Publishing Terms

Book proposal Description of a proposed book that an author sends to a publisher, often including sample chapters and an outline.

Copy editing Focuses on correct spelling, grammar, punctuation and syntax. Copy editing will also point out inconsistency in spelling, use of hyphens and numerals as well as ambiguous and factually incorrect statements.

Critique An evaluation of a manuscript, touching on issues such as structure as well as character and plot development.

Developmental editor The editor who does the substantive editing of a book, with particular attention paid to overall style, pacing, plot, and structure. The development editor works with the author on revisions.

Draft The book’s manuscript at a particular stage. The first draft is followed by rough drafts, which are unpolished versions. The final draft is sent to prepress.

Line-editing Focuses on the way language is used to communicate the story. Line editing will highlight dialogue and passages that don’t read well due to bland or confusing language choices and words and phrases that may help clarify meaning.

Manuscript An author’s written material before it is typeset and printed. MS and MSS are the shorthand designations for “manuscript” or “manuscripts.”

Proofreading A final proofing of the manuscript, usually focused on cleaning up any typographical errors before the manuscript is typeset.

Revisions Changes, sometimes extensive, to an original work.

Submissions Manuscripts sent by an author or agent to a publisher for consideration.

Boilerplate A publisher’s standard contract offered to an author and used as a starting point for negotiating final terms.

Catalogue-in-Publication data (CIP) “CIP data” in its broadest sense refers to the bibliographic record, created by the competent authority, such as the National Library of Jamaica, for a book, prior to its publication. Strictly speaking, however, “CIP data” is the bibliographic record that appears printed on the verso of the book’s title page.

Copyright The exclusive, legally-secured right to, among other things, reproduce and distribute works of original expression. Expression is your own unique way of articulating an idea, telling a story, or creating a work of art. Under copyright law, creators hold copyright in a book or other literary work from the moment they put the words down on paper, into a computer file, or into some other tangible medium. Copyright protection in works created after January 1, 1978 generally lasts until 70 years after the death of the creator. Copyright in works created by businesses or before 1978 can last for 95 years from publication. After a work is no longer protected, it falls into the public domain.

Kill fee A payment that may be made to an author or illustrator when a publisher cancels a project.

Permissions Agreements from copyright holders granting the right to someone else to reproduce their work. Authors who want to excerpt someone else’s work in their own book may be obligated under copyright law to secure permissions.

Royalties A percentage the author or illustrator receives out of the proceeds from the sale of each copy of the book.

Book signing A publicized event, often held at bookstores or book fairs, featuring an author reading from and discussing the author’s book and autographing the book for customers.

Marketing A concerted effort of promotion and advertising by the publisher to maximize sales of books to the public and to distributors.

Media kit/press kit A folder of promotional materials used for announcing information about a forthcoming book to the news media and other targeted outlets. Media kits may include excerpts, reviews, quotes from individuals praising the work, and a press release.

Niche marketing Marketing and promoting a book to a specific group of buyers, such as people in a certain geographical region, or people with a specific hobby or interest. Books published for a niche market may be sold nationally, but mainly are sold through specialized retail outlets.

Press Release A written announcement that seeks to draw media attention to a specific event or product launch.

Target Audience A specific group of readers/users likely to be interested in a particular book.

Afterword Closing remarks on the topic of the book or the process of writing the book. Someone other than the author can write this.

Appendix Supplementary information at the end of a book, which can include tables and statistical information.

Author/illustrator biography Personal information and accomplishments of the author and/or illustrator.

Back matter All printed material that appears in the back of the book after the body copy. Back matter can include an afterword, an appendix, a bibliography, a colophon, a glossary, and an index.

Binding The back cover, spine (centre panel which connects the front and back cover to the pages and faces out when the book is shelved), and front cover of a book. A binding is what holds a book together. Types of binding include case binding, comb binding, perfect binding, saddle stitching, spiral binding, and velo binding.

Body copy The majority of the text of the book, appearing between the front and back matter.

Colophon A brief listing of production information, often including typeface details and information related to any artwork.

Copyright page A page toward the front of the book, which indicates that the book is protected by copyright, and that permission must be obtained to reproduce all or part of the book. Typically this page also includes cataloguing data for libraries.

Copyright notice Every book should contain a copyright notice, usually on the title verso, consisting of the copyright symbol ©, the date of publication and the copyright owner. However, as copyright is automatic, this isn’t a necessity for any legal reason—it’s largely convention, and a courtesy to those seeking permissions.

Curriculum publishing Learning support materials for K-12 (early childhood, primary and secondary schools), graduate-level, and professional, training markets. Materials are usually aligned to a particular curriculum and supports one or more aspects of the teaching and assessment process.

Dedication An author’s statement of appreciation or compliments to a specific person or group of people to whom the book is dedicated.

EAN bar code This bar code is the ISBN number transferred into machine-readable form. The electronic scanning lines printed on the back cover or book jacket are encoded with information about the book product, such as the title, publisher, and price.

Foreword An introduction to a book, usually written by someone other than the author of the book.

Front matter All the pages in a book that appear before the body copy. Types of front matter include the title page, copyright page, dedication, table of contents, foreword, preface, acknowledgment, and introduction.

Frontispiece An illustration appearing before the first pages of a book.

Glossary A list of terms and definitions particular to the subject of the book.

Hardcover Usually sewn and glued, hardcover books are then bound with cardboard covers that are reinforced with a stiff cloth before being covered with a paper dust jacket.

