Self-Publishing Glossary: Publishing Terms Explained
In short
This glossary defines 54 terms authors meet when they edit, design, print and distribute a book, in alphabetical order. Each definition stands on its own, and many link to the Harmony Publishing guide that explains the topic in more depth.
Updated October 2026 · By Harmony Publishing
A
- Advance
- A payment a traditional publisher makes to an author before publication, later recovered from the author's royalties. Self-publishing does not involve an advance: the author funds production and keeps the royalties.
- ARC (Advance Reader Copy)
- A pre-publication copy of a book given to reviewers and early readers so that reviews can build before launch.
- ASIN
- Amazon's own product identifier. Kindle ebooks are identified by an ASIN rather than an ISBN, which Amazon assigns automatically. ISBNs for books
- Audiobook
- A spoken recording of a book, read by a narrator and sold through audio retailers and platforms.
B
- Barcode
- The scannable EAN-13 symbol that encodes a book's ISBN so retailers can scan it at the till. It is generated from the ISBN and placed on the back cover. ISBN and barcode
- Bleed
- Artwork or colour that extends past the trim edge of a page so the printed sheet cuts cleanly with no white slivers. A common bleed allowance is 0.125 inch on each outside edge. Book trim sizes
- Blurb
- The short description of a book used on the back cover and in retailer listings to persuade a browsing reader to buy.
- Board book
- A children's book printed on thick, stiff card pages so that very young children can handle it without tearing it. Children's book printing
C
- Case binding
- A hardcover binding in which a rigid board case is built around the sewn or glued page block. It is the standard construction for hardbacks. Book binding types
- CIP (Cataloguing-in-Publication)
- Catalogue data prepared by a library before a book is published so the title can be shelved and found correctly in library systems.
- Copyediting
- Editing that corrects grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling and consistency, and applies a style sheet, once the book's structure is settled. Copyediting services
- Copyright
- The legal right of the creator of a work to control how it is copied and distributed. In most countries it arises automatically when the work is created, and the rules on registration differ by country.
D
- Developmental editing
- Editing that works on a book's structure, content and argument. It is the big-picture pass, done first, before any sentence-level work. Professional book editing services
- Distribution
- The channels that make a book orderable by readers and retailers, such as Amazon KDP, IngramSpark for bookstores and libraries, and ebook aggregators. Book publishing and marketing
- Draft2Digital
- An aggregator that sends one ebook upload to many retailers, including Apple Books, Kobo and Barnes & Noble. Harmony vs Draft2Digital
- Dust jacket
- A removable printed paper cover wrapped around a hardback. Paperbacks do not usually have one.
E
- Endpaper
- The folded sheet glued inside the front and back of a hardcover that joins the page block to the case.
- Epub
- The standard reflowable ebook file format, which adapts to the reader's screen size and settings and is accepted by most ebook retailers. Ebook conversion
- Extent
- The total number of pages in a printed book. Printers print and bind in sections, so the extent is usually rounded to a multiple the printer specifies.
G
- Galley
- An early typeset copy of a book, historically a long printed strip, used for checking before the final pages are produced.
- Gutter
- The inner margin where facing pages meet at the binding, kept wide enough that no text is lost in the fold.
H
- Hybrid publisher
- A company that presents itself as a publisher but charges authors a fee, sometimes sharing royalties. Terms vary widely, so check who holds your rights and how royalties are paid. How to self-publish a book
I
- Imposition
- The arrangement of a book's pages on large press sheets so that they fall in the correct order once the sheets are folded and cut.
- Imprint
- A publishing name under which books are issued. An author can create their own imprint and act as their own publisher.
- IngramSpark
- A print-on-demand and distribution platform that makes titles orderable by a large network of bookstores, libraries and retailers, independent of Amazon. Harmony vs IngramSpark
- Interior layout (formatting)
- The typesetting of a book's pages: trim size, margins, running heads and styles. It is done separately for print and for ebook. Self-publishing packages
- ISBN
- The International Standard Book Number, a unique 13-digit code that identifies one edition of one book from one publisher. Each format, such as paperback, hardcover and ebook, needs its own ISBN. ISBNs for books
K
- KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)
- Amazon's free self-publishing platform for ebooks and print. Ebook royalty options are 35% or 70% of list price, and print royalties are 50% or 60% on Amazon marketplaces. Publishing on Amazon KDP
- KDP Select
- An optional 90-day Kindle ebook programme that includes the book in Kindle Unlimited, and during which the ebook cannot be sold in other digital stores.
L
- Legal deposit
- A legal obligation to send copies of a published book to a national library. Nigeria requires three copies to the National Library of Nigeria, and UK publishers must deposit one copy with the British Library within one month of publication.
- Line editing
- Editing that improves language and style at sentence and paragraph level, sharpening clarity, rhythm and voice without restructuring the book. Line editing services
M
- Manuscript
- The author's complete text before it is designed or printed. Its length is measured in words.
- Margin
- The white space between the text block and the edge of the page. The margin on the binding side must allow for the spine.
- Metadata
- The structured listing information about a book, including title, description, categories, keywords and ISBN, which retailers and search engines use to find and rank it.
O
- Offset printing
- Press printing from plates with a fixed setup, so the price per copy falls as the print run grows. It suits larger runs. Book printing services
P
- Perfect binding
- A softcover binding in which the pages are glued into a squared spine. It is the usual binding for paperbacks. Book binding types
- Permission
- Written consent to reproduce material that is still in copyright, such as quoting a modern Bible translation beyond the quotation limit its publisher allows. Scripture permissions for authors
- Print-on-demand (POD)
- Printing copies only when they are ordered, so there is no stock to store and no large upfront print run. Print-on-demand book printing
- Proof
- A typeset version of the book checked for errors before printing. The final proof is the last copy approved before the print run.
- Proofreading
- The final quality pass that catches typos, formatting slips and layout errors once the book has been typeset. Proofreading services
- Public domain
- Works that are no longer under copyright and can be quoted without permission, such as older Bible translations including the King James Version. Scripture permissions for authors
- Publisher of record
- The entity named as publisher on a book's copyright page and in its ISBN record. Whoever holds the ISBN is normally the publisher of record. ISBNs for books
R
- Returnability
- Whether a retailer may return unsold print copies for credit. Many physical bookstores expect it before they will stock a title.
- Royalty
- The share of each sale paid to the author. On Harmony Publishing packages the author keeps 100% of their royalties. Self-publishing packages
S
- Self-publishing
- Publishing your own book without a traditional publisher: the author arranges and pays for production and keeps the rights and the royalties. How to self-publish a book
- Short run
- A small print quantity, where the setup effort is spread over few copies so the price per copy is higher than on a large run. Single book printing
- Signature
- A folded sheet of printed pages that forms one section of a book before binding.
- Smyth sewing
- A method of sewing the sections of a book with thread before binding, so the pages hold together and lie flat when the book is opened. Book binding types
- Spine
- The bound edge of a book, which carries the title. Its printed width depends on the page count and the paper thickness. Book cover design services
- Style sheet
- A running record an editor keeps of spelling, capitalisation, punctuation and term choices so that the whole book stays consistent.
T
- Trim size
- The finished width and height of a printed book once it has been cut. A5, for example, is 148 by 210 mm. Book trim sizes
- Typesetting
- Setting a manuscript into finished pages. It is distinct from ebook formatting, which must reflow to fit different screens. Ebook conversion
W
- Wholesale discount
- The reduction from a book's list price at which a retailer buys it. Bookstores expect a trade discount and usually returnability.
- Word count
- The total number of words in a manuscript. It affects editing time and price, and for some books the length of the printed book.
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