Cape Town Book Fair
Glossary of Publishing Terms

General Terms A - G

Advance
Compensation paid to an author once the author's book is contracted but before it is published. Typically, one-half of the advance is paid upon signing of the contract, the remaining half upon delivery of the final manuscript. Advances are paid against future earnings (royalties), which mean the author doesn't receive royalty payments until the advance has been "earned out."

Backlist
Books from previous seasons that are still in print. In children's publishing, a book can remain on a publisher's backlist for many years, particularly if they are award-winners or regarded as "classics." (Children's backlist books often outsell new titles, and for that reason many bookstores carry more backlist than "frontlist" titles.)

Back Matter
Printed material that appears in the back of a book, after the main body of text. Typical inclusions are glossaries, footnotes, indexes, author and illustrator biographies, etc. In picture books, back matter reduces the space available for the story and illustration, since most picture books are restricted to a 24- or 32-page format.

Book Packager
Book packagers--also known as book producers or book developers--create new titles from concept to bound book for publishers, as opposed to publishers using in-house staff and existing authors to do the same. Book packagers are often receptive to new authors, though payment is frequently in flat fee and less generous than with publishers.

Contract
A legally binding agreement in which an author or illustrator sells to a publisher some or all rights to a creative piece of work. Contracts spell out what rights are being surrendered, for how long, under what circumstances, and for what compensation. In publishing, contracts are also referred to as "Publishing Agreements."

Copy Editing
Checking a manuscript for spelling, grammar, and content errors. (Also see "substantive editing" and "proofreading.")

Copyright
Legal protection for original works of authorship that are fixed in some tangible way--as in a manuscript. When you sign a contract, you essentially agree to relinquish some or all rights for an agreed-upon price and length of time. Copyright law can be squirrely, but in most instances new works are protected for your lifetime plus fifty years.

Dummy
Handmade mock-up of a book indicating page breaks (pagination), and where front matter, text and illustration, and back matter will appear. A dummy may or may not include actual sketches.

Flat Fee
One-time compensation that generally provides a lump sum for an author or illustrator's work in exchange for all rights. (This is in contrast to a contract that includes an advance and royalties.)

Frontlist
Books being published in the current season, and featured in the publisher's current catalogue.

Front Matter
Printed material that appears in the front of a book, before the main body of text. Typical inclusions are the title page, copyright page, dedication, table of contents and preface. In picture books, front matter reduces the space available for the story and illustration, since most picture books are restricted to a 24- or 32-page format.

Galleys
A publisher's initial typeset version of an author's manuscript, usually after final editing but prior to pagination for the final version. Authors are generally given an opportunity to review galleys for errors or significant changes. How much may be changed is often spelled out in contracts.

Genre
Genre generally denotes nothing more than a category of book, as in mystery, romance, western, sci-fi, historical, etc. Sometimes genre is referred to as "category fiction."