THE LOGOPHILE LEXICON
PART IV: THE BUSINESS OF WRITING
IN THIS SECTION
4.1: The Business of Writing
4.2: Types of Writing
4.3: Obscure Words for Writing and Writers
THE LOGOPHILE LEXICON >> HOME >> INDEX
Download the Complete Lexicon
4.1: The Business of Writing
4.2: Types of Writing
4.3: Obscure Words for Writing and Writers
THE LOGOPHILE LEXICON >> HOME >> INDEX
Download the Complete Lexicon
Part 4.1 The Business of Writing
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Relevant information about the author, written for books, proposals, articles, and websites.
ADVANCE: A percentage of the money paid to the writer by a publisher prior to publication of the book. Advances are paid against future royalties, and money is paid back once the book starts earning royalties.
AGENT: A person who markets your book to publishers. Agents charge a commission that is typically between 10 and 20 percent.
ALL RIGHTS: The publication owns all the rights to the work in all the media worldwide, but not the copyright.
ANTHOLOGY: A collection of short stories written by various authors, compiled in one book or journal.
ASSIGNMENT: A piece of writing that a writer has been assigned to write by an editor or publisher for a set fee.
AUTHORIAL INTENT: refers to an author's intentas it is encoded in their work.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY: The writer’s own life story.
BACKLIST: Books published before the present year, but that are still in print.
BALLAD: A narrative folksong, usually created by common people and passed on orally.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: The list of books, magazines, journals, people, websites, or any other resources that you consulted during research for a book, article, or paper.
BIMONTHLY: Once every two months.
BIOGRAPHY: A life story of someone other than the writer’s.
BIONOTE (Bio): A 2 or 3 sentence description of the author that usually accompanies an article.
BIWEEKLY: Once every two weeks.
BLANK VERSE: Poetry that doesn’t rhyme.
BOILERPLATE: A standard publishing contract, with no changes made by the author or agent. The boilerplate is the baseline and changes are usually made later.
BOOK REVIEW: A summary of a book, including its critique.
BYLINE: The author’s name appearing with his or her published works.
CANON: creative work that is generally considered by scholars, critics, and teachers to be the most important to read and study.
CAPTION: A brief description of a picture, graph, table, or diagram.
CLIPS: Published samples of writings that a nn writer submits when marketing. Sometimes called “tear sheets”.
CLOSET DRAMA: A play written to be read rather than performed on stage.
COPYEDITING: Checking for errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation and word usage.
COPYRIGHT: The ownership by an author of their creative work. Copyright laws recognize the author’s right of ownership of anything that the author writes immediately upon creation.
COUPLET: Two consecutive lines of poetry that usually rhyme and have the same meter.
COVER LETTER: A letter accompanying a manuscript, proposal, or resume that introduces you, your work, and your credits. This letter is short and not typically longer than one page.
DEADLINE: The latest date that a piece of assigned writing is due on for submission.
DOUBLE-ENTRY JOURNAL: A journal with two columns. In the left column are quotes, first impressions and ideas. In the right column, the responses to the notes of the left column are written. Responses include what they remind you of, their implications, and your final thoughts.
DRAFT: A completed version of a work which then may be rewritten, revised, or polished for publication.
DUMMY: Hand drawn mock-up of what a page will look like in print.
EDIT: To review your writing to correct grammatical, spelling, or factual errors. Editing may include shortening it or lengthening it to fit in an available space before publication.
EDITOR: A professional commissioned person who edits and (and sometimes writes) articles for a publication.
EDITORIAL: A short article expressing an opinion or point of view.
ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION: Submission made through e-mail, web browser form or CD/DVD.
ELEGY: A mournful, contemplative lyric poem written to commemorate someone who is dead, often ending in a consolation.
EMBARGO: Prohibits publishing information until a specific date. This is done in journalism to ensure that all media outlets release the news on the same day.
EPIC: A long narrative poem, told in a formal, elevated style that focuses on a serious subject and chronicles heroic deeds and events important to a culture or nation.
