Common Publishing Terms

Sometimes the world of publishing is confusing to new writers. They seem to use a different language. Here’s some common definitions to publishing terms.

Submission Terms:

Agent – A person who will submit manuscripts to a publisher on behalf of a writer. A good agent will look out for the best interests of a writer and negotiate for better advances and royalties. Agents don’t get paid unless a book gets published. Never work with an agent that requires money up front.

Acquiring Editor – An editor who buys a specific book.

Book Proposal: Description of a proposed book that an author sends to a publisher, often including sample chapters and an outline.

Cover Letter – A brief introduction that is sent with a manuscript that lists your name, address, phone number, and email address. Do not confuse a cover letter with a query letter.

Critique: An evaluation of a manuscript, touching on issues such as structure as well as character and plot development.

Draft: The book’s manuscript at a particular stage. The first draft is followed by rough drafts, which are unpolished versions. The final draft is sent to prepress.

Exclusive Reading – A publisher who requests exclusive reading doesn’t want your manuscript to be read by anyone else. As a writer, you should always be aware of the length of time the exclusive reading is in effect. You shouldn’t allow exclusive reading writes for any longer than two to three months.

Manuscript – A book, article, or other document, that is submitted for publication.

Multiple submissions – Sending an agent or publisher more than one idea at a time.

Query – This is the letter you send to an agent or publisher that sells your book idea. A good query letter will contain a brief plot summary, your contact information, and is usually no longer than one page. You are basically asking for permission to send an agent or publisher your manuscript.

Reading Fees – Fees charged by some agents to evaluate a prospective client’s manuscript. The Association of Authors’ Representatives, a major trade association for book agents, prohibits its members from charging reading fees. Legitimate agents don’t charge reading fees.

Simultaneous submissions – Sending out a query letter to many agents or publishers for the same book. Many agents and publishers do not accept simultaneous submissions.

Slush pile – A collection of unsolicited manuscripts that are received by agents and publishers. Manuscripts that sit in the slush pile are usually read, but the time it can take for a manuscript in the slush pile to be read can be a very, very, long.

Unsolicited manuscript – A book that an agent, editor, or publisher did not ask to see.

Publisher Terms:

Advance royalties – Payment to an author in anticipation of royalties a book is predicted to earn. In most cases, the author is not compelled to return the advance, even if it exceeds total royalties eventually earned.

American Booksellers Association (ABA) – The national trade association, founded in 1900, for operators of retail bookstores.

Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) – The national trade association for Christian retail bookstores.

Copyediting – An editing process that checks for correct grammar, spelling, and punctuations. Copyeditors will also check any references made in the manuscript as well as fact-check.

Copyrighting- A way to protect a writer’s work. A writer’s unpublished manuscript is copyright protected the moment it was created in virtual or printed form. United States Copyright website.
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/

ISBN (International Standard Book Number) – A worldwide, numbered identification system that provides a standard way for publishers to number their products without duplication by other publishers. “ISBN” also refers to ISBN numbers themselves. The first part of the ISBN identifies the language of publication (“0″ for English), and the second part identifies the publisher. The next string of digits in the ISBN identifies the book product itself, and is followed by a digit specifically calculated to ensure the integrity of the ISBN.

Mass market paperback – A paperbound book distributed chiefly through traditional magazine channels, including newsstands, variety and drug stores, supermarkets, and other mass markets. Also marketed to general bookstores, college stores, and department stores and may be either an original publication that has never appeared in any other format or a reprint of a previously published hardcover or trade paperback edition here made available at a significantly lower price.

Marketing plan – Prepared for each title on a publisher’s seasonal list, this plan itemizes the projected advertising, promotion, publicity, and sales activities and their associated costs. Included in the individual marketing plan are subsidiary rights and special sales transactions. Marketing plans are generally prepared after launch (concept) meetings for forthcoming titles and are subject to revision before and after sales conferences. If an agent or publisher requires a marketing plan before the contract, they are asking what the author intends to do to help market his book.

Press release – An information sheet about a book and its author, used as a publicity tool.

Print Run – The number of books printed in a particular run. The number of books a publisher agrees to produce in the first printing.

Publication date – The date when a book is made available to the public. Publisher’s representative / sales representative – A salesperson who visits prospective customers of a publisher (booksellers, librarians, university department heads, school authorities, wholesalers, etc.) to show samples of or literature about the firm’s forthcoming titles, as well as backlist items, to obtain orders for them.

