A Publishing Glossary

If you're like me, and new to publishing, the terms that get thrown around when you are researching how to prepare various manuscripts for publishing might seem confusing. Via Bookends, here is a good basic list of what the hell everyone is talking about:

I’ve had a request from a client to put together a publishing dictionary of sorts, an explanation of publishing words and phrases that you hear or see all the time but aren’t always sure of the meaning. I’m not going to go into great details on the how and why of these words, simply a what. In addition to the words that were requested I’ve included a few of my own that I think sometimes cause confusion.

AAR: The Association of Authors’ Representatives is an organization of literary and dramatic agents that sets certain guidelines and standards that professional and reputable agents must abide by. It is really the only organization for literary agents of its kind.

Advance: The amount the publisher pays up front to an author before the book is published. The advance is an advance on all future earnings.

ARCS: Advance Review Copies. Not the final book, these are advance and unfinalized copies of the book that are sent to reviewers.

Auction: During the sale of a manuscript to publishers sometimes, oftentimes if you’re lucky, you’ll have an auction. Not unlike an Ebay auction, this is when multiple publishers bid on your book and ultimately, the last man standing wins (that’s the one who offers the most lucrative deal).

BEA: BookExpo America is the largest book rights fair in the United States. This is where publishers from all over the world gather to share rights information, sell book rights, and flaunt their new, upcoming titles.

Cover Letter: This is the letter that should accompany any material you send to an agent or an editor. A cover letter should remind the agent that the material has been requested, where you met if you’ve met, and of course the same information that is in your query letter—title, genre, a short yet enticing blurb of your book, and bio information if you have any.

Full: A full manuscript

Genre: The classification of books. Examples of genre in fiction include mystery, romance, science fiction, fantasy, nonfiction, and in nonfiction you might see business, health, parenting, pets, art, architecture.

Hardcover: A book printed with a hard cover.

Imprint: The name within the publishing house that the book is published under. Usually done as a way to market certain types of books. For example, Aphrodisia is an imprint of Kensington. It is still a Kensington book, but by publishing under Aphrodisia you are branding the book as erotic romance.

Literary Agent: A literary agent works on behalf of the author to sell her book and negotiate with publishers. A literary agent also helps with career planning and development and sometimes editing and marketing.

Marketing: Marketing is advertising that is paid for, including ads in magazines, display units in stores, and things like postcards or posters.

Mass Market: Also called “rack size,” these are paperback books originally designed to fit in rotating book racks in non-bookstore outlets (like grocery stores and drugstores). Mass market paperbacks are roughly 4” x 7” in size.

North American Rights: These are the type of rights licensed to the publisher, allowing the publisher only to handle and represent book rights in North America. This means that the author and the author’s agent are responsible for selling/licensing rights anywhere outside of North America (and usually a designated set of territories).

Preempt: When a publisher makes an advance and royalty offer high enough to take the book off the auction table. In other words, a publisher offers enough money that the author and agent agree that they will sell the book without asking for bids from other publishers.

Proofs/Page proofs: This is the last stage of editing that a book goes through. They are a copy of the designed pages, and the author is given one last chance to review the typesetter's “proofs” to check for typos or other small errors. Proofs are also what are used to make review copies for reviewers and sometimes rights sales.

Proposal/Partial: A proposal or a partial is frequently what an agent will ask for when taking a book under consideration. For fiction and narrative nonfiction a proposal usually includes a cover letter, a designated number of chapters from the book, and a synopsis. For non-narrative nonfiction a proposal usually contains an extended author bio, an overview of the book, an expanded table of contents, detailed marketing and competitive information, and of course sample writing material (usually a chapter or two).

Publicity: Advertising that is free. Publicity includes magazine and newspaper articles, radio and television interviews, and of course MySpace and other networking Web sites.

Query: A one-page letter sent to agents or editors in an attempt to attain representation. A query letter should include all of the author’s contact information—name, address, phone, email, and Web site—as well as the title of the book, genre, author bio if applicable, and a short, enticing blurb of the book.

Royalties: The percentage of the sales (monetary) an author receives for each copy of the book sold.

Sell-Through: This is the most important number in publishing. It’s the percentage of books shipped that have actually sold. For example, if your publisher shipped 100,000 books (great number!) but only sold 40,000, your sell-through is 40%. Not so great. However, if your publisher shipped 50,000 books, and sold 40,000, your sell-through would be 80%. A fantastic number.

Slush/Slush Pile: Any material sent to an agent or an editor that has not been requested.

