Glossary of Publishing Terms Acquisitions the portion of the editorial department s work that involves inviting and evaluating book proposals, establishing contracts with authors, and working with authors to bring in acceptable manuscripts. Acquisitions editor a member of the editorial team who is responsible for acquisitions. Advance money paid by a publisher to an author or illustrator before the book is published, as an advance payment on royalties. This money is, in effect, loaned from an author s future royalties, and royalty payments do not commence until after the advance has been earned back. Not every author receives an advance. Advance copies copies of a book that are released ahead of the official publication date and sent to authors, editors, contributors, booksellers and distributors, reviewers, and others. Advance reading copy (ARC) a copy of a book that the publisher sends, free of charge and generally before the book goes into distribution, to the press and other media, potential buyers, and reviewers in order to promote the book. ARCs are usually printed and have a high quality printed cover, but because they are created from uncorrected proofs, they may contain differences from the final book. Books for which ARCs are not printed are presented to early reviewers in bound page proofs. Advance Title Information sheet (ATI) the first promotional material produced for a forthcoming book, used to interest bookstores and other buyers in new titles. This sheet contains the title; author info; a catchy tagline; descriptive copy; specs including price, page count, and trim size; contributors (if the book is a collection); early blurbs or reviews (if we have them); and a tentative cover image. American Booksellers Association (ABA) and Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) trade organizations serving secular and Christian bookstores (independents and chains), respectively. Both hold annual conventions where publishers and other suppliers exhibit their products. Author Welcome Questionnaire (AWQ ) the form an Eerdmans author fills out and sends in to help promote and sell his or her book. A treasure trove if it s filled out completely, it will include author biography and contact information; both short and long book summaries; ideas for blurbers and reviews; suggested subject categories; the author s reflections on what makes the book unique; cover ideas; and more. Backlist previously published books that are still in print. Back matter printed material found in the back of the book. This includes the appendix, the bibliography, the index, and other related items. See also Front matter. Bibliography a list of all of the sources used (whether referenced or not) in the process of researching and writing a book. Blurb See Endorsement. Blurber See Endorser. Boilerplate general information about a series that remains the same for each book in the series. can alternately refer to a publisher s standard contract terms, used as a starting point for negotiations. Book Industry Standards and Communications (BISAC) code system used by booksellers and distributors to categorize books by subject. Like the Dewey Decimal System for libraries. Book proposal set of materials sent to a publisher to propose a book. This usually includes a query letter, a description or abstract of the book or books, sample chapters, an outline, the author s CV, and information about the author s platform and the book s sales and marketing potential.
Book signing an author talks about and signs copies of his or her book for buyers. Bound page proofs / bound galleys printouts of a nearly finalized book that serve the same purpose as ARCs but are not printed at such high quality. Camera-ready artwork artwork or pasted material that is ready for reproduction. Camera-ready copy final publication material that is ready to be printed. Case-bound book a hardcover book whose cover is made with stiff boards. Cases are usually covered with cloth, vinyl, or leather or preprinted covers (as with picture books). Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) our main sourcebook for questions of grammar, style, and format. Our house style currently relies on CMS, 16th ed. Conferences and trade shows (SBL, ETS, AAR, BEA, ICRS, ALA, and others) academic conferences or trade shows where our sales team displays and sells books. SBL = Society of Biblical Literature; ETS = Evangelical Theological Society; AAR = American Academy of Religion; BEA = Book Expo America; ICRS = International Christian Retail Show; ALA = American Library Association (among others). Contract the agreement drawn up during the acquisitions process between the publisher and the author to spell out payment terms, royalties, deadlines, rights, respective responsibilities, etc. Co-op money/co-op advertising an agreement with a book distributor whereby a publisher contributes a sum of money, usually equal to a percentage of net purchases made in the previous year (typically 1 2 percent) to promote a title through trade advertising in the following year. This is often an obligatory part of conducting business with wholesale distributors. Copy generally refers to text (whether in manuscript form or typeset galleys or pages) but sometimes refers to the entire interior content (text and graphics) of a publication. Copyediting the line-by-line work of a manuscript s copy editor or project editor after major structural and content concerns have been resolved. This work usually concentrates on grammar and style to ensure clarity and conciseness. Copyright a creator s legally enforceable exclusive claim of the use, sale, and distribution of an original work, usually for a limited time. Copyright page a page, usually immediately following the title page in the front matter of a book, that lists information relating to the book s copyright. Cover art the artwork used on the cover or jacket of a book. Cover Copy text that may include a book synopsis or description, author biography, endorsements, or other information designed to help sell the book. This information is printed on the back panel of a paperback book cover. See also Jacket copy. Crop marks lines or markings on camera-ready copy indicating where the pages will be trimmed after printing. Dedication an expression of friendly tribute or thanks by the author, printed on a separate dedication page or on the copyright page as part of the front matter. Direct mail catalogs, flyers, posters, and other printed promotional pieces that are mailed directly to consumers. Distributor an industry intermediary that buys, stores in centralized locations, promotes, and distributes our books to other resellers and libraries. Dummy a rough mock-up of the illustrations and layout for a picture book. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (EBYR) our children s imprint, which publishes 16 18 titles a year, ranging from board books and picture books to middle-grade readers, young adult novels, religious nonfiction, and more. Endorsement a short promotional comment from a recognized expert or celebrity. We use endorsements on covers, in catalogs, on websites, in ads and elsewhere as opportunities present themselves. (Endorsements are referred to colloquially as blurbs.) Endorser someone who writes an endorsement. Colloquially, a blurber or blurbist. Epigraph a short quote or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter. F&Gs (folded and gathered sheets) unbound, full-color proofs of an illustrated book, created mainly for use as advance reading copies of children s picture books.