Index An alphabetical listing of specific topics and key words in a book (especially names, places, and events) and the pages on which they are mentioned.

ISBN (International Standard Book Number) A worldwide, numbered identification system that provides a standard way for publishers to number their products without duplication by other publishers. “ISBN” also refers to ISBN numbers themselves. The first part of the ISBN identifies the language of publication (“0” for English), and the second part identifies the publisher. The next string of digits in the ISBN identifies the book product itself, and is followed by a digit specifically calculated to ensure the integrity of the ISBN.

ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) A worldwide numbering system for periodicals and other serially-produced products.

Preface Introductory section of a book, usually written by the author. May contain information on why the book was written or how to use the book.

Table of contents A listing of the topics covered in the book as arranged by chapter and/or section, including the corresponding page numbers.

Title page Odd-numbered right-hand (or “recto”) page that lists the book’s title, subtitle, author’s name, publisher, and city where it was published.

Trade paperback Trade paperbacks are larger than mass market paperback books and are bound with a heavy paper cover. They are often are the same size and bear the same cover illustration as the hardcover edition. Trade paperbacks are usually bound with glue only.

Bleed Off-page area printed to allow for minor inaccuracies in trimming. Generally anything intended to print right up to the edge of the page is extended and bleeds about 3mm beyond the intended edge of the trimmed page area.

Bluelines Also referred to as “Blues.” This printer’s photocopy generated by the printer is a blue-print mock-up of all the pages of the book printed from the final plates. Bluelines allow a final opportunity to detect errors and make minor corrections before the book goes to press. If changes are needed, they have to be made to the film, which can be expensive.

Book manufacturing The entire process of typesetting a book, printing it, binding it, and then packing it for shipping.

Layout The overall design of a book’s pages, including the arrangement of text, illustrations, graphics, title, page numbers, and font/typeface usage.

Overrun The excess quantity of books when a print run is larger than the one ordered. These additional copies are printed to offset possible spoilage. If the estimated spoilage does not occur, the publisher is sometimes required to purchase the additional copies from the printer.

PP&B Paper, printing, and binding. Accounts for the bulk of the total cost associated with manufacturing a book.

PP&F Prepress, printing and freight. Includes PP&B. Accounts for the bulk of the total cost involved in getting a manuscript converted into physical books delivered to a warehouse/distribution centre.

Prepress The various steps necessary to prepare a book to be sent to a printer. May include scanning of images, creation of proofs, conforming color specifications to the printer’s requirements, and many other activities.

Printer’s errors Mistakes made by the printer during manufacturing, such as smudges, smears, and inkblots on pages.

Proofs The complete typeset pages of a book for review before the book goes to press.

Trim size The outer dimensions (horizontal and vertical) of a finished book.

Advance copies The first finished books (before the book is widely distributed) that are designated to fill advance orders and special requests.

Ebook An e-book file format that uses the “.epub” file extension. EPUB is supported by many e-readers, and compatible software is available for most smartphones, tablets, and computers. The format and many readers support reflowable documents that optimize text for a particular display, fixed-layout content (pre-paginated content can be useful for certain kinds of highly designed content, such as illustrated books intended only for larger screens, such as tablets), page bookmarking, passage highlighting, and notes.

Ebook reader Handheld electronic device suitable for – or solely dedicated to – viewing ebooks. Examples of dedicated devices include the unsuccessful 2001-vintage Rocketbook and the slightly more successful 2006 Sony Librié ebook reader. Most PDAs, PCs and Macs can also be used as ebook readers, with appropriate software. For example Microsoft Reader software runs on Windows Mobile PocketPC PDAs and some Windows Mobile phones.

EPUB. An e-book file format that uses the “.epub” file extension. EPUB is supported by many e-readers, and compatible software is available for most smartphones, tablets, and computers. The format and many readers support reflowable documents that optimize text for a particular display, fixed-layout content (pre-paginated content can be useful for certain kinds of highly designed content, such as illustrated books intended only for larger screens, such as tablets), page bookmarking, passage highlighting, and notes.

Galley or Advanced Reader’s Edition/Copy (ARE or ARC) Formatted in book form, bound galleys are generally produced after a manuscript has been typeset but before it has been proofread. These editions are used by publicists to send to book reviewers, distributors, and book clubs that like to see copies of books three or four months before their official publication dates. Some publishers classify books with full colour covers as ARCs or AREs, and those with plain cardstock covers as galleys.

In-Store or On-Sale date The date that a product arrives in the stores and is shelved for consumers to purchase.

Pre-publication This term is usually used in conjunction with other terms such as pre-pub costs or pre-pub offers. Pre-pub offers may be made with special incentives to hype initial demand or to learn enough to project post-publication response rates.

Publication date (“Pub Date”) The date when the publisher announces that a particular product will be available. Typically, the pub date is set for a few days after the book’s arrival in stores to help ensure that marketing and publicity can begin on schedule.

Chains Large companies that own many bookstores under the same name. The two biggest chains in Jamaica are Kingston Bookshop and Sangster’s Bookstores.

Distributor A company that warehouses, catalogues, markets, and sells books to bookstores, libraries, and wholesalers on behalf of a number of small publishers, consolidating those costs.

Independent booksellers Retail shops, not owned by large companies, selling books to the general public.

Institutional sales Book sales primarily to schools and libraries, especially by children’s book publishers.

List Price The cover price of a book, also called the “retail” price.

Returns Unsold copies of a book that are returned to publishers from booksellers. In most cases the bookseller is allowed to return any unsold books to the publisher for a complete refund.