Publishing has a lot of jargon! Definitions of key terms here:

Auction: a bidding competition between publishers to acquire the rights to publish a book.

Blurb: a short promotional description of a book that appears on the back cover. Blurbs are a marketing tool to encourage readers to buy the book.

Chains: Large bookstore companies under one brand, such as Barnes & Noble, often featuring superstores with extensive titles and amenities like cafes.

Commercial Publishers are for profit publishing companies, not affiliated with non-profit or academic institutions. 

Copy Editing: A detailed review of a manuscript to refine style, punctuation, grammar, clarity, consistency, sequencing, and content errors.

Indie Bookstore: a bookstore that is owned and operated by an individual or group, rather than a corporation.

Layout: The arrangement of the book’s pages, including text, illustrations, font, page numbers, and overall design.

Line editing focuses on the details of a piece of writing, like sentence structure, word choice, and flow within each line, aiming to improve readability and style, while developmental editing looks at the larger picture of a manuscript, assessing plot, character development, pacing, and overall story structure to ensure the narrative is strong and coherent. 

Literary Agent: A professional representing authors and illustrators, assisting them with placing their work with publishers, managing payments, and other responsibilities. 

Proofs: Fully typeset pages of the book reviewed for final approval before printing.

Reader’s Report: a written evaluation of a submission, where a professional reader assesses the submission’s quality, potential market appeal, and overall suitability for publication, usually providing feedback on aspects like plot, character development, writing style, and commercial viability, to help editors make informed decisions about acquiring a book.

Sales Call: Meetings between sales representatives and potential buyers wherein product catalogs are discussed, and Purchase Orders (POs) are placed.

Submissions: Manuscripts or proposals sent by an author or their agent to publishers for consideration.