Authoring Basic Terms

 

Every job has its own specific terms and phrases. Authoring and publishing is no different. So here's a quick list of some basic terms and what they mean. 

And yes, Satan himself enjoys most of these. They are the bane of our existence, but we need them. 

Basic Terms

Blurb: A short introduction to your book that will entice people to buy it. This is usually on the back of paperbacks, or the inside flap for hardbacks. It is also the description of your book that is shown on Amazon.

 

Synopsis: A complete breakdown of your book, including the ending. This is what you give to publishers/agents/anyone in the industry. It should still draw their attention, and be enticing, but also give a complete overlook. The cliff notes version.

 

Elevator pitch: This is a short spiel you can use to tell people about your book. A condensed version of your book blurb you can say in less than a minute. This is what you use for face to face conversations. You can use comparisons of popular books for this. “Think When Harry Met Sally but with monsters.”

 

Genre: The category of your book. Fantasy, science fiction, romance

 

Sub genre: The sub category of your book, usually in reference to your genre. Military science fiction, epic fantasy, cowboy romance

 

Spine Width: A calculation for the thickness of your book’s spine in your cover file. Spine width is based on your exact page count (including any additional blank pages needed to complete printing signatures) and the exact weight of your selected paper stock (which impacts each page’s thickness).

 

Trim Size: The dimensions of the final printed book. Width is always listed first, then height.

 

Gutter: The margin in the middle of a book when you open it (usually there’s some "extra" blank space near the center fold to make it easier to read)

 

Foreword: a short introduction to a book, typically by a person other than the author. You don’t need to worry about having this.

 

Chapter header: The design or graphic that every chapter has at or near the chapter title.

 

Scene break: A blank space, with or without a graphic (scene break graphic), where the story or POV changes.

 

Advanced Reader Copy (ARC): A formatted, but possibly not fully edited, version of your book that you hand out to readers to acquire reviews for your release date.

 

Teaser/Reader Magnet: Either a prequel or the first couple of chapters of your book that you offer for free to get people interested in your book. It is a formatted, edited copy of your book in ebook format.

 

Release Day: Your publication date.

 

Book Birthday: The anniversary of your book’s publication date.