EPIGRAM: A short witty poem, usually makes a satiric or humorous point.
E-ZINE: Electronic magazine published online.
FAIR USE: Reproduction of short excerpts from a copyrighted work for educational or review purposes. This publication does not infringe upon the author’s copyrights.
FEES: Money paid to the writer for their works or services.
FIRST ELECTRONIC RIGHTS: The rights to publish a piece of writing electronically online for the first time. Once the rights have been assigned, the piece cannot be published in any other electronic medium until reprint rights can be sold.
FIRST PRINT RIGHTS: The rights to a piece of writing in the medium it’s published in.
FLASH FICTION: A piece of fiction written in less than 500 words.
FLAT FEE: Money paid to the author for their work in a lump sum. The author does not receive any royalty after this payment.
FORMATTING: The manner in which a manuscript is prepared for publication.
FREE VERSE: Verse that has neither regular rhyme nor regular meter. Also called “open form poetry.”
FREEWRITING: Stream of consciousness or writing that is continuous without worrying about form or structure. This informal writing is used to explore thoughts, feelings, or to reflect on a topic or theme.
FRONTLIST: Books being published in the current year.
GALLEYS: The initial typeset of a manuscript sent to the author for review before print. Type size and column format are set, but not page divisions.
GENRE: The type or category of writing – like romance, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, etc.
GHOSTWRITER: A writer who is paid to write anonymously for someone else. A ghostwriter does not get a byline or credit. Usually well-known people or celebrities hire ghostwriters and then they market the book under their own names.
GO-AHEAD: A positive response to a query that assigns an article to you.
GUIDELINES: Instructions for submitting work to a publication.
HAIKU: A three line, seventeen syllable poem, usually about nature.
HARDCOVER: Book bound with a hard cardboard cover and covered with a paper dust jacket.
HIGH CONCEPT: A storyline that can easily be described in one sentence that is unique and commercially viable.
HOOK: A narrative method that grabs the attention of the reader to keep them reading.
IMPRINT: Division within a publishing house that deals with a specific category of books.
INVOICE: A record of payment due, given to the accounting department for payment.
JOURNAL: A diary or record of events, feelings, and thoughts usually recorded by chronological date.
KICKER: In journalism a kicker is a sudden, surprising turn of events or ending or a twist.
KILL FEE: Compensation made for an assigned article which was completed but not used or published.
RECORD OF SUBMISSION: A formal record of where and when an author has submitted articles or manuscripts for publication.
REJECTION SLIP: A letter from an editor declining interest in publication of an author’s submission.
REPRINTS: Previously published articles marketed for publication in other magazines or journals.
REVISING: Making changes that improve the writing.
RIGHTS: Ownership for reproduction of a creative work.
ROUGH DRAFT: The first organized version of a manuscript or other work.
ROYALTIES: A percentage of the cover price of a book paid to the author. Royalties are usually paid on a monthly or quarterly basis.
SASE: Abbreviation for “Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope” and that are usually to accompany a manuscript so the editor or publisher can mail it back to the writer.
SELF-PUBLISHING: A branch of publishing in which the author publishes his own works. This cuts out the middleman and ensures the author receives all the profits.
SERIAL: A periodical publication such as magazines, newspapers, or newsletters.
SHORT SHORT: Fiction with fewer than 1,000 words.
SHORT STORY: Fiction with fewer than 7,000 words.
SIDE BAR: Extra information, hints and tips that are put together apart from the main article.
SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSION: To send a submission to more than one publisher or agent at a time. This is may or may not be acceptable to publishers.
SLANT: The bias or angle with which a writer presents information in an article.
SLUSH PILE: Common term for unsolicited manuscripts received by a publisher or editor.
SOLICITED MANUSCRIPT: A manuscript that an agent or editor has requested to see.
STYLE: The manner of expression of a a writer produced by their choice of words, grammatical structure, use of literary devices, and method of language they use.
SUBJECT: The main topic in a sentence, paragraph, essay, or book.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: The standard of guidelines given by the editor or the publisher for submission.
