It's Good to Know: A Glossary of Writing and Publishing Terms

Making it as a writer has become increasingly complicated, yet increasingly possible, with the advent of the digital age. Gone are the days of a lone author spending hours by candle light pouring his heart out, bundling the pages together, and sending it into the ether. Heck, even since I started sending stuff out in the late 1990s, the whole scene has changed. Facebook didn't exist then. The Internet was still widely distrusted. Printed out, real-world, read-them-in-the-bath copies of your book were the norm if you wanted to submit to an agent.

Not everything in the 90s was quite so amazing. Photo by Tomasz Sienicki

Nowadays we have Kindles, self-publishing, writers' forums, Twitter, e-mail, and heck, even smartphones that do pretty much everything.

There's language to go with all of this. Interviewing Kelsey Macke the other day on her path to getting published, I realised something. For those of us already active in the online literary world, talking the talk is easy. But we've been doing it for years. Those starting out - as we all did, once - are faced with an ever growing list of terms, acronyms and slang that can act as a barrier.

Barriers are bad. Barriers keep people out. That's not what writing has ever been about.

Take this paragraph from Kelsey's interview, quoted here with her permission:

Currently, I write stories for "young people." I refuse to say that I only write YA (even though the only completed manuscript I have is YA) because I also plan on writing MG stories, and trying my hand at the new and oft debated NA category.

YA? MG? NA? They all make sense, as long as you know what they mean (Young Adult, Middle Grade, and New Adult, by the way - all classifications of books by age-range for use in-house and in-store).

Wait. In-house? It can be hard to avoid buzz words. So, let's try to clear a few up, at least.

Book Stuff:

• PB: Picture Book (also, sometimes, Paperback). Books with lovely pictures. Young kids.
• MG: Middle Grade. Book for kids aged approx. 9 - 13.
• YA: Young Adult. Think The Hunger Games. Ages 14 - 18.
• NA: New Adult. You'll see this more and more, but it's not gospel yet. Essentially, college ages. 18 - 21.
• pp. : Pages. As in, how many.

Writing Stuff:

• CP: Crit Partner. Someone you team up with to read each others' work and offer criticism and advice.
• Beta: Beta-reader. Someone you get to read your book once it's done to offer feedback.
• MC: Main Character. Pretty self-explanatory.
• WIP: Work In Progress. The book you're working on at the moment.
• NaNoWriMo. You'll see this one a lot at the moment, since it stands for National Novel Writing Month, a yearly event that runs through November. The aim is 50,000 words, start to finish.

Agent Stuff:

• ms. /  mss: Manuscript / Manuscripts. The full copy of your book. Can be physical, or digital.
• Sub / On Sub: On Submission. You submit your finished book to agents. Thus, you're on submission.
• R&R: Revise and Resubmit. If the agent likes your book, but sees flaws, they may ask you to make some changes and then send it again. Not an offer, but a great thing.
• Exclusive: Agents ask for exclusives if they want to make sure no one else is reading your ms. at the same time. You can say no, if you want. There's no real benefit to the writer.
• Rep: Representation. An agent represents your book to publishers.
• AAR: Association of Authors' Representatives. Professional organization in the U.S. for literary agents, with a code of ethics and conduct.
• AAA: Association of Authors' Agents. Professional organization in the U.K for literary agents.
• Slushpile: The pile (sometimes physical, sometimes not) of mss. waiting to be read. Normally unsolicited.

Publisher Stuff

• Big Six: A catch-all term for the largest publishing houses - Hachette, Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group/Macmillan, Penguin Group, HarperCollins, Random House, and Simon & Schuster. Though Penguin and Random are going to merge soon, which makes it the Big Five, I guess.
• ARC: Advance Readers Copy. Before the official publication date of a book, copies are sent out for reviews and to generate interest. ARCs are not meant to be sold, though they can be traded, won, and given away.

Let me know if there are more to add. Have I left out some obvious ones? Or have you come across some new terms that need defining? Feel free to let me know in comments below. 

SPC

Awesome Writer Interviews: An Interview with Kelsey Macke

As part of a new series here on the blog, I'm thrilled to bring you the first ever Awesome Writer Interview, featuring the inimitable, the original, and the surprisingly turtle-esque Kelsey Macke. Kelsey's a gal with her finger on the pulse of what it is to be an up-and-coming writer, and was brilliant enough to answer a few of my questions. Check out her blog (which also has her interviewing me on it. Crazy!), dig her funky Twitter, and see what she has to say about life as a writer ... well, right here:

Awesome Writer Interviews: An Interview with Kelsey Macke

SPC: So, what kind of stuff do you write? And what led you to that genre?

