How to Talk the Talk in Publishing Circles. by Chrissy Brown | C.A.A.B Publishing
PRIDE & PUBLISHING
C.A.A.B PUBLISHING CAAB Publishing Ltd is a traditional, small, indie company helping unknown authors have a voice and inspiring new writers to take that first step into the world of publishing. WWW.CAABPUBLISHING.CO.UK
You have written a book, well done! But now you are ready to start looking for an agent or a publishing company and suddenly you find yourself lost in a sea of jargon that you do not understand. Here is our handy guide, to help you to understand the wonderful world of publishing a little better. Advance An advance is an agreed upon sum of money paid to an author upfront when they sign a contract for a book to be published by a publishing company. The publisher will then pay no royalties to the author until the advance is paid back by sales of the author’s book. This is called ‘Earning out’. Blurb, Cover Copy, or Back Cover Piece- A short paragraph of text on the back of a book, a small bit of writing that gives the reader an idea of what the book is about. Crossover fiction/Genre crossover- This can mean a young adult book that can also be sold to an adult market, or vice versa. It can also mean a book that crosses genres – Horror/romance or Sci-fi/ comedy. (Genre means the type of book that has been written, there are the three primary genres – Fiction, non-fiction, and children, but these are broken down into subgenres i.e. historical fiction or true life crime, etc.) ISBN - This is the identifying number or ID used for every published book. Each version or format of the book i.e. paperback, graphic adaptation, ebook will have a different unique ISBN. If there are major changes made to a book after publication then it may require a new ISBN, for example. if a book needs some major changes as new facts about an event come to light. Imprint- The name of the publishing company or their sub-company under which a book is published.
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Literary agent- This is a paid individual that is responsible for helping to manage a writer’s career, they will push a book and be a cheerleader for it in the hope of negotiating the best deal with a publishing company. Agents have a wide range of contacts and know where to
