If you’re new to the world of publishing, you may be drowning in new terminology. If you’re struggling to get a handle on all the terms you hear, here are a dozen publishing words you’ll hear and what they mean.
Bleed
Machines are great, but they can make mistakes. In printing, the printing machine may not cut every page at the exact same place. Bleed is extra color that extends beyond the expected printing area. With bleed, it’s okay if the page winds up larger than expected. You’ll have color all over, with no weird white line on the edge of the page. Bleed is used on picture books or other books with color that reaches to the edge of the page.
Blurb
Look on the back of a book, and you’ll see the book’s blurb. A blurb can be a short description of the book (At Argyle Fox Publishing, we call this a book description to avoid confusion.) or a comment about the book from book reviewers or experts. Almost every book cover has a description-type blurb. Review blurbs are more common in nonfiction.
Copyright
You wrote your book, so you want to be the one to own it. Copyright is what secures ownership of your book. You can pay to have the government recognize your copyright, but you don’t have to. As soon as you write the book, the copyright is fully yours until you sell or give away part or all of it.
Genre
What type of book do you like to read? Who is your book’s intended audience? The answers to these questions may be your book’s genre. Simply put, genre is the category into which your book falls. You may write in countless genres, including young adult horror, poetry, romance, children’s literature, Christian fiction, science-fiction, or mystery.
Gutter
Books are made of pages. The place where the pages come together in the middle is called the gutter. It’s important to keep your text and any other important element out of the gutter. Otherwise, your book is hard to read, or your main character disappears in illustrations. Neither is good.
Manuscript
This is your story in written form. Most often, we request your manuscript in a Microsoft Word document or Google Docs document. When submitting your book for consideration, you will eventually send your full manuscript to your agent or book publisher of choice.
Pen Name
Some authors don’t want the world to know their real identities. These authors create pen names for themselves. A pen name is a made-up name that a writer uses in place of his or her own name. There are various reasons to consider a pen name, and it’s good to understand the pros and cons before taking one on for yourself.
Print on Demand
Also known as POD, print on demand is just what it sounds like. A few decades ago, the self-publishing process always ended with the author ordering boxes of books. Those days have changed. Thanks to POD technology, authors can now order as many or as few books as they want. These companies, such as IngramSpark, also make your book available online. When someone purchases your book, the printer prints and ships your book.
Proofs
Want to see what your book will look like once it’s printed? Then you need to see a proof. At Argyle Fox Publishing, we send digital proofs throughout the publishing process. This allows you to make changes to your book’s cover and interior throughout the process. Once we upload your book to IngramSpark, you receive a final PDF proof from IngramSpark. Then we recommend you order a physical proof as well. This puts your physical book in your hand, so you can make sure everything is just right before releasing your book to the world.
Royalties
Every time you sell a book, you earn money. The amount of money you earn is known as your royalty. This varies by publisher. Fees that reduce your royalty include printing, distribution, and more. At Argyle Fox Publishing, we set you up with your own IngramSpark account, so you get 100% of your royalties, directly from the printer. This does not mean you earn $10 if your book sales for $10. It means that after we finish publishing your book, we do not take any cut from your royalties. So, when you sell a book, you receive all profits.
Self-Publishing
You do all the publishing work yourself. For some, this means writing, editing, designing, and publishing the book without help from anyone else. Other self-publishing authors professional editors, designers, and illustrators. Argyle Fox Publishing helps the second type of author. We exist to provide professional editing, design, illustration, and more—all at one place.
Traditional publishing
With the traditional model of publishing, you first seek out a literary agent. This agent then represents you to various publishing houses. You do not pay to publish your book in this method. Rather, you get paid when your agent sells your book to a publishing house. Publishing in this manner has pros and cons and is the right approach for certain authors.
Are there other publishing words you don’t understand? Email us, and we’ll do our best to provide a definition. In the meantime, if you’re ready to stop learning about publishing and start moving your book toward publication, we would love to check out your manuscript. Submit your story for consideration today.