genre.
• North American rights -- print rights (for short or long fiction) pertaining to the United States and Canada, which are usually grouped as a distribution sphere.
• offset printing -- the traditional mode of publishing books, as contrasted with print on demand.
• option -- can refer to several different things. The option clause in a book contract reserves to the publisher the right of first refusal for an author's next book-length work (sometimes with restrictions). An option in the context of film means that a producer has paid a sum of money to temporarily "call dibs" on the right to purchase the work; this option is for a set period of time, after which it may be picked up (purchased for real), renewed, or else allowed to lapse.
• out of print
• page proofs -- once the text has been typset, the author and/or a proofreader may be sent page proofs for one final revision pass. These are full-size sheets of paper with guidelines marked around the typeset material; within those, the page appears as it will in the printed version.
• partial -- general term for any submission of less than a full book manuscript. The exact size of the partial varies between individual agents and editors; the first three chapters are common.
• payment on acceptance -- in short fiction publishing, when compensation is paid to the author upon acceptance of a story into a magazine or anthology. Generally practiced by more well-established markets.
• payment on publication -- in short fiction publishing, when compensation is paid to the author upon publication of a story in a magazine or anthology. More common among less well-established markets, which have less cash on hand.
• perfect bound -- a binding method wherein pages are glued into a spine. Mass-market paperbacks are perfect bound, as are digest magazines.
• pitch
• podcasting -- audio broadcasting via the Internet. Interviews or audio recordings of works may be podcasted.
• point
• preempt -- a contract offer generous enough to forestall a planned auction.
• print run -- the number of books produced in a batch of offset printing. The per-unit cost generally drops the more units printed, thus encouraging publishers to do fewer and larger runs. Does not apply to print on demand.
• print on demand -- a technology for book production that only prints a unit when there is demand for it. Contrasted with offset printing. Used especially for books that are intended for a niche market. Not to be confused with vanity publishing, despite the efforts of vanity publishers to hide behind the term.
• profit and loss -- an estimate conducted by an editor before they acquire a book, to predict how much it would cost to produce a particular number of books in a particular fashion, weighed against how much money the book is likely to earn.
• promotion -- not entirely distinct from marketing, but more often refers to efforts to interest readers in a book. Some of this may be done by the publisher, but much of it is self-promotion, carried out by the author.
• proofreader -- the individual responsible for comparing page proofs to the copy-edited manuscript, in order to catch any unmarked or new errors.
• proposal -- material such as a synopsis and partial used to sell a book to an editor. Nonfiction is often sold on proposal, instead of a finished manuscript. Established novelists may also sell on proposal -- sometimes a very tiny one.
• public domain -- works for which the copyright has expired or been released. These are not subject to regulation; anyone may do with them as they please.
• query -- a submission to an agent (the term is not generally used for submissions to editors). Also, a follow-up letter or e-mail sent to check on the status of a submission.
• recto -- the "right side" of a page. In most cases these are the odd-numbered pages.
• reprint -- the republication of a work originally printed elsewhere. This may be anything from the revival of an author's out of print backlist to the resale of a short story to a year's best anthology.
• reserve against returns -- a portion of royalties temporarily withheld by the publisher, against the possibility of bookstores returning copies. The reserve is eventually released to the author after the book has been out for some time.
• returns -- copies of a book purchased by a bookstore, but unsold and returned to the publisher. Because it is not cost-effective to ship back mass-market books, these are "returned" by having their front covers stripped off and mailed back.
• reversion -- most contracts that are not work-for-hire should specify end conditions for the rights granted, whether after a set period of time or when certain conditions occur. For example, many novel contracts grant rights only until such time as the book goes out of print. Afterward the granted rights revert to the author, who is free to sell them elsewhere.
• review copies -- copies of a book, whether finished or advance, sent to reviewers in the hopes of drumming up attention.
• review -- a critical response to a book after or slightly before its publication. Early reviews are used to build interest in an upcoming title. Thanks to the Internet, the line between professional reviews and amateur responses has become very blurred.
• rights -- permission licensed to a publisher, under particular conditions, for a particular span of time.
• royalties -- a share of the revenue earned on a book, paid out to the author. Specified in the contract as a percentage of "cover price" or "net revenue" (depending on circumstances). Advance money comes out of royalties.
