Write That Book Already!: The Tough Love You Need To Get Published Now (27 page)

Blind folio
An unprinted page

Block (aka book block)
Bound pages of a book before the cover is added

Blockhead
The editor who rejected your manuscript

Blog
An op-ed or journal-style; there are 7 trillion blogs on the planet with an average readership of 0.2 people, but you need to do one anyway; make yours better

Blueline
Marks with special pencil on proof that do not show up on printing plates

Blurb
A short endorsement of a book and/or the author, used in publicity efforts and often printed on the jacket or a teaser page

Body or body text
The main text of the book, not including the headlines, front and back matter, etc.

Boilerplate
Repetitive type; template

Bonuses (aka escalators)
Additional money paid to the author based on the work meeting certain goals (for example a certain amount paid for every week a book makes the
New York Times
bestseller list) set out in the writer’s contract

Bound galleys or advance reading copies (ARCs) or advance reader’s editions (AREs)
Uncorrected page proofs that are bound like a paperback and sent to review outlets to generate pre-publication publicity or to get endorsements (often called “blurbs”)

Bullet
A large dot preceding text that sets that text off from the running text

Buzz
The excitement generated by word-of-mouth interest, rapidly spread

C

Calligraphy
Fine or ornamental handwritten text

Caption
Text identifying a picture or illustration

Coated paper
Paper that is chemically treated for a smoother finish

Co-publishing
The simultaneous publishing of a work by more than one publisher, usually for different markets

Copyright
Legal protection granted to the originator of material to prevent use without permission

Copyright page
The page at the beginning of a book with copyright and Library of Congress information

Course adoption
Utilization of a book as a required text in academic classes

Crop marks
Printed lines showing where to trim a printed sheet

D

Deckle edge
A rough edge left on some paper; not to be confused with a low-cut blouse

Dedication
A tribute in the front of the book from the author to a person, persons, or cause; what it takes to finish your book

Desk copy
A copy requested by an educational institution interested in adopting the title for a course

Dingbat
An ornamental element that denotes a space break in the text; everyone who turns down your book

Dots-per-inch (DPI)
A measure of resolution in printing. It refers to dots of ink used by a printing device. In general, the more dots (higher DPI) used, the clearer the image

Drop cap
A large initial letter at the start of the text that drops into the line or lines of text below

Dummy
A mockup of the book layout at finished size; everyone who turns down your book

E

Earning out
The point when enough copies of the book have sold to cover the amount of the publisher’s advance

E-book
A book in digital form

E-book reader
The portable electronic device with which one reads an e-book

Embargo
A process whereby the sale of a book is restricted, by publisher’s edict, until an agreed-upon moment in time (think
Harry Potter
)

Embossing
The process of creating a three-dimensional image or design in the paper or cover

End papers
The pages at the front and back of a book pasted to the cover boards

F

Foil embossing or stamping
The process of stamping a design on a book cover without ink, using a colored foil with pressure from a heated die or block

Foldout or gatefold
An oversized sheet bound into a publication, frequently used for a map or chart; not to be confused with a centerfold

Font
A specific size and style of type within a type family or typeface

Foreword
Introductory text in the front matter that is written by someone other than the author, often an authority on the subject of the book

Four-color process
Printing in full color using four color separation negatives (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black)

French flaps
Extensions of the cover of a paperback that fold back inside the book and contain extra copy, imitating the flaps of the jacket of a hardcover book

Frontlist
The publisher’s newest books; for accounting purposes, the books published in a fiscal year; for sales, generally books during their first year after publication

Front matter
Everything before the first chapter or beginning of the main text of the book

G

Galley (or bound galley)
Pre-publication copies of a book to be sent out for reviews and endorsements (but not for sale); the kitchen on a boat

Galley proof
Copy of text for checking by the author and publisher before the manuscript is assembled for the print run

Ghostwriter
Someone who is paid to write a book for which authorship will be credited to another; Charles Dickens

Gilding
Gold leaf on the edge of the pages; what you shouldn’t do to the lily

Gloss
A shiny look that is achieved with ink that dries without penetration

Gutter
The inside margins toward the book’s bound edge; where Edgar Allen Poe met his end

H

Half-title page
A page that includes only the title of the book

House style
Copyediting rules in a publishing house for punctuation, capitalization, etc.

I

Imprint
The publisher; larger publishers often have a number of different imprints, each with a different focus

Introduction
Material at the beginning of the main text that explains or presents the book to the reader; the introduction is always by the author

ISBN
Acronym for International Standard Book Number, used as the title’s digital identity for inventory, tracking sales, and pricing (see bar code)

K

Kerning
Adjustment of spacing between certain letter pairs

Kill fee
Prenegotiated fee paid to a writer by a publisher when a contracted book is not published

L

Landscape
Print format or layout in which the width is greater than the height

Leaf
A sheet of paper

List
All the books that a publisher has in print or that are forthcoming; often divided into sections identified by season or chronology (e.g. spring list, fall list, backlist, frontlist)

Long discount
The discount generally given by trade publishers to booksellers of 40 to 50 percent off a book’s list price; academic books usually come with a 20 percent, or short, discount

M

Manuscript (ms)
The original work by the author

Margins
Nonprinted areas of the page

Mark up copy
Copy prepared with typesetting instructions

Mass-market books
Inexpensive paperback editions, often sold in airports, supermarkets, and mega-stores, the successful authors of which never win the National Book Award but make boatloads of money

Matte finish
Nonglossy paper or ink finish

Mechanical
Camera-ready art

Mechanical separation
A method utilizing plastic sheet overlays for each color used in the printing process; when you have a fight with the person who fixes your car

Midlist
Books that are not lead titles or bestsellers but that have a shot at doing well enough to justify being published—the majority of books fall into this category

Mock-up
The rough visual model for a book design

N

Newsprint
Low-quality paper like that used for newspapers

O

One-day lay-down
Applies to major titles (think
Harry Potter
) that are released for sale at one agreed-upon moment in time, e.g., midnight on Halloween; the 24-hour flu

On-sale date
The agreed-upon date when a book can be sold by all retailers

Option clause
Contractual clause that gives the publisher the right of first refusal on an author’s next book

Orphan
1. instance of the first line of a paragraph sitting by itself at the bottom of a page; 2. a book or author whose editor leaves the company during the publication process; 3. character in a Charles Dickens novel

Out of print
Status of a book when it is no longer offered for sale by the publisher, often accomplished informally by letting the title go out of stock

Over the transom
Unsolicited manuscripts that are submitted without agent representation

P

Page count
Total number of pages including blank pages

Page proof (or first pass)
Stage following galley proofs where type and sometimes graphics are laid out as they will look in the printed book

PDF (Portable Document Format)
Widely used format for Adobe Acrobat Reader that makes it possible to send formatted documents and have them appear, exactly as designed, on the recipient’s monitor or printer

Perfect bind
Sheets and cover bound with glue, common for paperback books; a tricky situation that drives the plot of your thriller

Permissions
The requirement that any proprietary work (song lyrics, poetry, artwork) have permission cleared by the owner of the rights, often involving payment of a fee