# Book Publishing Glossary — 59 Terms Defined

> Source: https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary

Last updated: 2026-09-06

This glossary defines 59 terms from book publishing, typesetting, printing and selling — trim size, bleed, gutter, casewrap, lie-flat binding, ISBN, royalty, EPUB, finished hour — each in one plain sentence, then a short explanation with the standard numbers, and a note on how it works in Bindery, Infinite Library’s book studio. Every page listed here is also available as markdown: append `.md` to its URL, or request it with `Accept: text/markdown`.

## Manuscript & structure

- [ARC (advance reader copy)](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/arc) — An ARC (advance reader copy) is a pre-publication copy sent to reviewers, booksellers and bloggers, marked “uncorrected proof” and not for sale.
- [Back matter](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/back-matter) — Back matter is everything after a book’s main text: epilogue, appendix, notes, glossary, bibliography, index, acknowledgements and colophon.
- [Blurb](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/blurb) — A blurb is either the back-cover copy that sells a book in 100–200 words, or a short endorsement from another author or critic printed on the cover.
- [Chapter](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/chapter) — A chapter is a numbered or titled section of a book; most novel chapters run 1,500–5,000 words and open on a new page with extra space above the heading.
- [Colophon](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/colophon) — A colophon is a brief note at the end of a book naming the typefaces, paper, printer and design — a tradition that dates to the first printed books.
- [Copyright page](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/copyright-page) — The copyright page is the verso of the title page: the © notice, edition and printing, ISBN, publisher or imprint, credits and any disclaimers.
- [Dedication](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/dedication) — A dedication is a short line honouring a person, placed alone on a recto page in the front matter, without a heading, typically after the copyright page.
- [Epigraph](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/epigraph) — An epigraph is a short quotation opening a book, part or chapter to set its tone; quoting living authors or song lyrics usually needs permission.
- [Front matter](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/front-matter) — Front matter is everything before a book’s main text — half title, title page, copyright page, contents, preface — numbered in roman numerals.
- [Manuscript](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/manuscript) — A manuscript is the author’s complete text of a book before it is edited, typeset and published — today usually a Word document or similar file.
- [Novella](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/novella) — A novella is a short novel of roughly 17,500–40,000 words; a novelette runs 7,500–17,500, under the SFWA definitions most publishers use.
- [Part](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/part) — A part is a group of chapters — Part One, Part Two — announced by its own title page, marking a large shift in time, place, point of view or act.
- [Word count](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/word-count) — Word count is the number of words in a manuscript — the trade’s measure of a book’s length, because page count depends on trim size and typesetting.

## Typesetting & layout

- [Bleed](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/bleed) — Bleed is artwork extended 0.125 in (3 mm) past the trim edge so that, after cutting, colour or images reach the very edge of the page with no white sliver.
- [Drop cap](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/drop-cap) — A drop cap is an enlarged first letter that drops two or more lines into a chapter’s opening paragraph — a decorative signal that a section begins.
- [Embedded fonts](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/embedded-fonts) — Embedded fonts are typeface data packed inside a PDF so it prints identically anywhere; PDF/X requires every font to be embedded, usually as a subset.
- [Folio](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/folio) — A folio is a printed page number; a blind folio is counted but not printed, and a drop folio sits at the foot of a chapter opener.
- [Gutter](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/gutter) — The gutter is the inner margin where two facing pages meet at the spine; it is set wider than the outer margin because the binding swallows part of it.
- [Hyphenation](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/hyphenation) — Hyphenation breaks a word across two lines at a syllable boundary so justified text keeps even spacing; good settings allow at most three in a row.
- [Justification](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/justification) — Justification aligns text to both margins by varying the spaces between words; ragged-right (left-aligned) text keeps the word spaces even instead.
- [Kerning](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/kerning) — Kerning is adjusting the space between two particular letters, such as A and V, so the gap looks even; tracking changes spacing across a whole word.
- [LaTeX](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/latex) — LaTeX is a typesetting system built on TeX: plain-text markup compiled to PDF, prized for paragraph-level line breaking, hyphenation and mathematics.
- [Leading](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/leading) — Leading is the baseline-to-baseline distance between lines of type, in points; body text is usually set at 120–145% of the type size, e.g. 11/14.
- [Ligature](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/ligature) — A ligature is one glyph joining two or more letters — fi, fl, ff, ffi, ffl — where the separate shapes would collide; typesetting software inserts them.
- [Margins](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/margins) — Margins are the blank space around a page’s text block; trade books use about 0.5–1 in per side, the inner margin widened to survive the binding.
- [Recto and verso](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/recto-and-verso) — Recto is the right-hand page of an open book and verso the left; rectos carry odd page numbers and are where parts and chapters traditionally begin.
- [Running head](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/running-head) — A running head is the line repeated at the top of each page — usually the book title on the left and the chapter title on the right, with the folio.
- [Trim size](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/trim-size) — Trim size is the finished width and height of a book’s pages after the edges are cut — 6 × 9 in and 5.5 × 8.5 in are the most common trade sizes.
- [Typesetting](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/typesetting) — Typesetting is turning a manuscript into finished pages: choosing typeface, size, leading, measure and margins, then breaking lines and pages well.
- [Widows and orphans](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/widows-and-orphans) — A widow is a paragraph’s last line stranded at the top of a page; an orphan is its first line left alone at the bottom. Good typesetting removes both.