Foreword a short introduction to a book, written by a person (not the author) whom readers will recognize as an authority on the subject. Often misspelled forward. Frontlist the books a publisher is releasing in the current year. Front matter the pages before the text begins, located in the front of a book; at minimum this contains a title page and copyright page, but it may also contain a half title, dedication, contents page, foreword, preface, etc. Galley proofs early typeset pages which can be inexpensively bound and sent to reviewers before publication. (At Eerdmans, we often skip galleys and go straight to page proofs, which we then bind and send to reviewers and blurbers in lieu of galleys.) Half-title page interior page directly inside the front cover, before the title page. This is where we often place extra endorsements if we have more copy than we can gracefully squeeze onto the book s jacket or back cover. Hardcover / hardback a book format in which the book is bound between firm boards covered in cloth, paper, leather, or film. House style the particular style of preferred spelling, punctuation, hyphenation, citation, and indentation used by a publisher to ensure consistent typesetting and copyediting. Imprint an editorial group within a publishing house that focuses on a particular category or genre (e.g., Eerdmans Books for Young Readers). Index an alphabetical listing of names, places, topics, or references in the Bible or other texts, together with the page numbers on which they appear. Indexes appear in the back matter. In-stock date / ship date the date a finished book arrives in our warehouse. After this date, we immediately begin shipping out copies to bookstores, distributors, reviewers, endorsers, and the author(s) or editor(s). The in-stock date is approximately one month prior to the publication date, to allow time for bookstores and others to receive and shelve their shipments. ISBN (International Standard Book Number) gives the book a unique ID for orders and distribution. Different parts of the number identify the language of publication ( 0 for English), the publisher s number, and five digits that are unique to the book. All bar codes include an ISBN. Jacket copy text that may include a book synopsis or description, author biography, endorsements, or other information designed to help sell the book. This information is printed on the front and back flaps and back panel of a hardcover book jacket. Layout the designed presentation of text and art/graphics for a print publication. Library jobber a company that places wholesale orders for libraries. Linechecking the act of comparing a newly corrected proof against a marked-up proof, to ensure that all noted errors have been fixed and editorial changes made. Manuscript (MS, plural MSS) the typed original text of a book, prepared and submitted for publication. Mass-market Paperback a soft-bound edition of a book published in a smaller format (usually 4.25 x 7 ) and made from lower quality materials to keep the list price low. Mysteries, romance novels, and other works of pulp fiction are often reissued in mass-market paperback after their initial release. Metadata digital information about a book compiled and shared electronically with distributors and their websites using the ONIX (Online INformation exchange) publishing protocol. This can include everything from a book s title, author, and descriptive copy to its price, trim size, and publication date. Midlist books or authors who are not bestsellers but produce strong enough sales (or anticipated sales) to justify their publication. Monograph a scholarly work by a single author. New / second / revised edition a reprint of an existing title incorporating substantial textual additions or alterations, or a republication of a title that has been out of print.
