Glossary
This glossary of publishing terms is a simple look-up guide to key UK publishing terms, abbreviations and acronyms
add-on extra value added into a product, for example a CD-Rom in the back of a book
advance a sum paid in advance to the author in anticipation of the author earning royalties from sales of their work. Advances can be paid on signature of contract, delivery of the typescript, and on publication
advance copy the printed copy available once the book is printed and ahead of publication. Advance copies will be sent to the author and used in marketing
Aga saga a novel set amongst the Aga-owning English middle class
agent a literary agent may act on behalf of an author and negotiate the contract for a book with the publisher. An agent can also be a third party acting for a publisher in an export market
aggregator an aggregator will license the rights to distribute content online from a variety of publishers
AI the advance information sheet which contains essential bibliographic and marketing information
AIDA (in marketing) attention, interest, desire, action
airport edition the export paperback edition of a book sold airside at airport shops ahead of the main paperback edition
ALPSP Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers
APA Audiobook Publishing Association
backlist a publisher’s established titles; compare frontlist
BAPLA British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies
BCA Book Club Associates
BIC Book Industry Communication
big deal a bundle of journals sold by a publisher as one package
blad a sample printed section
blog an online journal
blurb the selling copy that appears on the back cover or front jacket flap of the book
book club traditionally a mail order bookseller; now also a reading group
breadcrumbs the links on a web page that enable the user to retrace their route back through the site
bulk a paper’s thickness
burst binding see slotted binding
chick lit a genre of fiction principally aimed at single women in their 20s or early 30s
CIF cost, insurance and freight
CIP cataloguing in publication [data]
CLA Copyright Licensing Agency
CMS content management system
co-edition an additional part of the print run sold to a third party. There are both English and foreign language co-editions
commissioning creating a new project and signing up an author; or acquiring the rights to publish a work from the author, their agent or another publisher
contract the legal agreement between the author and publisher, outlining the rights acquired by the publisher and the responsibilities of both author and publisher
copublication publication by arrangement between two companies. This could mean the use of both imprints and dividing the profits on the title. It could also extend to sharing development work and using joint branding, for example with a coursebook published in an overseas market
copy-editing editing the author’s manuscript with regard to style and consistency to eliminate errors and improve the text for the reader
copyright the protection which gives the authors and other creative artists legal ownership of their work - it establishes their work as their personal, exclusive property. © is the copyright symbol
coursepack a collection of materials, usually photocopied, for use in the classroom
cover a paperback is bound with a cover. The design may be adapted from the hardback jacket or be completely new
cover mount a book or other product packaged with a newspaper or magazine
CRM customer relationship management
crossover title a children’s book with an adult market
CSR corporate social responsibility
CTP computer to plate
CUP Cambridge University Press
depreciation reducing the value of stock in the company’s accounts
Digital Rights Management (DRM) the technical means by which publishers control access to digital content
discount publishers give retailers a discount off the recommended price to encourage them to stock their titles. In consumer publishing discounts can reach high levels
DK Dorling Kindersley
DNB Dictionary of National Biography
DOI digital object identifier
DTD document type definition
DTP desktop publishing
dues the orders collected by the publisher before publication
dummy a mock-up of the final printed book, mainly used for selling illustrated books to retailers or overseas customers
ebook an electronic book
EDI electronic data interchange
EFL English as a foreign language
ELT English language teaching
emarketing use of the internet for marketing. Activities include search engine optimization, email marketing and website promotion
EMEA (sometimes EMA) Europe, the Middle East and Africa
end-matter the pages at the end of a book with, for example, the appendices and index
EPC Educational Publishers Council
EPOS electronic point of sale
EPS encapsulated PostScript
extent the length of a book, expressed in number of words or printed pages
firm sale books sold on the basis of firm sale are paid for and cannot be returned by the purchaser, for example the retailer
FOB free on board
folio a page number
frontlist a publisher’s new titles; compare backlist
goodwill assets that contribute to a publisher’s competitive advantage, including its brand and employees
house style the set style imposed during the editing of a text - elements include spelling, grammar, capitalization and hyphenation
HTML HyperText Markup Language
imprint a list of books within a publisher’s overall publishing programme. Each imprint will have its own flavour and direction. The imprint may be represented visually with a logo on the spine and title page of each book
institutional repository a digital collection of research papers by members of an institution such as a university
intellectual property (IP) a publisher’s IP includes its copyrights and licences
IPG Independent Publishers Guild
IPR intellectual property rights
IRI industry returns initiative
ISBN international standard book number
ISP internet service provider
ISSN international standard serial number
jacket the dust jacket wrapped around a hardback book
JISC Joint Information Systems Committee
JPEG joint photographic experts group
leading the spacing between lines of text
licence a licence gives a publisher the sole, exclusive right to publish an author’s work and sell it as widely as possible. The publisher also licences a book to other publishers, for example for translation. A non-exclusive licence enables the publisher to sell content - for example for digital use - to a number of companies
list-building taking a strategic view of commissioning in order to create a new publishing list or expand the present publishing programme