KM: Currently, I write stories for "young people." I refuse to say that I only write YA (even though the only completed manuscript I have is YA) because I also plan on writing MG [middle grade] stories, and trying my hand at the new and oft debated NA [new adult] category.

SPC: Inspiration-wise, which books, and which authors, have had the biggest impact on you?

KM: I began writing my manuscript, DAMSEL DISTRESSED only a few months after reading John Green's THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. That book wrecked me. After reading it, I found myself hungry for the chance to tell a story that is even stocked in the same bookstore as that one.

I also love JK Rowling, of course. I'm a lover of much kids lit, including books by Matthew Kirby, Darren Shan, Stephanie Perkins, and Suzanne Collins.

One of these people is not John Green

SPC: Let's talk social media. You blog! You Tweet (you Twit?)! Have you found it helpful? Would you advise writers just starting out to get involved online?

KM: I have been an Internet addict for at least 8 years. (I've been blogging for over TEN!) You can look up your twitter user number which lists members according to when they joined. My number is 5,418,192. The site passed 500 million this summer.

I LOVE social networking, and I have accounts all over the wide spanning web. I think that social networking is KEY for authors who have been published. I think it is important to a lesser extent to aspiring authors because it's so easy to waste time "networking" instead of, oh, let's say... ACTUALLY WRITING.

So, yes, if you can manage your time well, and want to begin the incredible process of networking, I'd recommend twitter to all of those aspiring artists.

SPC: Three writing tips. Go!

KM: Hmmm. So silly because I'm certainly not an expert. :)

First, don't force it. Words that come naturally are often the most important ones.

Second, follow your instincts. I don't do everything the way I'm SUPPOSED to, but I'm true to myself and that has resulted in plenty of awesome coming my way.

Lastly, don't write on an island. UNLESS YOU CAN ACTUALLY GO TO A TROPICAL ISLAND IN WHICH CASE WHY ARE YOU STILL READING THIS--GO TO THE ISLAND! But seriously, connect with other writers and share your experiences. Going it alone is awfully hard, and wouldn't ever work for me personally. Find CPs [crit partners] and betas [people to read your book] and friends and share the journey together.

SPC: You had a great post on your blog a while ago about making your own writers retreat. Got any other habits to share? How do you tend to write? [The post, by the way, can be found here]

KM: I write in bursts. Sometimes I can only squeak out a few hundred words and other times I lock myself up for 3 days straight and write ten thousand. I try to always be patient and flexible with myself.

SPC: I know you're knee-deep in revisions and edits right now. How's that going?

KM: They're OFF! I finished requested revisions and sent them to their respective destinations. I blogged just a couple of days ago about how HORRIBLE it is to wait for responses. But I hope that the feedback is positive and helps me get to the next step.

SPC: What's the last book you loved?

KM: The last book I LOVED (other than the manuscripts of some of my stupidly talented pre-pub friends) was DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Taylor. I can't wait to dig into the sequel, DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT.

SPC: I have to ask - there are some wonderful pictures going round right now of you dressed as a TMNT. Just for kicks?

KM: I teach middle school! 6th - 8th grade! This means we have lots of school activities that are silly and exciting for the kids! It was "twin day" and since my pals and I can't follow directions, we decided to go as a foursome instead, hence the ninja turtle costume. I was Raphael. Obviously. Cause he's awesome.

Awesome is certainly the word ...

SPC: Submitting your stuff to agents, what have you learned that you'd love to share with others?

KM: I've learned that you'll always have to wait... at least a little bit. I've also learned that agents really are just people. You click with some... you don't with others. You need them as much as they need you, and you shouldn't settle for just anyone. Ideally you'll be working together for much of your career. Choose wisely.

SPC: Open question! Anything you wanna say - cute kitten pictures to share, political platforms to expound?

KM: I'll just leave you with a thank you for the interview and the friendship, Simon! You've been such an inspiration and I'm so happy the interwebs landed us in the same boat!