SUMMARY: A short description of the main points of a body of creative work.
SYNOPSIS: Brief summary of a story, manuscript, or book. It is typically no more than two to three paragraphs in length.
SYNTAX: The ordering of words into meaningful verbal patterns such as phrases, clauses, and sentences.
TEARSHEET: Sample of an author's published work.
TERMS: The deal made between the writer and the editor/publisher for the publication of a written work. All specifications are set forth in the contract with terms including the types of rights purchased, compensation and payment schedule, and expected dates of publication,
THEME: The central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work. It is the unification of the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other elements of a work.
TONE: The author’s attitude toward the reader or the people, places, and events in a work set by the elements of the author’s literary style.
TOPIC SENTENCE: The sentence at the beginning of a paragraph, that includes the main idea of the paragraph.
UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS: An article, story, or book that a publication did not request.
VANITY PUBLISHING: A form of publishing in which the author compensates a publisher to publish their work.
VOICE: The style, tone, and method of writing with which an author composes a work.
WIDOWS AND ORPHANS: In publishing, a “widow” is the last line of a paragraph that is printed alone at the top of a page. An “orphan” is the first line of a paragraph that is printed alone at the bottom of a page.
WITHDRAWAL LETTER: A letter to a publication or publishing house withdrawing a manuscript from consideration.
WORD COUNT: The number of words in a manuscript. Most word processing programs will tell you exactly how many words are in the document.
WORK FOR HIRE: A job in which the writer is commissioned to write a piece but they do not receive a byline and do not get any rights to the work.
WRITER’S BLOCK: The inability to write for a block of time. It can occur with the inability to come up with good ideas for a story or occur when they are dissatisfied with their efforts in writing it.
WRITER’S GUIDELINES: A set of standard guidelines in which a publication requires the writer to adhere to.
ADVANCE: A percentage of the money paid to the writer by a publisher prior to publication of the book. Advances are paid against future royalties, and money is paid back once the book starts earning royalties.
AGENT: A person who markets your book to publishers. Agents charge a commission that is typically between 10 and 20 percent.
ALL RIGHTS: The publication owns all the rights to the work in all the media worldwide, but not the copyright.
ANTHOLOGY: A collection of short stories written by various authors, compiled in one book or journal.
ASSIGNMENT: A piece of writing that a writer has been assigned to write by an editor or publisher for a set fee.
AUTHORIAL INTENT: refers to an author's intentas it is encoded in their work.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY: The writer’s own life story.
BACKLIST: Books published before the present year, but that are still in print.
BALLAD: A narrative folksong, usually created by common people and passed on orally.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: The list of books, magazines, journals, people, websites, or any other resources that you consulted during research for a book, article, or paper.
BIMONTHLY: Once every two months.
BIOGRAPHY: A life story of someone other than the writer’s.
BIONOTE (Bio): A 2 or 3 sentence description of the author that usually accompanies an article.
BIWEEKLY: Once every two weeks.
BLANK VERSE: Poetry that doesn’t rhyme.
BOILERPLATE: A standard publishing contract, with no changes made by the author or agent. The boilerplate is the baseline and changes are usually made later.
BOOK REVIEW: A summary of a book, including its critique.
BYLINE: The author’s name appearing with his or her published works.
CANON: creative work that is generally considered by scholars, critics, and teachers to be the most important to read and study.
CAPTION: A brief description of a picture, graph, table, or diagram.
CLIPS: Published samples of writings that a nn writer submits when marketing. Sometimes called “tear sheets”.
CLOSET DRAMA: A play written to be read rather than performed on stage.
COPYEDITING: Checking for errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation and word usage.
COPYRIGHT: The ownership by an author of their creative work. Copyright laws recognize the author’s right of ownership of anything that the author writes immediately upon creation.
COUPLET: Two consecutive lines of poetry that usually rhyme and have the same meter.
COVER LETTER: A letter accompanying a manuscript, proposal, or resume that introduces you, your work, and your credits. This letter is short and not typically longer than one page.
