Some Terms of The Trade, Part I

It really pays to learn all you can about the business of writing and the inner workings of the publishing industry. Having a well-rounded knowledge base makes the process of getting published easier. Here are a few terms to start:

Advance: a payment made to a writer before the publication of a manuscript.

Agent: A professional representative hired by an author to obtain and negotiate contracts with publishers.

Editor: A staff member at a publishing company responsible for reviewing manuscripts and/or preparing them for publication.

Imprint: A specific line or lines of books offered by a given publisher.  Eg. Cloak and Dagger Books is an imprint of Chesterton Publishing Group.

ms.: A standard abbreviation for the word manuscript. In the plural, it's mss.

Publisher: A publishing company or the head of a publishing company responsible for putting your book in print.

Query: A written request from an author created to interest an editor in reviewing a book proposal or manuscript. A query to a magazine is sent to interest the editor in reading or commissioning an article.

Reprint: Any edition of a particular book that's published after the first edition.

Royalty: A residual payment made to authors after books are sold based on a percentage of their selling price.

SAE.: Abbreviation for "self-addressed, stamped envelope," sometimes preceded by its required dimensions.

SASE.: Abbreviation for "self-addressed, stamped envelope" sometimes proceeded by its required dimensions or standard envelop number, eg. #10

Submission: An idea, outline, or manuscript sent by a writer to a publisher for consideration.

Trade paperback: a paperback book created for the layman rather than the professional or specialist.

The Writers' Market

A vital resource that every writer should own is an up-to-date version of the Writers' Market. Regardless of who the writer is, this book will be one that you will come to rely on more than others especially if you are searching for publishers and script producers to buy your work.  Inside is a wide range of information useful to writers, with special sections that include everything from business to submissions and their processes.

If you're writing for magazines, then you will also find manuscript ideas that are targeted to a particular magazine or marketplace.  Keeping up to the current trends is easier if you thumb through the Writer's Market. If you are prepared to send out your work, you can use this book to find just the right publisher who will be interested in printing it.

The Writers' Market is the most well-known and reliable source of current information about the publishing world. It's full of practical advice on preparing your work for submission to editors, maintaining professional contacts, negotiating agreements, keeping accurate records and much more.

There interviews with authors and other industry professionals on many subjects writers can read about. If you are a freelance writer, there are over 4,000 companies that could use your work. Everything is carefully organized by category and subject, making it quite easy to target the ones you need to contact.

So get to work! Your next publisher could be just pages away!