A Glossary of Publishing Terms: Vol 1.
Here’s the first volume in what will be an expanding glossary of publishing terminology. If you have any questions about any term defined in this list, feel free to let me know and I’ll create an expanded definition for you.
Acquisition: The process of a publisher buying the rights to a manuscript from an author or agent.
Agent: The person who represents an author’s work and interests, submits their manuscripts to editors for acquisition, and negotiates contracts.
ARC (Advanced Reader Copy)/Galley/Proof: A promotional copy of a novel distributed for marketing purposes before publication. ARCs are usually not-yet-finalized, paperback versions of the book, which may have: minor copy editing errors, missing dedication/acknowledgment pages, or no cover art. They’re distributed mainly to reviewers, librarians, booksellers, and other industry professionals, but also make appearances at various book/fan festivals.
Big Five: The biggest publishing houses: Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. These five houses publish and sell the majority of books you see in stores and have a lot of sway in the industry.
Draft: A specific version of your manuscript, used for describing the state your manuscript is currently in. You can have a current draft, a past draft, a first draft, a revised draft, a final draft, or a 38th draft.
Editor: The person at the publishing house who acquires and helps revise an author’s manuscript
Imprint: A publishing house within a publishing house, basically. An imprint is a division of a publishing house that tends to focus on a certain genre or style of book. A chart showing the imprints of the big five publishers.
Lead titles: The predetermined “bestsellers” on a season’s list, which get the most publicity and marketing for that season, and often receive the biggest advances.
Manuscript: Basically the best term for a book before it’s actually in print. When you carry your novel around in a binder or as a stack of pages, it’s a manuscript. When you carry your novel around bound in a pretty cover, it becomes a book.
Publisher: A company that acquires manuscripts and prepares them for sale
Query/-ing: n. the combination of a cover “query” letter and sample chapters of a manuscript to be submitted to literary agents in the hopes of acquiring representation; v. the process of submitting queries to literary agents
Revise and Resubmit (R&R): A response from an editor or agent in between an offer and a rejection, when they are interested in a book, but do not want to take it on in its current state. Agents and editors who request R&Rs will also often request first looks at the revised manuscripts as a professional courtesy in return for their editorial letters/guidance. R&Rs may result in an offer from an editor or agent, or they may result in a rejection.
Seasons: The publishing industry divides the year into three “seasons”: fall, winter, and spring/summer. For each season, publishers will produce catalogues showcasing the titles to be published in that calendar period. These seasons and catalogs can affect books’ publications. For example: titles may be pushed back in publication to fit a certain season (a novel about ghosts will generally be published in September, in the fall catalog where it is most salable). Titles may also not be acquired because there are already similar titles in certain catalogs, and the publishers may not want to publish competing books.
Starred Review: Trade reviews give “stars” to books of “exceptional merit.” Good reviews of upcoming publications are not always starred. Starred reviews can be influential when publishers are selling books to bookstores, libraries, and other institutions.
Submission (sub): The process of an agent sending a manuscript out to editors with a goal of acquisition.
The Slush Pile: Unsolicited manuscripts sent to 1) publishers without agents/requests from publishers, or 2) agents without requests (less common usage).
Trade Review: A review in a trade publication, ie. a publication meant for industry professionals instead of general consumers, such as Publishers Weekly.
