Glossary of Publishing Terms

A
Advance A non-refundable payment made to the author prior
to the publication of the book

AE (Acquisitions Editor) An individual within a publishing

company who primarily works to find new authors
and potential titles for publication

AIO (All-In-One) A large comprehensive book over a single

topic. An AIO can either be comprised of existing
Dummies books, or a new book built from scratch.

AR (Author Review) The author’s final edits of the

completed manuscript after receiving feedback from
the editor

Author The individual(s) who write original content for a

For Dummies book

B
Backlist Previously published books that are still in print

Back Matter Contents of the book that appear after the body copy,
including the index, acknowledgements, etc.

BBD (Bound Book Date) The date that the books have been
completely printed and bound at the printer

BOT (Backed Out Text) Formatted Word files from the

previous edition of the book. They do not include
images.

Branding Visual elements of the Dummies brand. This can

include logos, color palettes, fonts, and artwork.

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C
C (Cloth) Hardcover books

Comp Copy (Complimentary Copy) A free copy of the book given

to the author or others for review, publicity, or other
reasons

Contract The document an author, writer, or editor signs for

services provided to Wiley

Copy Editor Someone who edits a manuscript for accuracy in both

grammar and content

Cover Copy The text that appears on the cover of the book, usually
describing the book’s contents and information about
the author

CRD (Consolidated Release Date) The time when the book

is released from the warehouse. The books should be
in stores two weeks after this date.

Custom A co-branded product commissioned by a third party.

Product This may include existing Dummies content or original
content.

CYTD Calendar Year to Date

D
Dummies A global brand that includes books, videos, cheat
sheets, and the website dummies.com

Dummifier Someone who adapts and styles the text provided

by the author to be more reflective of the Dummies

E brand, prior to sending the work to the editor

eBook A copy of the book in electronic format

Edition An iteration of a book. New editions are revised and

updated versions of the original, often containing new
information. Each edition has its own ISBN. 3
F
FD (For Dummies) The brand solely associated with books

First Receipt The date that a book arrives at the warehouse, which
Date is usually two to three days after the Bound Book Date

Fiscal Year Wiley’s fiscal year runs from May 1 to April 30

Frontlist The most recently published books

Front Matter The contents of the first few pages of a book including
the table of contents, copyright information, etc.

FYTD Fiscal Year to Date

I
Independents Refers to any bookstores not owned by large
companies
Index An alphabetical listing of significant words, names,
places, etc. that are mentioned in the book, with their
respective page numbers

ISBN (International Standard Book Number) Each product

is assigned an ISBN. Internally, this number is used to
track revenue by product. For external purposes, the
author uses it to name manuscript and image files.

K
KL/K&L (Knowledge and Learning) A division used by Wiley.
For Dummies books are a part of this category.

L
Laydown Units The initial amount of books to be printed

LWU (Last Week Units) This is a reference to sales

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M
Medium How the book is constructed, usually paperback or
hardcover

MS (Manuscript) Draft Word files sent to your project

N
editor before it goes through layout

NYP Not Yet Printed/Published

O
OP Out of Print

P
P (Paper) Paperback books

Packager An individual outside of the publishing company who

helps create a product using their own resources

PE (Project Editor) An individual within a publishing

company who works with the authors during the
writing process

POD Print on Demand

Print Refers to physical, paper books as opposed to ebooks

Print Run The number of copies of a book printed at a given

time

Proofreader Someone who reads a final draft of the book to check

for errors

Proposal A document completed by a potential author

describing their plans for a new book

Pub (Publication) A “Pub Date” is the publication date.

Pub is also sometimes used as a verb, as in “Not yet
pubbed.”
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R
Reprint When more copies of a book are printed for
distribution. This can be due to demand, or because
a small edit needed to be made to the book. Note: a
reprint is not the same as a new edition, as the ISBN
does not change.

Returns Unsold copies of a book sent back to the publisher

from a reseller

Royalty Money earned per unit sold to resellers. This rate is

based on a percentage agreed upon between author

s
and AE, and listed in the contract.

Sell-Through Units sold from reseller to consumer

T
TA Product line for the technical books

Target Audience A specific group or demographic likely to be

interested in reading and purchasing the book due to
the nature of its topic

Technical Editor An expert in the field who reviews and edits the
manuscript for accuracy

Tipsheets A document summarizing all of the important data

about a book. This is created by an AE and is used by
Sales and Marketing to sell the book.

TK Product line for the consumer-based books

TWU (This Week Units) This is a reference to sales

TOC Table of Contents

Trim Size The height and width of a book, measured in inches

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U
Units Refers to products, usually books, and usually used
in regards to a number. For example, 100 units sold

W
indicates that 100 books were sold.

White Space Space on a page without text or images, often used

aesthetically to make the page appear balanced
and uncluttered