Acquisition Editor- The person at a publishing company in charge of reviewing incoming manuscripts for possible publication.

Advance- A sum paid to the author in anticipation of royalty earnings.

Advance copies-  prepublication edition of the book, generally used to generate reviews and publicity; also known as ARCs Advance Readers' Copy.

Audience- The group most likely to be interested in the subject matter of the book.

Backlist - books in print that have not been recently published.

Blurbs (cover quotes) - endorsements of the book by well known writers or celebrities. Often these appear on the book jacket.

CIP- Cataloging in Publication. The bibliographic information supplied by the Library of Congress and printed on the copyright page.

Content Edit- An edit of a book that checks the flow of the text, its organization, continuity and content.

Copy Edit- An edit that checks for grammar, spelling, punctuation and other "typos."

Copyright- Legal protection given to intellectual rights such written and published works in a variety of forms such as books, audio and software.

Cover Art - the design of the book jacket, generally produced in-house by the publisher's art department.  

Distributor- A company that buys books from a publisher or other distributors and resells them to retail accounts.  

E-book (electronic book) - published in electronic form that can be downloaded to computers or handheld devices.

Epilogue- Additional text at the end of the book, that provides readers with additional information on the subject.

Flap Copy - synopses of the story, blurbs, review quotes, or other information designed to help sell the book.

Galley - bound edition of a work available for review and publicity purposes before publication.

Genre - sales and marketing category into which the title falls (e.g. mystery, suspense, horror, how-to, self-help.)

Mass Market - small format paperback edition.

Manuscript- The book in typewritten or word processing form.  

Out of Print- a title no longer maintained in the publisher's catalogue or inventory

Print Run - number of copies produced.

Remaindered - excess stock of printed unsold books that can be sold at discounted prices.

Returns - unsold copies returned by the bookstores or wholesalers to the publisher.

Royalties - percentage of the sales price earned by the author on sold copies. These are generally charged against the advance until it is earned out.

Self-published - produced by the author.

Sequel - a continuation of an earlier book.

Trim- The final dimension of a book after the printer or bindery has cut it to size.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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