Online Book Publishing Terms and Definitions
Several unique terms and phrases describe the features of services we review on this site, some easier to grasp than others. This list briefly defines terms relevant to Online Book Publishing.
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Ratings
Publishing PackageWe ranked each book-publishing package according to its pre-publishing, publishing, marketing and promotional capabilities. We also looked at author resources, the average time it takes the service to publish a book, the number of services you get for your money and the number of free author copies you receive.
Bookselling Reach
We assessed how well a service can help you sell your book by evaluating the wholesale distributors they use, which online retailers carry their books, whether they have their own online bookstore and about how much traffic it receives.
Additional Paid Services
The online book publishing service offers these services beyond the publishing package for an additional fee. We considered the number of additional services available in the areas of publishing, marketing and promotion.
Help/Support
We rated each book publishing service on how well they provide support to their authors, including toll-free phone support, online form or email support, FAQs and whether they offered a digital arena for authors to interact with each other, be it an online forum, discussion board or blog.
Publishing Package Royalties
Direct Sale RoyaltiesA set portion of a sale, earned by the author, from books sold directly through the book publishing service's online bookstore.
Third-Party Royalties
A set portion of a sale, earned by the author, from books sold through stores not owned by the book publisher, whether they are online or brick-and-mortar stores.
Non-Exclusive Contract
Author keeps all rights to the book, including publishing rights, subsidiary rights and so on.
Publishing Package
Number of Free Author CopiesThe number of free copies a book publishing company gives you as part of the publishing package.
Pre-Publishing Services
Editorial Evaluation
An evaluation of a submitted manuscript to see whether additional copyediting is required.
Manuscript Layout/Formatting
The book publishing service takes your manuscript and formats it for publishing.
ISBN Number Assigned
The online book publishing service assigns your book an International Standard Book Number or an ISBN (sometimes pronounced "is-ben), which acts as a unique identifier for your book.
Barcode Creation
The book publishing service creates a small, white label with closely spaced black stripes and numbers below (often called a SKU number), which can be read by a scanner and is used to identify a book within a retail/ inventory system.
Library of Congress Control Number
A unique number assigned to a cataloging record by the Library of Congress. The LCCN is typically assigned to publishers in advance so that the number can be printed on the book.
Publishing Services
Printed in Paperback
The book publishing service can bind your book with a flexible, stress-resistant paper covering.
Printed in Hardcover
The book publishing service can bind your book with a rigid, protective cover. Sometimes referred to as hardback or hardbound, this type of binding is typically made of cardboard, covered with leather, cloth or heavy paper.
Printed in Color
The service can add color to fonts and pictures within your book. The most common purpose for doing so is when you're publishing a children's book with colored illustrations.
Original Cover Design
A book-cover design that utilizes pre-designed elements, but allows for the use of unique photos, graphics or fonts.
Interior Image Placement
A service that allows a graphic or other image to be place within the copy of the book.
Post-Publishing Services
Arrange Public AppearancesThe book publisher arranges scheduled public appearances for an author.
Co-op Discounted Advertising
The online book publisher offers discounted advertising through well-known newspapers and magazines (i.e. The New York Times Book Review, Forward Magazine and so forth).
Full-Color Posters of Book Cover
A service where the book publisher prints full-color posters of your book cover to use at book signings, public appearances and other promotional events.
Single-Sheet Flyers of Book Cover
The online book publisher prints flyers of your book cover for marketing and book promotion.
Invitations w/ Envelops
The publishing service creates custom invitations to invite special guests to book signings or other public appearances.
Business Cards
A service where the online publishing company creates business cards for you to hand out at promotional events.
Bookmarks
The online book publisher creates bookmarks for your book to hand out at promotional events.
Postcards
The publishing service creates postcards of your book for promotional purposes.
Promotional eMail Message
A service where the online publisher crafts a promotional email for your book.
News Clipping Service
A service where the online publishing service provides you with articles about your book published in newspapers and periodicals.
Booksellers Return Program
Typically, a requirement of bookstores, this program allows retailers to return unsold books without penalty.
Offers Author Discounts
A service that allows an author to purchase printed copies of his/her book at a reduced price.
How-to Marketing Literature
Online book retailers that the online publishing services uses to sell books through (i.e. Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Booksamillion.com, Borders.com and more).
Personal Publicist
A service where the online book publisher assigns an individual to handle all of the marketing and promotion of your book.
Press Release Writing
The book publisher writes a press release for you, announcing the publication of your book.
Newswire Services
A service utilized by a book publishing service to get your press release electronically transmitted to the media.
Media Alert Services
A service the online book publisher uses to send your press release to local media newsrooms.
Bookselling Reach
Total Titles in PrintThe total number of book titles an online publishing service has published.
Wholesalers
The wholesale distribution companies the service uses to reach booksellers, librarians, and specialty retailers. Most online publishing services use Baker & Taylor, Inc., Ingram Book Group or a combination of the two.
Online Retailers
Online book retailers that the online publishing services uses to sell books through (i.e. Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Booksamillion.com, Borders.com and more).
Additional Paid Services
Expedited PublishingThe publisher offers a service that allows you to publish you book at an accelerated rate.
Copyright Registration
The publisher takes the steps that are required to get your work copyrighted.
OCR Text Scanning/Data Entry
OCR is an acronym for Optical Character Recognition, which scans and converts paper manuscripts into digitized, editable text. Other services may simply enter the data into a word processing program manually to get a paper manuscript into a digital format.
Ghost Writing
A service offered by the publisher where an author writes under someone else's name with their consent. This service enables people that may not be proficient writers (i.e. celebrities, politicians and others) to publish quality books.
Art for Cover Design
A service offered by the online publisher where an artist specifically creates the graphics and design of your book cover.
Custom Illustration Design
When the publishing service has an artist draw the illustrations specifically for your book.
Audio Book Format
A service where the online publisher recreates your book in audio format.
Help/Support
Toll-Free Phone SupportA free support phone number is available for the online book publishing service.
eMail Support/Online Form
The service provides you with an email address or an online form so that you may contact the online book publishing service.
FAQ
A list of Frequently Asked Questions is available for quick reference. For fast answers, check the FAQs page before contacting customer support.
Forums/Discussion Boards/Blog
An electronic meeting place where authors can post and discuss topics relating to online publishing and promotion.
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