Friday, March 28, 2008

 

Writing Terms

These are a few writing terms. Each contains a brief definition. Hopefully the terms will be beneficial when writers start talking about their books or hunting for an agent.

1. Anthology
A collection of short stories by different authors.

2. First Draft
The first draft is the first, full telling of the story. There may be pre-work in outlines, character sketches, world building, and various notes, but the story itself has not been fully told until this point.

3. Guidelines
Guidelines are what a writer needs to follow to be published.

4. Copy editor
This is the person who looks over the manuscript after the author has made it the best that he or she can. They are just an extra set of eyes that look over a writer's book.

5. Copyright
Copyright, is the right of the author to say who can publish the book. The copyright remains with the author, even when a publisher prints a book.

6. Ebook
An ebook is a book that is supplied in a format that can be read on computers or hand-held devices.

7. POD
Print on Demand is a technology and has nothing to do with who provides the book. The technology allows a person to print as few as one copy of a book at a time, so that there is no need to keep a stock on hand. The technology uses computer files, rather than offset printing which uses an inked plate as the starting point. Also self publishing is known as a POD.

8. First Publication Rights
These are the rights that most publishers are interested in buying from the author. It is the right to be the first to show the book to the public.

9. Galleys
Galleys are usually the bound editions that are the last step before publication. They don't have the cover art and they don't have some of the other extras. An author usually gets a galley copy to go over one last time before the book goes to print.

10. Advances and Royalties
When an author accepts the contract from a publisher, sometimes there is a set amount of money paid to the author. This is an advance toward the royalties that will be made on the book. Royalties are the amount of money the author gets per sale of each book.
Here is a link to a nice collection of terms: https://www.scribendi.com/advice/glossary.en.html#A

Cher'ley
https://www.freewebs.com/cherley

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