Royalties – Royalties is a percentage of the book sales that is given to the author. There are two types of royalties: Net Sales and List Price. Net sales royalties refers to the percentage given to an author after the publisher’s cost has been subtracted. List Price royalties is the percentage given to the author based on the list price of the book.

Sell-through – Sell-through can refer to a couple of things. It can refer to how quickly a publisher makes its advance money back from a book, or, when the first print run has been completely sold, prompting a second print run. Either way, a fast sell-through is a great selling point for a second book.

Types of Publishers:

Commercial/Trade Publishers (Also called traditional publishers by self-publish companies) – Companies which purchase the right (usually the exclusive right) to publish the author’s work and then pay the author a royalty (a percentage of the sales – usually 7%-15%) for that right. Commercial publishers invest by producing the inventory of product (the book or other products), so they must choose wisely which books/authors will pay off for them in a reasonable amount of time. In other words, they choose to work with only a small percentage of the projects they review.

Mainstream publishers – Large commercial publishing companies that produce several hundred new books a year and pay advance royalties to authors.

Independent/Small publishers – Smaller commercial publishers that produce anywhere from 10 to 100 new books a year. Many independent publishers specialize in certain types of books. Usually small publisher don’t give advance royalties, or if they do, the advance royalties are smaller. But they do pay the author royalties, and they don’t charge the author a fee.

Micro publisher – Commercial publisher that produce one to five books per year. Some of these companies started as self-publishers, and some are nonprofit. These companies have a very narrow niche.

E-Books – Books distributed and read in electronic format. Instead of walking into a bookstore, to buy a book in an e-book format, you visit a Web site and purchase and download the digital file. You can then read the book on a computerized device such as a Palm Pilot, Pocket PC, laptop computer, or other device. Some E-book companies are commercial publishers and some are self-publishing companies.

Self-Publishing – A method of publishing in which the author does all the things a publisher does—from editing to printing and distribution – or hires a service to this for them.

Subsidy Press/Vanity Publisher – A publishing company that offers publication services for a fee paid by the author, and holds the copyright to the book, but does not generally promote or market the book. Bookstores often refuse to carry books published by subsidy/vanity presses.

Contract Publisher – A publisher that helps authors edit, design, market, and distribute their book for a fee paid by the author.

Regional Publisher – A publisher who specializes in subjects relevant to a particular part of the country, and sells its books mostly or entirely in that area.

POD (or print -on- demand) publishers – Print-on-demand self-publishing services utilize digital printing technology to provide publishing services to writers. They range all the way from bare-bones services which provide free online templates that allow anyone to upload and format a book that can then be ordered from the service’s website to expensive packages that include editing, custom cover design, enhanced marketing, and other extras. Most POD services charge a fee, but some take that fee out of royalties produced by sales. Some POD companies will let you put the name of your own imprint on your book and set your own cover prices. Essentially they’ll set you up with your own publishing company using their serves.

10 Reasons I’ve Decided to be Commercially Published

There are so many ways to become a published fiction author these days. There are the vanity self-publishing companies that charge a fee to print a certain number of books. Then there are POD (Print on Demand) companies that will only print as many books as are sold. Some writers choose to go through a partnership publishing company where the company charges the writer a fee but agrees to do some marketing and editing of the book. There’s even a POD company that will set you up as your own publishing company. Then there are e-books. Most commercially published books are available now in e-book form. But some companies and some writers market their books only in e-book form charging a fee only if a book is downloaded.

Some of my writer friends have decided to go one of these routes, and they’re happy with their decisions. I don’t fault their choices, but I’ve decided to take the long hard road to become commercially published by a publisher who pays royalties, prints a run of books, and has contracts with bookstores.

I haven’t made this choice because I’ve found an agent to represent me or a publisher to offer me a contract. I’ve sent my first novel to many reputable Christian agents. Some were interested enough to send me notes, some asked for an entire manuscript, but every agent has sent me a rejection. One of the biggest reasons many of them gave was the story I wrote was not what was selling right now. So I’m currently editing another novel to prepare to send it to the host of agents I’ve collected in my database.