## Printing & binding

- [Barcode (EAN-13)](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/barcode) — A book’s barcode is the ISBN encoded as EAN-13, often with a five-digit price add-on, printed low on the back cover for shops and warehouses to scan.
- [Board book](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/board-book) — A board book is a children’s book printed on thick laminated paperboard — sturdy enough for babies and toddlers to chew — usually 10 to 24 pages long.
- [Casewrap hardcover](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/casewrap-hardcover) — A casewrap hardcover has its cover art printed and laminated straight onto the boards, with no dust jacket — the standard print-on-demand hardcover.
- [CMYK vs RGB](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/cmyk-vs-rgb) — RGB is the additive colour model of screens; CMYK is the four-ink model of printing presses. Vivid RGB colours often dull when converted to CMYK.
- [DPI (dots per inch)](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/dpi) — DPI is print resolution in dots per inch; book images need 300 pixels per inch at their printed size, so a 6-inch-wide photo needs 1,800 pixels across.
- [Dust jacket](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/dust-jacket) — A dust jacket is the removable printed paper wrapper around a hardcover, with folded flaps that carry the blurb, author biography and price.
- [Lie-flat binding](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/lie-flat-binding) — Lie-flat binding — coil, spiral or wire-o — threads the pages onto a coil through punched holes so the book opens completely flat or folds back on itself.
- [Paper weight (GSM / lb)](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/paper-weight) — Paper weight is stated in gsm or US pounds; book interiors are typically 50–60 lb (75–90 gsm) and covers 80–100 lb or 10–12 pt board.
- [Perfect binding](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/perfect-binding) — Perfect binding glues the pages’ milled spine edge into a wrap-around cover — the standard paperback construction, typically for books of 32 to 800 pages.
- [Preflight](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/preflight) — Preflight is the automated check of a print file — fonts, image resolution, colour, bleed, page size and count — so faults are caught before printing.
- [Print on demand](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/print-on-demand) — Print on demand (POD) prints a book only after it is ordered, one copy at a time, so there is no print run, no inventory and no minimum quantity.
- [Print-ready PDF (PDF/X)](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/print-ready-pdf) — A print-ready PDF is a file the printer can use as-is: fonts embedded, 300-dpi images, bleed included, correct page size and colour, ideally PDF/X.
- [Proof copy](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/proof-copy) — A proof copy is a test copy, digital or printed, checked for layout, colour, trim and errors before a book is approved for sale or a full print run.
- [Saddle stitch](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/saddle-stitch) — Saddle stitch binds a booklet by folding sheets, nesting them and stapling through the fold; page counts are multiples of four, up to about 48 pages.
- [Spine width](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/spine-width) — Spine width is the thickness of a book’s bound edge — page count times paper thickness; a 300-page paperback on cream stock is about 0.75 in (19 mm).
- [Watermarked proof](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/watermarked-proof) — A watermarked proof is a typeset PDF with a visible overlay: readable and shareable for review, but not the clean file the printer needs.
- [Wrap cover](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/wrap-cover) — A wrap cover is the single print file holding back cover, spine and front cover side by side, plus bleed, sized from the trim and the spine width.

## Publishing & selling

- [AI credits](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/ai-credits) — AI credits are the unit an AI book studio spends on generating text, images and narration, so pricing follows use; in Bindery, proofs stay free.
- [Imprint](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/imprint) — An imprint is the publisher name on a book’s title page, spine and copyright page; big houses run many, and self-publishers often create their own.
- [ISBN](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/isbn) — An ISBN is the 13-digit International Standard Book Number for one edition of a book in one format; paperback, hardcover and ebook each need one.
- [Returns (returnable books)](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/returns) — Returns are unsold copies a bookshop sends back to the publisher for full credit; most physical bookshops only stock books that are returnable.
- [Royalty](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/royalty) — A royalty is the author’s share of each sale, a percentage of list price or net receipts; trade deals pay about 10–15% on print, 25% of net on ebooks.
- [Storefront (author storefront)](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/storefront) — A storefront is an author’s own sales page for a book, selling the paperback, ebook or audiobook direct to readers with no retailer taking a cut.
- [Wholesale discount](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/wholesale-discount) — The wholesale discount is the percentage off list price a publisher gives the trade; the full rate is 55%, and bookshops expect at least 40%.

## Audio, ebook & formats

- [EPUB](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/epub) — EPUB is the open ebook standard — a ZIP of XHTML and CSS that reflows to any screen — accepted by Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play and Amazon KDP alike.
- [Finished hour (audiobook)](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/finished-hour) — A finished hour is one hour of final, edited audiobook audio — the unit narrators charge by and stores list; about 9,300 words of text make one.
- [Narrator (audiobook)](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/narrator) — The narrator is the voice performing an audiobook — one reader, a full cast, or a synthetic or cloned voice — and the main reason listeners finish it.
- [Reflowable vs fixed layout](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/reflowable-vs-fixed-layout) — A reflowable ebook repaginates to the reader’s screen and font size; a fixed-layout ebook locks each page’s design, as picture books and comics need.
- [Translation edition](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/translation-edition) — A translation edition is a book’s complete version in another language — its own text, ISBN and typesetting — rather than a raw machine rendering.

## Related

- [Writing guides](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/guides)
- [Book tools](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/tools)
- [Book formats](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/formats)
- [Book calculators](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/calculators)
- [Help center & FAQ](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/faq)
- [Bindery — the Claude-powered book studio](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/bindery)

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