Book Publishing Terms: The Complete Author's Glossary of Publishing & Editing Terminology

Preliminary Book Publishing Vocabulary

Narrative: The story, explanation, or core message an author aims to convey through their book, whether it's fiction or nonfiction. A strong narrative keeps readers engaged.

 

Book Outline: Think of this as a skeletal structure or a blueprint of a book. This merely includes the book’s main points, chapter headings, subheadings, along with brief details. An outline helps organize ideas before an author dives deep into writing and editing.

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Draft: When an author completes a few chapters or the full book content, the write-up is not yet edited and proofread; that's called draft chapter(s)/draft of the manuscript. Basically, the raw content of a book is “DRAFT,” in simpler words.

 

Manuscript: A completed, unpublished book text in its raw or unedited state is referred to as a manuscript. Meaning, the content has not yet gone through professional editing, design, or typesetting. 

 

Word Count: The total number of words in a manuscript. 

 

Year of Publication: The year in which a book gets officially released. Appears on the copyright page and in metadata. Essential information for discoverability and book award eligibility.

 

Industry Talk: Editing & Manuscript

Let’s discuss the common book editing terms you'll hear most often between finishing a DRAFT and calling it DONE.

 

Developmental Editing— Big-picture editing that focuses on the overall structure, plot holes, pacing, voice consistency, and character arcs. This kind of editing happens before line editing. Developmental editing for a non-fiction book ensures that the argument is logical and the chapters flow in such a way that makes sense. At this editing stage, rigorous rewriting, moving paragraphs, adding new scenes, and even deleting full chapter(s) takes place.

 

Line Editing — The name itself indicates how this would be going. A line editor goes through a manuscript line by line and paragraph by paragraph to enhance the creative flow and voice throughout. In the process, the editor assesses the overall tone, clarity, word choice, and sentence variety across the manuscript. Repetitive phrases and clunky transitions are removed during the edit. The goal is to make your content more engaging, evocative, and smooth to read. Line editing sits between developmental editing and copyediting.

 

Copyediting — This is considered the final editorial pass before proofreading. At this level, the editor checks the manuscript for grammar, punctuation, spelling, consistency, and style.

 

Proofreading — A manuscript eventually pushed through this check, focusing on catching and fixing typos, formatting inconsistencies, and other minor errors. This is, of course, not a substitute for earlier stages of editing we discussed a while ago. Completing this means your book content is ready to move forward to the next stage in book publishing, like formatting/layout design.

 

Microsoft Track Changes / Track Changes: A useful feature of Microsoft Word or Google Docs Suggesting mode that shows all manuscript edits in highlighted color, showing comments, allowing authors to see and then accept/reject changes. When you consider hiring a professional editor, you will be provided with two files: one will be track changes and a clean copy with all changes accepted that you can work with.

 

Beta Reader — A beta reader is a trusted reader who reviews a manuscript before it goes for publication. They provide valuable feedback (neutral) on story, pacing, character development, and overall impact. Usually evaluate a manuscript from a reader's point of view rather than a professional editor's.

 

Still not sure which stage your manuscript is at? Run it against The Author's Exclusive Editing Checklist to find out before you spend a dollar on anyone's editing services.

 

Traditional Book Publishing Terms

In case you have chosen a traditional path of book publishing and are pursuing an agent, you will be facing the following book publishing terms during the process.

 

Query Letter — A letter written formally and sent to traditional agents or publishers pitching a manuscript. Essential for traditional book publishing, and it does not apply to self-publishing.

 

Literary Agent — An intermediary between authors and publishers who typically negotiate all the dealings on behalf of an author. They do not charge an upfront fee; instead, the agent receives a commission from the earnings that originate from the book sales.

 

Imprint — A publisher's brand or label operating under a larger publishing house. For instance, Penguin Random House has multiple imprints:  Knopf, Crown, Doubleday, etc. Self-publishers can create their own.