Out of print (OP) a title the publisher no longer intends to include in its catalog or to keep in inventory. A book that is designated OP when OS will be considered out of print when out of stock, meaning that supplies are dwindling and it does not make good financial sense to print additional copies when they are gone. Page proofs the stage following galley proofs (in cases where galley proofs are made) or the edited manuscript, in which pages are typeset, designed, and paginated. These are sent to endorsers, reviewers, and authors (who then have a final chance to make minor corrections to the text before it goes to press). Paperback a book format in which the book is bound between thick paper or paperboard and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. Perfect binding a common method of binding paperback books, using plastic glue to bind the pages to the book cover. Permissions grants of nonexclusive rights to reprint part of a book or other copyrighted work for various uses (often for a fee). Some of these uses are: inclusion in an anthology; reproduction for classroom use; use by an author of more than fifty words in a published article or book. The publisher manages permissions for the author and splits the proceeds. Authors are required in advance to request permissions and pay any related fees for images and quoted material that they wish to use in their own books. Platform an author s visibility, authority, and proven ability to reach a target audience. A professorship at a major research university, a popular blog, a regular column in a widely read magazine, an active Twitter profile these and many other possible bricks can all be part of a successful author platform. Press/media kit a collection of materials created to introduce members of the media to a book and its author. This could include basic information about the book, sample interview questions, and excerpts from early reviews and endorsements. Press release a written announcement sent to members of the media. Print on demand (POD) producing a specific quantity (as small as one copy) of otherwise not-in-stock books. Books enrolled in a POD program are generally backlist titles with abiding merit but insufficient sales to warrant conventional printing and warehousing. Print run the number of copies of a printed book that is ordered from a printer at one time. A book s initial print run is roughly determined by projected sales numbers for its first year (or first 2-3 years) in print. Modern technology both advances in printing and inventory management and the growth of ebooks has impacted the traditional understanding of what a print run is and should be. Project editing that portion of the editorial department s work that involves working with freelancers, authors, and our production department to move accepted manuscripts through copyediting, design, and proofing to create publication-ready files Project editor a member of the editorial team who is responsible for project editing. Proof in addition to page proofs, which refer explicitly to the interior pages of a book in progress, proof can also refer to any preliminary design of book jackets and covers, catalogs, ATIs, ads, and more. Proofread to go over a proof carefully, looking for grammatical and typographical errors and questionable design elements that ought to be changed or corrected. Pub(lication) date the date a book is in stores, in stock, and universally available for sale to the general public. This occurs approximately one month after the in-stock date. In many cases, a book s pub date is largely ceremonial in function, as sales and marketing activities will kick off months before and continue for months after the official pub date. Quick Service Order Form (QSOF) document listing all of our in-print books on one handy order form for the convenience of booksellers, distributors, and other placers of bulk orders. This is updated twice a year and accessible on our website. Remainder a title sold in bulk at or below cost to reduce overstock caused by excess inventory or declining sales. Reprint a previously published book that is being sent back to press for an additional print run. Returns unsold copies that bookstores or wholesalers return for credit to the publisher. These may or may not be in saleable condition.
Review copy a complimentary copy of a book sent to a reviewer who intends to read it and possibly publish a review. Review copy requests must be from legitimate reviewers and approved by the publicity department. Royalties the percentage of profits that the author receives out of proceeds from the sale of each copy of the book. SBL Handbook of Style (SBLHS) our supplemental sourcebook for questions of style, abbreviation, transliteration, etc., for books in biblical studies and cognate areas. We currently use the 2nd edition of SBLHS. Slush pile a nickname for the stack of unsolicited manuscripts, proposals, and queries a publisher receives. Softcover / softback See Paperback. Submissions manuscripts, queries, or proposals sent to a publisher by an author or agent. They may be exclusive (sent to only one publisher at a time) or multiple (sent to several publishers at once). We ask authors to indicate in their query letters whether or not their submissions are exclusive. Subsidiary rights the legal right to produce, publish, or license a product in a format different from the original. Subsidiary rights sales could involve foreign translation rights or film rights, among a long list of other possibilities. Subvention money paid to a publisher, usually by a university or other institution, to offset the cost of producing a specific book. Trade book a book that is geared for sale to the general public. Trade books are distinct from professional resources, academic titles, and other more specialized offerings. Trade paperback soft-bound editions of books that are larger than mass-market paperbacks and of better quality; more affordable than hardcovers to produce, but printed to similar standards. (Eerdmans s most commonly used format is a 6 9 trade paperback.) Trim size the horizontal and vertical dimensions of a book. A book with a 6 9 inch trim size is 6 inches across and 9 inches high. Unsolicited submission a proposal or manuscript that is not represented by an agent and that is sent from an author who has not previously published with the publishing house or been recruited by an acquisitions editor. Unsolicited submissions collectively are referred to as the slush pile. Vanity or subsidy press a company an author pays to publish his or her book. Wholesaler a company that acts as an intermediary between publishers and retailers; like a distributor, but one that doesn t engage as actively in the promotion of books.