Cape Town Book Fair
Glossary of Publishing Terms

General Terms R - T

Reading Fee
An amount charged by some agents and subsidy publishers to read or evaluate a manuscript, without an obligation to find a publisher or publish the material. Reading fees can be very steep.

Remainders
Leftover books that didn't sell and subsequently are deeply discounted for fast turnover. Publishers strongly resist "remaindering" their titles, but the practice is common for books that badly missed their mark or were printed in too great a quantity to begin with.

Returns
Books that are returned to publishers from booksellers because the titles didn't sell. Returns, a chronic problem in the industry, often run more than 25 percent for any given title originally purchased by the bookseller.

Retail Price
The cover price of a book. (Often also referred to as the "list" price.) Most larger publishers pay royalties based on the cover price.

Revision
The obligation of an author or illustrator to make changes to an original work in order to make the finished product more saleable. Revision clauses that spell out the degree of revision and time allowed are usually included in publishing agreements. Editors and authors or illustrators typically work closely together during the revision process, with give and take on both sides.

Rights
The provisions offered for sale by an author or illustrator or photographer to a publishing house for a particular manuscript or work of art.

Royalties
A percentage of the proceeds from the sale of each copy of a book. Royalties generallyrange from 3% to 15%, depending on the type of book, amount of experience the author has, its perceived market potential, etc. Authors and illustrators are both paid in royalties unless a flat fee arrangement has been made.

Slush Pile
Stacks of manuscripts that are received by editors and publishing houses, but not specifically requested. Manuscripts in the slush pile inevitably are read only after material that an editor has sought or received by an agent. Some houses do not accept unsolicited manuscripts; others (typically smaller publishing houses) keep up with slush piles, hoping to find new talent.

Subsidiary Rights
Sales of your book, either by the publisher or an author's agent, to other outlets such as book clubs, foreign publishers, magazines, or movie studios. If the publisher sells the subsidiary rights, the proceeds are split with the author (usually 50/50). If the agent sells the rights, the author keeps all the proceeds minus the agent's commission.

Substantive Editing
Editing a manuscript for "global" issues, with particular attention paid to overall style, pacing, plot, etc. Senior editors who contract books often deal with substantive editing issues during the revision process with an author. Copy editors later comb the revised manuscript for spelling, grammar, and general content mistakes.

Trade Paperback
A book bound with a heavy paper cover; often the same size and with the same cover illustration as the hardcover edition, but lower in price.

Trim Size
The outer dimensions of a finished book.