 

Advance (or Advance Against Royalties)— The amount of money paid to an author before book publication. The paid money is then recouped from the author’s future royalties or earnings. Authors who take such an advance from the publishers do not receive regular royalties before the advance gets paid off. Self-published authors don't get the privilege of receiving advances.

 

Royalty — The payment an author receives from per-book sales. Normally, a percentage of the retail price. For traditional publishing, the percentage can range from 10% to 25%. Self-publishing platforms such as KDP pay authors 35 to 70 percent royalties depending on the pricing and format.

 

Slush Pile —The last word ‘pile’ indicates something is stocked or collected. Exactly, it’s a collection of unsolicited manuscripts and pitches that are received by a traditional publisher or an agent and not reviewed yet.

 

Subsidiary Rights— Rights that are applicable beyond the core book deal. This comes when a book is translated, converted into an audiobook, or approved for filming, which can be sold and distributed separately.

 

Book Proposal— A pitch document, most common for nonfiction. An author submits this type of document to a publisher outlining the book's main concept, market, competition, and the author's platform.

 

Self-Publishing & Distribution Terminology

This section will explicitly detail the most common self-publishing terms that indie authors often confront, from platform vocabulary to distribution.

 

KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) — The giant e-commerce company Amazon’s separate window for self-publishing print, ebook, hardcover, and audiobook directly onto their store.

 

KDP Select — Amazon KDP’s exclusive distribution program under which authors can enroll their ebooks to unlock Kindle Unlimited eligibility. Comes with an exchange, of course, you will have to keep your ebook for a certain period (90 days on one attempt; a renewal option is there) exclusively on Amazon. This exclusivity means an author cannot sell or give away the ebook file anywhere else on the internet during the enrollment period. Print books like paperbacks, hardcovers, and audiobooks can still be sold on other platforms.

 

Kindle Unlimited (KU) — A subscription-based ebook reading service offered by Amazon KDP where readers pay a monthly fee for unlimited reading (those books enrolled under this program). Authors earn on the basis of the number of pages read instead of a flat sale.

 

Going Wide — When an author decides to distribute a book across multiple retailers (Rakuten Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble) instead of publishing solely on Amazon.

 

IngramSpark — One of the most popular and major print-on-demand (POD) and distribution platforms. Here you can easily publish, manage, and globally distribute your book in paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats. IngramSpark doesn’t have its own bookstore like KDP and Lulu, though.

 

Print-On-Demand (POD) — A printing model where a copy of a book is printed only once it’s ordered. It eliminates the need of prinitng large quantities upfront. Used by major self-publishing platforms such as Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Lulu, and others

 

ISBN— The abbreviation stands for International Standard Book Number.  It’s a unique 13-digit code assigned to each version or format (paperback, hardcover, ebook) of a book. Different formats of the same book require a different ISBN. Almost all major self-publishing platforms assign a free ISBN in case you're comfortable using it. But a free ISBN has limitations; for example, if you take one from Amazon, you can’t use that number elsewhere (other platforms). A non-purchased ISBN is tied exclusively to the company that assigned it. 

 

With a free ISBN, despite being the author and owner of a book, you won’t be listed as the official publisher in global publishing databases. The ISBN issuing platform uses a generic label (like Amazon's "Independently Published") that will appear as the publisher of record. Moreover, when you use a platform-provided free ISBN, more taxes and other hidden fees will be imposed on your royalty earnings.

 

Buying your own ISBN from official agencies like Bowker, Publishingspot, or equivalent agencies makes you the official publisher and gives you full control over your asset. You can reuse your purchased ISBN with any printer, distributor, or online platforms worldwide without needing a separate number for each venue.

 

BISAC Code — It’s a standardized category code,  merely used to classify a book's genre and subject so that retailers and libraries know where it belongs.

 

Wide vs. Exclusive — The ultimate choice of whether you would publish and stay exclusive to Amazon (via KDP Select) for its promotional perks, or go wide for broader retailer and library reach. 

 

Our Self-Publishing Support walks authors through exactly this kind of decision.

 

The Glossary: Book Design & Production

The book production terms and book printing terms we are about to discuss here will appear before you constantly when you talk with your designer or book formatter. Mainly platform specifications, typesetting requirements, and other relevant info.