Synopsis: A detailed, multipage description of the book that includes all major plot points as well as the conclusion.

Trade: To make it easy, trade is the shortened name for trade paperback books and is basically any size that is not mass market. Typically though they run larger than a mass market edition.

Vanity Press: A publisher that publishes the author’s work at the author’s expense (not a recommended way to seek publication by most agents or editors).

World Rights: When World Rights are sold/licensed to the publisher the publisher has the ability to represent the book on the author’s behalf and sell foreign translation rights anywhere in the world. Keep in mind that the author does get a piece of the pie no matter where the book is published.

I found it helpful even though I've been doing this at least long enough to know most of them. Good to avoid sounding like an idiot when approaching potential editors or agents.

22 August 2008

Review: When We Were Romans, by Matthew Kneale





For anyone who grew up in a home broken by divorce, Matthew Kneale’s WHEN WE WERE ROMANS will strike a cord. Narrated by nine-year-old Lawrence, the book captures perfectly the confusion, mixed loyalties, and anxieties felt by children whose world has been upended by divorce. Kneale has constructed a powerful story here, one that not only reminds us what it was like to be young, but also how the actions of adults can have life-long consequences for our children.

After a difficult break-up, Lawrence’s mother decides to leave their home in England and move to Rome, where she lived happily as a young woman. Along with his little sister Jemima and his beloved hamster Hermann, Lawrence reshapes his life, keeping himself entertained with stories of famous Popes and Emperors while trying to cope with the reality of a new people, a new country, and an unfamiliar language, only to find in the end that, once again, nothing in his life was what it seemed.

Kneale does an astounding job of capturing not only the speech, but the logic and thought processes of a child. Throughout the book Lawrence applies his limited little-boy experiences and knowledge of the world to each changing circumstance, sometimes with funny results, sometimes with tragic. In each case, however, we see behind the curtain of his thoughts and how they affect and inform his actions.

Matthew Kneale has written a book that makes you laugh and cry in equal measure, taking you into a world where the adults around you hold all the keys and have all the power. That Lawrence nevertheless survives his experiences is a testament to the resilience of all children. It’s a lesson we all should learn.

18 August 2008

The Daily Grind

1000 more words on the Poe story today. Draft two is finished, with what I hope is a more satisfying ending. Will have to pass it by the LOML tonight to see what he thinks, but I do feel much better about the piece. Barring any major problems, I plan to push it out of the next tomorrow along with a couple of other stories that have come back home without money. Get out there and earn your keep!

Moving on to chapter 3 of the novel. Everything is still very nebulous at this point, and that scares me. Also fending off the fears - what if I suck? What if I don't suck but no one cares anyway? What if I can't sell it? I just try to keep remembering what Gaiman said - write the next thing.

So, off I go.

14 August 2008

A Few Contests

For free books (who can resist?) that I've come across in my web-trolling. Check them out:

A signed copy of WHITE NIGHT by Jim Butcher from Blood of the Muse

A signed copy of NIGHTWALKER by Jocelynn Drake from Amberkatze's Book Blog

A signed copy of SCHOOLED by Anisha Lakhani from Planet Books

12 August 2008

Back to Work

Yesterday my children went back to school, which officially marked the beginning of back to work for me. I've gotten a couple of stories finished over the summer, but it's very hard to get much done with munchkins to take care of. In any case, I'll miss them, but I value the chance to get back to more significant daily word counts.

So, let's see, first day accomplishments: Sent off a poem of mine, "Wicked" to Twisted Tongue magazine; finished a first draft of my Poe story, "Nevermore", and got some work done editing and planning out THE NOVEL. Not bad. Planning more delicious writing time this weekend, as it is only the LOML and myself around.

Was also thinking yesterday about how happy I am to be able to do the thing I love most in the world - write. I've been in so many jobs that required a daily pep talk just to get out of bed this morning. I LOVE writing. Just for the sheer joy of it. Ideas swirl and dance in my head constantly, and I love having the opportunity to just sit down and let the characters tell me their tales. I am so happy to have finally figured out what I was put on this earth to do. I am unbelieveably lucky. And don't I know it.

Now, if I could only get paid for it.

Before I go - an interesting link. One of my favorite authors, in fact I would consider him the greatest author of the 20th century (argue with me if you will), Kurt Vonnegut with an article on writing style. He lays out a few rules. Good advice, though.

09 August 2008

"Do What You Like"

Words of Wisdom from Alan Moore, an icon in the comics world:


06 August 2008

 
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