A Glossary or Writers Terms

This is all I can think of at the moment, please feel free to add more.

A

Advance: payment by a publisher to the author before the book is published; it is deducted from the author?s future royalties.

Antagonist: the character that opposes your lead character, often referred to as the villain.

Archetypes: Certain character traits that appear in many stories. Such as the Alpha Male or the Virginal Heroine.

B

Back Story: The events of character?s life up to the point of the first page of the story, the character?s past.

Backlist: books not published during the current season by the publisher but are still in print.

C

Category Romance: A story in which the relationship between the hero and heroine is the focus, published as part of line such as Harlequin or Silhouette.

Character: The people within the story.

Character Sketch: A brief description of a character?s physical appearance.

Conflict: Friction, tensions or opposition that keeps the characters from reaching their goals. For more information check out the Romance Section of Mystic Visions.

Contributor?s Copy (abbreviation: CC): A copy of a book or magazine sent to the author in which their work appears. Sometimes used as payment for work.

Copyright: The legal right to exclusive publication, distribution or sale of written work.

Cover Art: Artwork on the cover of a book.

Cover Letter: A brief introductory letter sent to a publisher with a submission.

D

Dialogue: A term to describe the action of characters talking.

E

Electronic Rights: The right to publish work in a digital format (CD-ROM, Disk, Online, ect.)

Erotic: A term used to refer to a sexually explicit story.

F

Fantasy: Stories that include mythical creatures and often magic. Often set in medieval worlds with medieval characters.

Futuristic: Stories set in the future with science fiction elements. Often involving other planets, futuristic earth, aliens and space travel.

G

Genre: The category in which a story is placed. Fantasy and Paranormal are both examples of genres.

Gothic: A dark story often containing elements or suspense or paranormal.

Guidelines (abbreviation: GL): Instructions for submissions set by individual publisher. Often referred to as Writer?s Guidelines or Tip Sheets.

H

Heroine: The lead female character in a story.

Hero: The lead male character in a story.

Hook: The first line, paragraph or page that draws the reader into the story.

I

I.S.B.N.: International Standard Book Number.

Imprint: A specific line of books by the publisher.

J

No terms listed for J

K

No terms listed for K

L

Lead Books: Single title books that are placed on the top of the Publisher?s list, generally receiving the most publicity.

M

Manuscript (abbreviation: Ms(s)): A term used to describe the pages of a book (the author?s copy before the story has been printed and bound in novel form).

Manuscript Format: A term used to describe the standards to which a manuscript should be displayed (typed).

Mass Market Paperback: Paperback books found in a variety of places (other than bookstores, such as supermarkets and drug stores).

Motivation: The force (goal) that enables that character to overcome conflicts and drives the character through the story.

Multiple Submission: A term used to describe submitting more than more work to the same publisher (for example sending the same publisher two articles to consider at the same time).

N

No terms listed for N

O

One-Time Rights: Rights to a work to be published one time only.

Outline: The summary of the story, often divided by chapters or plot points.

Open Story: An ongoing story with numerous contributors developing the story over a period of time.

P

Page Rate: A fixed rate paid to an author per page.

Paranormal: Stories involving aspects of the metaphysical or occult, often including such things as vampires, ghosts and telepathy.

Payment on Acceptance: Indicates that the publisher will send payment for the work when the submitted manuscript is accepted.

Payment on Publication: Indicates that the publisher will send payment for the work when the manuscript is published.

Plot: The basic idea of the story, the action that moves the story from the beginning to the end.

Point of View (abbreviation: POV): The viewpoint in which the story is told (first, second or third person).

Print On Demand: Books printed as they are sold rather than printed in large quantities.

Protagonist: The lead character in a story.

Pseudonym: A fake name used by writers when he/she does not wish to use their real name. Often times a made-up name or variation of the author?s real name.

Q

Query Letter: A letter sent to a publisher or agent inquiring if her/she is interested in seeing your work.

R

Reading Fee: A charge to the author for reading the manuscript. Often a frowned upon expense in the publishing world, be leery of business that charge a reading fee.

Reprint Rights: Permission to print a work that has been previously published.

Response Time: The turnaround time in which an author will hear back from a publisher about their submission. Sometimes abbreviated RT and also called Reporting Time.

Royalty: A percentage of the retail price of a book paid to the author on each book that is sold.

S

Secondary Characters: Minor characters within a story that help further the development of the lead characters and the plot. Also called minor characters or background characters.

Simultaneous Submission: A term used to describe submitting a manuscript to more than one publisher at a time.

Single Title: A book that is not published in a line.

Slush Pile: Unsolicited submissions waiting review at a publishing house.

Subgenre: A category within a genre. Fantasy Romance and Paranormal Romance are both subgenres of the Romance genre.

Synopsis: A comprehensive summary of a book from beginning to end, usually condensed to a few pages. Often sent with a submission.

T

Tagline: Identification of the speaker attached to a line of dialogue. ?He said? or ?She said? are examples of a tagline.

Time Travel: A story in which the lead characters are transported to another time. Mostly commonly the characters will travel back in time, where the majority of the story takes place.

Trade Paperback: Paperback books found in bookstores.

U

Unsolicited Manuscript: A submission of a story that the editor did not request.

V

Vanity Publisher: A publishing house that charges the author to publish their work. Often called Self-Publishing.

W

Word Length: General word length (variations of this list may be possible depending on the publisher).

Flash Fiction: under 1,000 words
Short Story: 1,000 - 7,500 words
Novelette: 7,500 - 17,500 words
Novella: 17,500 - 40,000 words
Novel: over 40,000

(some electronic publishers consider a work of 30,000 words or more a novel)

X

No terms listed for X

Y

No terms listed for Y

Z

No terms listed for Z