DEADLINE: The latest date that a piece of assigned writing is due on for submission.
DOUBLE-ENTRY JOURNAL: A journal with two columns. In the left column are quotes, first impressions and ideas. In the right column, the responses to the notes of the left column are written. Responses include what they remind you of, their implications, and your final thoughts.
DRAFT: A completed version of a work which then may be rewritten, revised, or polished for publication.
DUMMY: Hand drawn mock-up of what a page will look like in print.
EDIT: To review your writing to correct grammatical, spelling, or factual errors. Editing may include shortening it or lengthening it to fit in an available space before publication.
EDITOR: A professional commissioned person who edits and (and sometimes writes) articles for a publication.
EDITORIAL: A short article expressing an opinion or point of view.
ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION: Submission made through e-mail, web browser form or CD/DVD.
ELEGY: A mournful, contemplative lyric poem written to commemorate someone who is dead, often ending in a consolation.
EMBARGO: Prohibits publishing information until a specific date. This is done in journalism to ensure that all media outlets release the news on the same day.
EPIC: A long narrative poem, told in a formal, elevated style that focuses on a serious subject and chronicles heroic deeds and events important to a culture or nation.
EPIGRAM: A short witty poem, usually makes a satiric or humorous point.
E-ZINE: Electronic magazine published online.
FAIR USE: Reproduction of short excerpts from a copyrighted work for educational or review purposes. This publication does not infringe upon the author’s copyrights.
FEES: Money paid to the writer for their works or services.
FIRST ELECTRONIC RIGHTS: The rights to publish a piece of writing electronically online for the first time. Once the rights have been assigned, the piece cannot be published in any other electronic medium until reprint rights can be sold.
FIRST PRINT RIGHTS: The rights to a piece of writing in the medium it’s published in.
FLASH FICTION: A piece of fiction written in less than 500 words.
FLAT FEE: Money paid to the author for their work in a lump sum. The author does not receive any royalty after this payment.
FORMATTING: The manner in which a manuscript is prepared for publication.
FREE VERSE: Verse that has neither regular rhyme nor regular meter. Also called “open form poetry.”
FREEWRITING: Stream of consciousness or writing that is continuous without worrying about form or structure. This informal writing is used to explore thoughts, feelings, or to reflect on a topic or theme.
FRONTLIST: Books being published in the current year.
GALLEYS: The initial typeset of a manuscript sent to the author for review before print. Type size and column format are set, but not page divisions.
GENRE: The type or category of writing – like romance, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, etc.
GHOSTWRITER: A writer who is paid to write anonymously for someone else. A ghostwriter does not get a byline or credit. Usually well-known people or celebrities hire ghostwriters and then they market the book under their own names.
GO-AHEAD: A positive response to a query that assigns an article to you.
GUIDELINES: Instructions for submitting work to a publication.
HAIKU: A three line, seventeen syllable poem, usually about nature.
HARDCOVER: Book bound with a hard cardboard cover and covered with a paper dust jacket.
HIGH CONCEPT: A storyline that can easily be described in one sentence that is unique and commercially viable.
HOOK: A narrative method that grabs the attention of the reader to keep them reading.
IMPRINT: Division within a publishing house that deals with a specific category of books.
INVOICE: A record of payment due, given to the accounting department for payment.
JOURNAL: A diary or record of events, feelings, and thoughts usually recorded by chronological date.
KICKER: In journalism a kicker is a sudden, surprising turn of events or ending or a twist.
KILL FEE: Compensation made for an assigned article which was completed but not used or published.
RECORD OF SUBMISSION: A formal record of where and when an author has submitted articles or manuscripts for publication.
REJECTION SLIP: A letter from an editor declining interest in publication of an author’s submission.
REPRINTS: Previously published articles marketed for publication in other magazines or journals.
REVISING: Making changes that improve the writing.
RIGHTS: Ownership for reproduction of a creative work.
ROUGH DRAFT: The first organized version of a manuscript or other work.
