Author, novelist, writer… What’s the difference? Spelling, for the most part. I’ve never found a satisfactory definition to differentiate, although I tend to think of writers as non-fiction news people (a bias left over from my newspaper days). The real difference is between an Author and a Published/Contracted Author.
When you switch from writing-for-fun to writing-for-money the whole game changes. No one I’ve met was born knowing the industry terms. Here’s the abbreviated list, feel free to add more to the comments of you think of something I’ve missed.
Advance: money paid to the author by the publishing company before a book reaches the shelves, this is usually broken up with a certain amount paid at signing, another amount paid when the draft of the manuscript arrives, and a third check paid on release day.
Agent: a person who works for a percentage of the sales as a the go-between between an author and an editor of a large publishing house
Alpha/Beta-reader: another form of crit-partner
ARC: Advanced Reader Copy- a copy of the novel that is sent out to reviewers before the book is officially published – some ARCs will be slightly different than the final print version and can become collector’s items
Author: the person that writes the books
Back of Book Blur/Sales Copy: the teaser on the book of a book (or the inside flap) that tells the readers what the book is about, the blurb teases the opening chapter and the conflict without revealing major twists or the ending, this is a marketing tool and part of the traditional query letter
Big 5: the five major New York publishers who dominate traditional publishing
Components of a Query Letter: the opening, the blurb/sales copy, the book stats, the small bio, and the closing are the five main components of a standard query letter
Critique-partner/group: the person or people who give back and editing advice on the early drafts of the book
DL: dialog or the talking that happens in a book
Draft: a version of the book that is not the polished final form
Earning out the Advance: when an author has earned enough money to equal the advance paid out – at this point the author begins earning royalties
Ebook: a digital version of the book
Editor: 1) a person who buys the book and preps it for publication by helping the author change edit the book; 2)a person the author pays to edit their book before publication (see copy edits and self-publishing)
E-publisher: a publisher that focuses on publishing ebooks rather than printed books – some publishers will also publish a print version but the ebook will come out first
Flash Fiction: a story told in under 500 words (give or take) – published in collections or ‘zines
Full Request: when an editor or agent asks to read the full manuscript you are querying
Genre: where the book goes in the book store (Fantasy, Sci-fi, YA, Romance, Mystery, ect)
Hard Cover: a book with a hard cover
Hybrid Author: an author that self-publishes and has traditionally published work
Indie Publishing: this term has changed over the years, originally it meant “everything other than Big 5” including smaller publishing, now it usually refers to self-publishers and the freelance market of editors, cover artists, formatters, and others who can be hired to support self-publishing authors
Manuscript (MS/MSS): a polished form of the book that is sent to editors or agents
MC: main character, you will sometimes see MMC (male main character) or FMC (female main character), non-binary or genderqueer protagonists are usually listed simply as MC but you could use NBMC or GQMC if you needed to differentiate
MSWL: Manuscript Wish List, a hashtag on Twitter where agents the kind of books they are looking for, and a website that had lists of agents, what they are looking for, and how to query them
Novel: a book that is above 70,000 words (although going over 120,000 is not usually acceptable)
Novella: a book that is between 20,000 words and 50,000 word – predominantly published in anthologies or as ebooks
NYT Bestseller: a book that has sold well in the opening week of publication much like an opening-weekend movie
Paperback: a book with a soft paper cover
Partial Request: when an agent or editor requests to see more pages of the novel but not the full manuscript after reading a query
POV: point of view
Predatory Publisher (aka Vanity Press): a publisher that asks the author to pay for part of the publishing process, this includes publishers who tell the author to buy copies of the book before release, require authors to pay for editing fees, or who take payment from the author. In traditional publishing (big or small press), the money goes to the author. Traditional publishing requires no monetary investment to query or publish. The only time an author should spend money is if the author is self-publishing
Proof Copy: a penultimate draft of the book that the author and editors read looking for misprints, typos, and other problems
Publishing: the industry that turns stories from ideas on a computer to books in the reader’s hand
Query: a short (250-300 word) letter to an agent or editor introducing the book but not giving away the ending – a query letter must include: Title, Genre, Word Count, 2-3 paragraphs about the book (usually focusing on the first 3-5 chapters), a short paragraph about the author listing any previous published work or awards, and author’s contact information
R&R: Revise and Resubmit when agent or editor request changes prior to accepting a book
Reader: the person who buys your book (we like these people!)
Review: the readers’ comments on the book
Revision Notes: editing notes written by an editor or agent for the author
Royalties: a percentage of the sale price off of each book that an author earns
Self-publishing: the author buys cover art, pays for an editor, and publishes the book on their own- this can be done very quickly
Short Story: a story that is under 20,000 words
Small Press: small publishing houses that will often publish authors who do not have agents – advanced are sometimes paid depending on the house and contract – this process usually takes a year to eighteen months between final draft and published novel
Sub-Genre: the readership the book appeals to or the small genre (military SF, romantic UF, fantasy YA)
Synopsis: a bare bones summary of the book that gives away the ending and mentions every major character
Trade Paperback: slightly larger than the standard paperback
Traditional Publishing: the process of writing a novel, querying an signing with an agent, shopping a manuscript to editors, signing contracts, revising, editing, getting an advance, and publishing the novel – this process usually takes 1-3 years between final draft and published novel
WIP: work in progress – sometimes NIP as in novel in progress
Word Count: the number of words in your book
Writer Beware: a website where authors can check the backgrounds of agents and presses to verify they are legitimate
What would you add to the