Getting a reputable agent to represent you, and getting a commercial publisher to offer a contract is a long shot. Very few are chosen. So why would I want to go down this narrow road of rejection and heartache when there are so many choices out there?

10. I’ve learned over the years if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Self-publishing and POD companies make a lot of claims. They try to discredit commercial publishers by calling them “traditional publishers” and saying that by going through the self-publishing companies, you can make a lot of money. But I’m not buying it. I pray those that make the decision to go this route do their homework and don’t listen to the get rich quick promises.

9. Commercial publishing companies do a better job with printing the books. The cover, paper, ink, and editing all point to quality. Self-publishing companies and POD’s are hit and miss. They might do a good job printing, but more likely they won’t.

8. I want to feel good about my accomplishments. Commercial publication is a long hard road, but when I get there, I’ll feel like I’ve achieved something great through hard work and perseverance. I won’t feel the same way if I pay to see my novel in print.

7. I want to be known as a professional author. I want to have that reputation. To me writing is a profession and a calling. In most cases, self-published authors are thought of as amateurs even if they gain some level of success.

6. I want the name of a commercial publishing company on my book jacket. I don’t want someone to pick up my book, see the name of the company, and snarl up his nose because he knows it’s been self-published. I want the publishing company’s reputation behind my novel. 

5. I want the resources commercial publishing companies have. Commercial publishers have copy editors and book designers. They have publicity people and sales representatives. They know what they’re doing. I want to participate in promoting my own novel. But I don’t want to have to do it alone. I want all of the resources a commercial publisher has including free copies of books I can give to influencers and advertisement on their websites and in their catalogues. I won’t get that from a self-publishing or POD company.

4. I want my novel to be in print at a bookstore. POD and self-publishing companies are quick to point out that their books are available on Amazon.com and in bookstore catalogs. That may be technically true. But almost every book is on Amazon.com. That’s no guarantee that anyone will find your novel. Amazon.com promotes books that sell, books that are put out by commercial publishers.

Catalogues that bookstores use have thousands of books available. Most bookstores have limited space and are more likely to go with books by commercial publishers. They have an added incentive for doing this because commercial publishers will take the books back if the bookstores don’t sell them. The bookstores have a win-win situation here. If they go with a self-published or POD book and it doesn’t sell, they are out the money they invested. It’s good business for them to only order commercially published books. Also they know the sales representatives of the commercial companies and are more likely to go with them. An author carrying a box of books under his arms is not likely to hold much weight with a bookstore owner.

I want my books to be in bookstores. I want to hold them in my hand and point them out to customers.

3. I want my novel to sell. Many self-publishing companies make claims about how successful their clients are. There are a few self-published authors that end up selling a lot of books. “The Shack” is one book that is frequently used as an example. But the chances of that happening are greater than the chances of being published by a commercial publisher.

Not every commercially published book will sell. Those that do sell will probably not be best sellers. But most best-sellers are commercially published books. Most moderate sellers are commercially published books. And most commercially published books do sell better than most self-published books. Self-published books that sell a hundred copies are considered successful. I want my novel to do better than that.

2. I have a lot to learn. I’m glad I wasn’t published by the first person I sent my manuscript to. If I had been, I would have had a lot of bad reviews. I’ve learned a lot about writing since. And because I didn’t take a shortcut to publication, I’ll continue to learn until I’m ready to be published.

I think I’m ready now. But maybe that’s because I don’t know about the one thing I need to make my manuscript a better story, something that will touch the heart of somebody, maybe even their spirit. I know that even though I think I’m ready, I need a teachable spirit. I’m willing to wait and learn.

1. I trust God. That’s sounds cliché, but it’s my number one reason for waiting for commercial publication. God directed me to write novels. Since then, I’ve been compelled to write.

He has given me the stories. He hasn’t dictated the words I should use or all of the plot points, usually just an idea in my spirit. It would be so much easier if He hadn’t required me to struggle to work with what He gave me. But any writer who tells you God wrote their novel through them is not to be trusted. God authored the Bible through men, but He hasn’t done that since. But He has given me the desire and planted the seeds of the story within me.

So no shortcuts for me. I’ll take the hard narrow road. Since God is directing me, and since He’s given me stories to write, He will help me to write them. And when the time is right, I can trust Him to direct my paths to publication. But in the meantime, I’ll work hard, and I’ll wait on Him.