Common terms – Glossary

A list of terms that you are likely to come across in the world of publishing: AB&P – Australian Bookseller & Publisher.

ABA – Australian Booksellers Association.

Agent – Maybe somebody commissioned by a publisher or distributor to sell books to retail outlets or somebody who represents an author’s interests.

APA – Australian Publishers Association (formerly ABPA).

ARP – Australian Recommended Price. Now RRP (see below).

ABiP – Australian Books in Print.

Barcode – A code printed on a product that an electronic barcode scanner can read. Used by publishers, booksellers and libraries to identify, order, sell and manage books using computerised inventory systems.

Binding – the type of cover of a book – generally expressed as either hardback or paperback, but sometimes as cased (hardback) or limp/softback (paperback). © Copyright.

CAL – Copyright Agency Limited.

CiP – Cataloguing-in-Publication.

Copyediting – Checking a manuscript for grammar, spelling and typographical errors, and inconsistencies in style.

CRA – Camera-ready artwork/art. Final film or bromide version of a manuscript, ready for printing, instead of providing the version on a disk.

Discount – A percentage of the book’s RRP is subtracted when supplying the book to a retailer.

Distributor – Somebody who supplies other publishers’ books to retailers.

Extent – The number of pages in a book.

FIS – Free Into Store. The publisher bears the freight costs of supplying books to retail outlets.

FS – Firm Sale. A term of trade under which a retail outlet cannot return unsold books to the publisher or distributor.

Folio – Page number.

Full-colour – CMYK – Printing using the four-colour process, which uses the ‘process colours’ cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black (CMYK) to make any colour.

GNAB – Guide to New Australian Books.

Hard copy – A printed version of a manuscript or other text instead of an electronic copy of the text (on computer or disk).

Imprint page – Usually the reverse page of a book’s title page. Carries information such as CiP data, including a book’s ISBN, copyright line, publication date, and information about the publisher and printer.

ISBN – International Standard Book Number. (It is incorrect to say ‘ISBN’ – use simply ‘ISBN’)

ISSN – International Standard Serial Number.

Legal Deposit – Statutory provision to ensure that copies of all Australian publications are lodged with the National Library of Australia and State Libraries.

Manuscript (MS) – The copy of a book.

NLA – National Library of Australia.

Returns – Unsold books returned to the publisher or distributor.

RRP – Recommended Retail Price. The GST- inclusive price at which the publisher recommends that retail outlets sell the book.

SOR – Sale or Return. Term of trade under which a retail outlet may return unsold books to a publisher or distributor, usually within a specified time frame.

Supplier – Somebody who supplies books to retail outlets. Maybe a publisher or a distributor.

Terms of trade – The terms, including discount and returns policy, under which a publisher or distributor supplies books to retail outlets.

WBN -Weekly Book Newsletter.