 

Trim Size —The final dimensions of your print book (6” x 9", 5 " x  8", 8.5" x 11”, etc.) are called Trim Size.

 

Bleed — Bleed of a book refers to the area beyond the trim line that extends to the edge of the page. Commonly used for low-content, illustration-heavy books such as children’s picture books. Print files need to have a bleed on the three sides of a book page (top, bottom, and left). We can’t use bleed on the inside of a page, and the bleed size recommended by almost all major self-publishing platforms is 0.125 inches to prevent white borders on printed books.

 

Gutter — The extra margin near a book's spine, needed so text doesn't disappear into the binding when the book is opened.

 

Front Matter — The pages that appear before the main content of a book. Examples of these pages are the title page, copyright page, table of contents, dedication, etc.

 

Back Matter— When reading a book, you see a few pages after the main text, such as an author bio, glossary, etc., which are known as back matter.

 

Typesetting/Formatting/Interior Layout Design — The process of arranging a manuscript's edited and polished text into its final page layout and visual design for print or digital publication. A book formatter applies compatible fonts, paragraph style, headers, footers, page breaks, spacing, headings, drop caps, and other things to make the book stand out.

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EPUB — The standard ebook file format widely accepted and used by most retailers, including Amazon, Kobo, Lulu, Apple Books, and Google Play Books.

 

Book Metadata: The data that need to be placed into the self-publishing platforms’ dashboard while uploading a book. Keywords, price, book description, category, subcategory, and so on are called metadata.

 

Marketing & Discoverability Phrases

Once you finish writing, editing, proofreading, and publishing a book, you have to present your book in front of your readers. At this level, this author glossary is what you will experience as an indie author.

 

ARC (Advance Reader Copy)— A pre-publication copy of a book given to selected readers ahead of release. Authors offer this in exchange for early reviews and word-of-mouth buzz.

 

ARC Team — A group of readers who used to receive advance copies of an author's books almost regularly. Of course, in exchange for honest reviews around launch.

 

Launch Team — A group of volunteer supporters who help create buzz around a book in its first days or weeks after release. This is essential to build early sales momentum and visibility.

 

BookTok — A massive subcommunity on TikTok where creators recommend, review, and discuss books. BookTok has made a groundbreaking transformation in the book publishing industry by turning backlist titles into bestsellers. Also, it’s helping new authors launch their books by making it viral in no time and gain discovery. Readers are organized into highly specific niches using hyper-targeted hashtags. BookTok is being widely used for some specific fiction genres like romance, fantasy, Young Adult (YA), and Thriller.

 

Author Platform — An author's overall visibility and reach online. Authors build such online presence and promotion for their books through their own website, email list, and social following so that they can directly reach their target readers.

 

Backlist — An author's previously published books that are somehow distinct from their newest release. Mainly refers to the older books that remain available for sale at a steady, reliable pace over time.

 

Blurb — A short, punchy summary of a book, often written and used on the back cover, meant to hook a potential reader in just a few short sentences. It’s also known as  cover blurb or back-cover description.

 

Ghostwriting & Collaboration Terms

If you're thinking of hiring professionals to write your book on your behalf, then these ghostwriting terms will help you know how working relationships with such professionals are typically structured.

 

Ghostwriter — A writer who works invisibly to write someone else’s book and transfer the full rights over the content in exchange for payment.

 

Explore our Ghostwriting Services to see how this typically works.

 

NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)— A confidentiality contract, commonly used in ghostwriting relationships. This agreement protects the written content by the ghostwriter, and due to that contract, the ghostwriter can’t share the write-up with anyone other than the hiring person, for whatever the purpose it is.

 

Work-For-Hire — A contract arrangement where a writer is paid a flat fee and the client owns all rights to the finished work. The writer will no longer retain royalties or credit.

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Check out our comprehensive book publishing solutions.

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*This glossary of book publishing terms will keep growing as new questions come up — bookmark it and check back.*

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