Publishing Querying Vocabulary
If you are working on a book or story you wish to see published someday, you might have realized there is a lot you need to know about what kind of edits are necessary, who you need to connect to, how to query, and more. But as you dive into this world, are you finding some unfamiliar terms? Years ago, when I was first researching this topic as a student, I remember the sheer volume of information. I didn’t know the difference between a book’s synopsis, blurb, or a pitch. I had no idea literary agents existed and if you asked me to name the main publishing houses, I would stumble and get confused.
I want to help you explore the world of publishing so here is a nice list to get started. While this article will act as a nice overview, let me know if you want to know more about any of these specific topics!
Querying Vocabulary
Querying: The act of pitching your manuscript to a literary agent for representation.
Manuscript: This is your unpublished book!
Literary Agent: An agent for authors to represent their books and manage your unpublished book’s deals with potential publishers. This is your cheerleader. This is your guide!
Query Letter: Usually composed of an introduction, pitch or short synopsis, and your bio. This is sent to literary agents to pitch your work to them for potential representation.
Manuscript Synopsis: The synopsis’ job is to explain what your book is about and to show the agent your writing style.
Blurb: This is the exciting hook you often see on the back of or on the inside flap of a book!
Pitch: This is one sentence about your manuscript used to sell and quickly hook an agent’s interest. For example, you can mention the book’s genre and audience, topic, and word count.
Publishing Vocabulary
Big 4 Publishers: In traditional publishing, it is important to know who is who. There are currently four big publishers such as Penguin/Random House (recently acquired Simon & Schuster,) Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins, and Macmillan. These companies have many smaller houses or “imprints.”
Proof: A proof is a manuscript that has been completely edited and is ready for publication. For example, “proofreading” is a last read-through to check for any errors on these final documents.
Traditional Publishers: A traditional publisher is a company that buys the rights to an author’s manuscript via an agreed upon contract then will publish, print, and sell your book to various retailers and booksellers. They give authors an upfront deal/ payment as well as potential royalties.
Royalties: Traditional publishers will pay authors for their work either upfront or broken up throughout the editing and publishing cycle. After a book has been published, there is a certain threshold that needs to be made to make up all the editing, printing, marketing and distribution expenses. If and when this has been made back in sales, then all further sales will generate royalties for the author.
Vanity Publishers: A vanity publisher is essentially a pay-to-print service where an author will pay to have their book published, edited, and then printed by a vanity press. (Caution, while not all, there are many scams for pay to publish your book via exorbitant upfront costs, no marketing, etc.)
Small Publishers: These are traditional publishers that make less than a certain amount in sales each year, which defines them as a “small press.” This can be an umbrella term for both indie and independent publishers.
I want to make more articles on this topic so definitely let me know and we can get started now that the basic vocabulary is out of the way!
All my best,
Danni