Contract Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Acknowledgements:

An author's or publisher's statement of thanks to others who contributed to or otherwise helped make the book come into being.

Advance:

A payment made as an advance against royalties by a publisher to an author or illustrator when the author's book is acquired by the publisher. The advance essentially pays a portion of an author’s royalties before they are accrued; accrued royalties must amount to the size of the advance before any royalties are paid.

Advance Reviewer Copy (ARC):

A print or digital copy of the book used for beta readers, book reviewers, and other special requests. This version of the book is ready for final review, and so should accurately represent the final content and design of the book. Most publishers release ARCs ahead of final review with the note that some minor corrections may still need to be made.

Afterword:

Closing remarks on the topic of the book or the process of writing the book. This material can be written by someone other than the author.

Appendix:

Supplementary information at the end of a book, which can include tables and statistical information.

Author’s Biographical Statement/Biography:

Personal information and accomplishments of the author, used at the end or beginning of a book, as well as in marketing materials.

B

Back Matter:

All printed material that appears in the back of the book after the body copy. Back matter can include an afterword, an appendix, a bibliography, a colophon, a glossary, and an index.

Bibliography:

A list of books or articles cited as resources by the author.

C

Copyright:

The exclusive, legally-secured protection of original creative work, which includes the right to (among other things) reproduce and distribute works of original expression. Copyright exists automatically in an original work of authorship once it is fixed in a tangible medium, but a copyright owner can take steps to enhance the protections of copyright by registering the work with the U.S. Copyright Office.

For more information, see All About Copyright.

D

Distributor:

A company that warehouses, catalogs, markets, and sells books to bookstores, libraries, and wholesalers on behalf of a number of small publishers, consolidating those costs.

E

Effective Date:

The date that a contract takes effect.

F

Final Delivery Date:

The deadline by which the author must submit the updated manuscript. This updated manuscript includes developmental edits designated by the publisher after reviewing the manuscript submitted by the Initial Delivery Date.

Foreword:

An introduction to a book, usually written by someone other than the author of the book.

Front Matter:

All of the pages in a book that appear before the body copy. Types of front matter include the title page, copyright page, dedication, table of contents, foreword, preface, acknowledgment, and introduction.

G

Glossary:

A list of terms and definitions particular to the subject of the book.

I

Independent Booksellers:

Retail shops, not owned by large companies, selling books to the general public.

Index:

An alphabetical listing of specific topics and key words in a book (especially names, places, and events) and the pages on which they are mentioned.

Initial Delivery Date:

The deadline by which the author must submit the full manuscript of a book.

Introduction:

A preliminary, explanatory section at the beginning of a book.

ISBN (International Standard Book Number):

A worldwide, numbered identification system that provides a standard way for publishers to number their products without duplication by other publishers. ISBNs are used to catalog books online, in brick-and-mortar stores, and elsewhere. This supplies the barcode you’ll have seen on the back cover of a book.

For more information, see our Rights Overview.

L

Layout:

The overall design of a book's pages, including the arrangement of text, illustrations, graphics, title, page numbers, and font/typeface usage.

Licensing of Rights/Subsidiary Rights:

Some of the many different ways in which a book can be distributed include through book clubs, as foreign translations, through excerpts in newspapers and magazines, or as a movie adaptation. The rights to distribute a book in one of these or other extended forms are referred to as "subsidiary rights." If the publisher licenses the subsidiary rights to another company to exploit them, the license proceeds are shared between the author and the publisher.

How2Conquer is not currently pursuing subsidiary distribution.

Copyediting:

Line-by-line editing of a manuscript, concentrating on writing mechanics, consistency, and correctness (e.g., punctuation, spelling, grammar, and content errors).

List Price:

The cover price of a book, also called the "retail" price.

M

Manuscript:

An author's written material before it is typeset and printed. MS and MSS are the shorthand designations for "manuscript" or "manuscripts."

P

Preface:

Introductory section of a book, usually written by the author, that differs from the introduction. May contain information on why the book was written or how to use the book.

Proofreading:

A final proofing of the manuscript, usually focused on cleaning up any typographical errors before the manuscript is typeset.

Proofs:

The complete typeset pages of a book for review before the book goes to press, which can be in both digital and print form.

Publication Date ("Pub Date"):

The date when the publisher announces that a particular product will be available. Typically, the publication date is set for a few days after the book's arrival in stores to help ensure that marketing and publicity can begin on schedule.

R

Returns:

Unsold copies of a book that are returned to publishers from booksellers. In most cases the bookseller is allowed to return any unsold books to the publisher for a complete refund.

Riders:

An attachment, schedule, amendment, or other writing that is added to a document in order to modify it. The changes may be small or large, but in either case the primary purpose of the rider is to avoid rewriting or redrafting the document entirely.

Royalties:

A percentage the author or illustrator receives out of the proceeds from the sale of each copy of the book.

S

Special Sales:

Non-traditional sales in outlets that do not specialize in book retail (anything from gift stores to pet shops to organizations, etc.).

T

Trade Bookseller:

A bookseller which distributes books to the general public. Some trade booksellers include superstores, chain stores, independent booksellers, and online retailers.

W

Wholesaler:

A company that buys books in large quantities from publishers at high discounts, and sells them to bookstores and libraries at a mid-level discount.