ROYALTIES: A percentage of the cover price of a book paid to the author. Royalties are usually paid on a monthly or quarterly basis.
SASE: Abbreviation for “Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope” and that are usually to accompany a manuscript so the editor or publisher can mail it back to the writer.
SELF-PUBLISHING: A branch of publishing in which the author publishes his own works. This cuts out the middleman and ensures the author receives all the profits.
SERIAL: A periodical publication such as magazines, newspapers, or newsletters.
SHORT SHORT: Fiction with fewer than 1,000 words.
SHORT STORY: Fiction with fewer than 7,000 words.
SIDE BAR: Extra information, hints and tips that are put together apart from the main article.
SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSION: To send a submission to more than one publisher or agent at a time. This is may or may not be acceptable to publishers.
SLANT: The bias or angle with which a writer presents information in an article.
SLUSH PILE: Common term for unsolicited manuscripts received by a publisher or editor.
SOLICITED MANUSCRIPT: A manuscript that an agent or editor has requested to see.
STYLE: The manner of expression of a a writer produced by their choice of words, grammatical structure, use of literary devices, and method of language they use.
SUBJECT: The main topic in a sentence, paragraph, essay, or book.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: The standard of guidelines given by the editor or the publisher for submission.
SUMMARY: A short description of the main points of a body of creative work.
SYNOPSIS: Brief summary of a story, manuscript, or book. It is typically no more than two to three paragraphs in length.
SYNTAX: The ordering of words into meaningful verbal patterns such as phrases, clauses, and sentences.
TEARSHEET: Sample of an author's published work.
TERMS: The deal made between the writer and the editor/publisher for the publication of a written work. All specifications are set forth in the contract with terms including the types of rights purchased, compensation and payment schedule, and expected dates of publication,
THEME: The central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work. It is the unification of the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other elements of a work.
TONE: The author’s attitude toward the reader or the people, places, and events in a work set by the elements of the author’s literary style.
TOPIC SENTENCE: The sentence at the beginning of a paragraph, that includes the main idea of the paragraph.
UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS: An article, story, or book that a publication did not request.
VANITY PUBLISHING: A form of publishing in which the author compensates a publisher to publish their work.
VOICE: The style, tone, and method of writing with which an author composes a work.
WIDOWS AND ORPHANS: In publishing, a “widow” is the last line of a paragraph that is printed alone at the top of a page. An “orphan” is the first line of a paragraph that is printed alone at the bottom of a page.
WITHDRAWAL LETTER: A letter to a publication or publishing house withdrawing a manuscript from consideration.
WORD COUNT: The number of words in a manuscript. Most word processing programs will tell you exactly how many words are in the document.
WORK FOR HIRE: A job in which the writer is commissioned to write a piece but they do not receive a byline and do not get any rights to the work.
WRITER’S BLOCK: The inability to write for a block of time. It can occur with the inability to come up with good ideas for a story or occur when they are dissatisfied with their efforts in writing it.
WRITER’S GUIDELINES: A set of standard guidelines in which a publication requires the writer to adhere to.
THE LOGOPHILE LEXICON IS PART OF A
SERIES OF BEAUTIFUL WORDS
A collection of Vocabulary Words & Terms By Kai of www.bykairos.com
The Collection Includes:
A Beautiful Word: Web | Download (beautiful words)
The Logophile Lexicon: Web | Book (words about words)
Defining New Ideas: Web | Book (creativity & design)
Defining the Brain: Web | Downloads (terms of the mind)
INTRODUCTION | TOPIC INDEX | DOWNLOAD
www.logophilelexicon.com
SERIES OF BEAUTIFUL WORDS
A collection of Vocabulary Words & Terms By Kai of www.bykairos.com
The Collection Includes:
A Beautiful Word: Web | Download (beautiful words)
The Logophile Lexicon: Web | Book (words about words)
Defining New Ideas: Web | Book (creativity & design)
Defining the Brain: Web | Downloads (terms of the mind)
INTRODUCTION | TOPIC INDEX | DOWNLOAD
www.logophilelexicon.com