• royalty press/publisher -- a traditional publisher (as opposed to a vanity press), which pays royalties to an author for every copy of their work sold.
• running header -- text at the top of the page throughout a work, such as the title, chapter title, or author's name. May be different on recto and verso.
• saddle-stitched -- pages bound together by stitching in the gutter. Many smaller magazines choose this over perfect binding, because of the lesser expense.
• sell-through -- the percentage of a title's total print run that has sold. Rarely if ever approaches 100%; if it comes close, the publisher will usually order another run.
• serial rights -- used primarly in reference to short story contracts with magazines (serial publications). Can also mean serial publication of a longer work.
• series -- a set of books marketed together, usually because of a connection in the characters or setting. May be authored by multiple writers.
• shared world -- a setting in which multiple writers operate, usually by invitation only. Examples include the Forgotten Realms, Thieves' World, and the Wild Cards.
• signature -- a set of pages stitched together and bound into a book's spine.
• signing check -- the portion of an advance paid out to an author upon receipt of a signed contract.
• slush -- unsolicited submissions at a magazine or book publisher. Collectively, the "slush pile." A slush reader is responsible for going through these submissions and picking out works for the editor to read, rejecting the remainder.
• small press -- magazines or book publishers who operate on a smaller scale, for a more limited market. They may operate on a different pay structure than major New York publishers and lack widespread distribution, but be more open to experimental or niche work.
• solicitation proof -- a flat copy of a book's cover with advertising material printed on the back, for use in marketing.
• spine -- the portion of a book's cover between the front and back covers.
• spot gloss -- glossy details printed on an otherwise matte cover.
• step-back -- a secondary cover behind the front cover, often used for an additional piece of art. Common for a time among romance novels.
• stet -- Latin for "let it stand." Used by authors to negate corrections or changes marked by a copy-editor.
• subrights -- additional rights to a work, granted through the signing of a contract. These may include foreign language rights, film rights, audio rights, and more.
• subsidy press -- a nearly-synonymous term with "vanity press." Any publisher that requires authors to cover (subsidize) some of the costs of publication.
• synopsis -- a summary of an entire book. The length varies, but synopses are usually written in the present tense, and cover all the major events of the plot, including the ending.
• tour -- a promotional event consisting of a series of book-signings and other public appearances. For high-profile titles, a publisher may pay for an author's tour; otherwise, authors pay for these themselves.
• trade cloth -- a cloth-bound hardcover book.
• trade paperback -- in casual usage, any paperback book not sized as mass-market. Actually refers to a particular publishing and distribution model.
• trademark -- a type of intellectual property. In fiction publishing, characters or concepts may be trademarked, but this is relatively rare. Most fiction is governed by copyright.
• trim size -- the physical dimensions of a book, its height and width. In casual usage, used to distinguish between mass market and trade paperbacks.
• typeface -- the font used in a text, on its chapter headers, front cover, etc. The selection of good typefaces is part of the production process.
• typesetting -- the process of formatting a manuscript into the look it will have when printed and bound. Page proofs have been typeset; a copy-edited manuscript has not.
• vanity press -- a publisher which requires the author to pay for publication. Most vanity presses are scams. As a business model, it is worthwhile only for small-scale projects not intended for commercial use, such as a family geneaology.
• verso -- the "left" or "reverse side" of a page. In most cases these are the even-numbered pages.
• work for hire -- fiction produced under conditions that do not recognize the author as the copyright holder. Used especially for media tie-ins and some shared-world fiction, where someone else holds the relevant copyright and trademarks. Authors of such fiction are often paid more up-front in compensation for ceding all rights to their work.
• world rights -- the right to publish a work anywhere in the world. The broadest rights that can be granted, short of selling the copyright itself, or someone establishing a publishing house on the moon. Electronic rights are world rights, because of the impracticality of enforcing geographical limits on the Internet.
• world English rights -- the right to publish a work anywhere in the world in English. Excludes foreign language rights.
• wraparound cover -- cover art that forms an unbroken whole across the front, spine, and back of a book. More expensive, generally, than art for the front cover only.
• wrapper -- the removable paper cover and flaps used on hardcover book.