literal error introduced in keyboarding a text; also called a typo
litho offset lithography. This form of printing is still common for many books
LMS learning management system
Long Tail first proposed by Chris Anderson in 2004 in Wired magazine, the idea is that there is greater total value in the Long Tail of less popular products (available over the internet) than in the more widely available hits
manuscript (ms) the author’s version of the work. Now often referred to as the typescript. It was originally handwritten
marketing mix product, price, place and promotion
mass-market paperback A format paperback - 178 x 110 mm; compare trade paperback
metadata data about data. This enables content to be categorized and found more easily in online searches
monograph scholarly work based on the author’s primary research
moral rights additional to copyright, these statutory rights granted to the author are the right to paternity, the right of integrity, and the right to prevent false attribution
NBA Net Book Agreement
net receipts the revenue received by the publisher afer a discount has been given to a wholesaler or retailer. Also called net sales revenue (NSR)
notch binding see slotted binding
NSR net sales revenue
OA open access
OCR optical character recognition
OEBF open ebook format
OED Oxford English Dictionary
offset fee a fee payable to reproduce the original setting of a book
on-screen editing copy-editing on screen rather than on a paper print-out
OP out of print
OPuS Oxford Publishing Society
OUP Oxford University Press
outdoor advertising advertising on billboards, buses and trains
overheads the ongoing costs of running a business, for example office costs and salaries
PA The Publishers Association
packager separate from a publisher, a packager supplies an edited and designed book for the publisher to market and sell
pay per view users of an online service pay for access to individual articles, chapters, pages
PDA personal digital assistant
PDF portable document format
perfect binding the binding method used for cheap paperbacks. The spine folds of the sections are cut off and the spine edge of the now individual leaves roughened. Glue is applied to hold the leaves together and to stick on the cover
PLS private language schools
POD print on demand. Digital printing enables the economic printing of short runs. True print on demand is the ability to print single copies to order
podcast a series of digital or audio files available for syndication or download
POS point of sale
positioning placing the product in the mind of the consumer
postprint a journal article after peer review. This is the version that is typeset and published
PPC Publishers Publicity Circle
PR public relations
prelim pages the first few pages of a book, usually paginated with roman numbers
preprint a journal paper before peer review
print run the number of copies printed of a book
production values the quality of the paper, design, printing, binding and cover of a book
proofreading reading proofs of a book in order to spot mistakes missed at the copy-editing stage as well as any errors introduced in the design and production stages. Proofs can be read against the original copy or ‘read blind’ (with no reference to the original version)
proposal a document outlining the content and market potential of a proposed title. Elements include the book’s coverage, target audience, level of readership, any competing titles and an author biography
PS PostScript
puff the endorsement used on the book’s cover, ahead of the book being reviewed
RAE research assessment exercise
recto a right-hand page
returns unsold books sent back to the publisher by the retailer
RFID radio frequency identification
RP reprinting
RSS really simple syndication. Content distributed to users by regular feeds
running head the heading at the top of each page - for example, the chapter or book title
see safe books sold on a see-safe basis, for example to a retailer, are paid for under credit terms. If they are unsold, their return may be authorized by the publisher and credited against future orders
SEO search engine optimization
serial rights the right to sell selections from a work to a newspaper or magazine. First serial rights cover extracts before the book’s publication; second serial rights are for extracts published on or after publication
SfEP Society for Editors and Proofreaders
site licence granted to an institution, for example a university, it permits usage of software or an online service on a number of computers
slotted binding a method of binding in which the spine folds of the sections are perforated during sheet folding. The binding machine injects the adhesive to hold together the folded sections, applies the cover and trims the book. Also known as notch or burst binding
SOR sale or return
spine the backbone of a book. Most books are displayed spine out in a bookshop
STM scentific, technical and medical
subscription sales on subscription are made in advance of the book’s publication. These are then recorded in the publisher’s ordering system as dues
subsidiary rights the rights a publisher can acquire in addition to the basic publishing rights - examples are translation and serial rights
SYP Society of Young Publishers
TIFF tagged image file format
trade paperback B format paperback - 198 x 129 mm; compare mass-market paperback
trade publishing the publishing of books that are sold through the book trade; also known as consumer publishing
typo error introduced in keyboarding a text
Unicode an encoding system which gives a unique identify to each character, ‘no matter what the platform, no matter what the language’ (unicode.com, accessed 1 October 2007)
USP unique sales proposition - what makes a book stand out from the competition
VAT value added tax
verso a left-hand page
viral marketing spreading a marketing message using social networks
visual mock-up of cover or jacket design
VLE virtual learning environment
wasting disposal of unsold stock
Web 2.0 the new generation of the web in which users upload as well as download
web press press that prints on to a reel of paper
widget a mini web plug-in with sample content that can be emailed or copied on to the user’s social networking pages. This is an example of viral marketing. Follow the link here to see the widget for Inside Book Publishing
wiki a collaborative website. The name derives from the Hawaiian word wikiwiki - quick
WiP Women in Publishing
WIPO World Intellectual Property Organisation
WOM word of mouth
XML Extensible Markup Language