Also, CHIN UP, writers! Keep fighting the good fight! :)

Thanks, Kelsey, for being such a good sport. What did you think, guys? Here's hoping it's not too long before her book is adorning shelves worldwide. Kelsey's interview of me can be found over on her blog, and if you want to get involved being / getting interviews, just get in touch. SPC.

Publication, Competition, Participation

Normality returns, slowly, to the east coast - though it's not here yet. Not by a long shot. I spent yesterday working on Staten Island, doing a tiny, tiny percentage of the clean up work that's left to be done.

On that topic, it's important I announce here that the competition I ran the other week - the book giveaway - is not going ahead. Instead, the money I would have spent has gone to Sandy relief. I feel OK doing this since nobody who entered had to put themselves out; it was retweets and blog comments to enter. If you want to discuss the morals of this, get in touch. Otherwise, no 'winner' when so many have lost so much.

News to be shared: My short story, THE STORYTELLER'S JIG, is going to be published. Coming from Indigo Ink Press next May, Modern Grimmoire is an anthology of modern fairy tales in the style of the Brothers Grimm. I'm very pleased to have my story included. It's a strange little piece, but I'm proud of it, and having others read it only makes me even happier. A full list of the other contributors can be found here.

A small change to the blog, too. There's now a Short Stories page, just to the left of this. Wanting to make more of my writing available, and to collect the various blog chain pieces I have. Feel free to read the stories.

I'm also taking part in Kelsey Is Writing's #SipSwap funpalooza - a great bloggy adventure (blogventure?) where you give a mug to get a mug from various kooky and quirky people around the U.S. Already have a great idea for the mug I'll be sharing - what will I be getting in return? Do check out her blog - she's a writer with real passion and a great handle on how it works in a community. Go, read.

So, much on at the moment, and the WIP progresses nicely, too. Still no title. Hmm.

SPC

This Morning

The Sound of Trees

I wonder about the trees.

Why do we wish to bear

Forever the noise of these

More than another noise

So close to our dwelling place?

We suffer them by the day

Till we lose all measure of pace,

And fixity in our joys,

And acquire a listening air.

They are that that talks of going

But never gets away;

And that talks no less for knowing,

As it grows wiser and older,

That now it means to stay.

My feet tug at the floor

And my head sways to my shoulder

Sometimes when I watch trees sway,

From the window or the door.

I shall set forth for somewhere,

I shall make the reckless choice

Some day when they are in voice

And tossing so as to scare

The white clouds over them on.

I shall have less to say,

But I shall be gone.

Robert Frost

Always Keep Going

My usual blogging schedule has been off for a few days. After Sandy took out our power I was without my laptop - and even once it was returned, there's been much to do. The coast around here - areas called Union Beach and Keyport especially - and Staten Island in NYC have been devastated. That's not too strong a word to use. I've visited those three areas in person, and will be going back this weekend.

Naturally, I encourage anyone reading this to either donate financially, or through giving the most needed food and goods. I leave it up to you to work out what that means, and which charities, if any, you feel comfortable getting behind.

NaNoWriMo is in full swing, now! But not for me. It might sound like a cop out excuse, but the lack of power at the beginning, and the sudden pressure on my time, means I'm not really in a state to do it.

But I wanted to offer a small encouragement to those who are.

Two years ago, living in Japan, I did NaNoWriMo. It was a book I'd had the idea for for a long time, but it had just sat there, gaining dust and slowly growing. NaNo gave me the impetus to get down to it, and the community to drive me forward.

That book is now agented and on submission, right now, to publishers in the U.S. and the UK. So what's my point?

Believe.

It can happen. The frustration and the edits are worth it. Ditto the late nights and the moments when you're convinced that no one - in all history - has written such a piece of trash, that this plot couldn't ever have made sense - what were you thinking? - and that you might as well quit.

Don't quit. Don't.

Write, write, write. Write because you can, and because if no one else in the entire world believes in this book, you should. You're the one to write it. And you never know what the future holds.

Heck, I live in the U.S. now. I lived through the March 2011 earthquake in Japan and now I lived through Superstorm Sandy in New Jersey. Who knows what's yet to come?

Believe. Write. Live.

I don't want this to sound like a load of trite pick me ups and meaningless platitudes. But I know how frustrating writing can be, and I know that sometimes we need others to point out what we're aiming for. Your book can happen, if only you write it. So go on. Do it. Write!