Glossary
Publishing, in plain words
Every term here is one that comes up while you are in the middle of publishing something — not industry vocabulary for its own sake. Each entry answers the question in the first two sentences.
ASIN
An ASIN is the 10-character code Amazon assigns to every product in its catalogue, including books. It is Amazon’s own identifier — it works nowhere else, and Amazon creates it for you automatically.
Back matter
Back matter is everything after the final chapter: acknowledgements, about the author, appendices, index, and — in a self-published book — the call to action. It is the page a reader reaches having just finished your book, which makes it the most valuable page in it.
Bleed
Bleed is the extra artwork extended past the edge of the page so that when the pages are trimmed, no white sliver shows. The standard allowance is 0.125 inches — about 3mm — on every edge that runs off the page.
Book blurb
The blurb is the description on the back cover and on the store page. It is not a summary — its only job is to make a browsing stranger want to read the first chapter, which is a different task from describing the book accurately.
Book metadata
Metadata is everything about your book that is not the book itself: title, subtitle, author, description, categories, keywords, price and language. In a store with millions of titles, it is most of what decides whether yours is ever seen.
Copyright page
The copyright page is the page on the back of the title page carrying the copyright notice, the edition, the ISBN and any disclaimers. In most countries it creates no rights — copyright already exists — but it states plainly who owns what.
DRM
DRM is a lock applied to an ebook file that ties it to one store account, so it cannot be copied to another device or app. It is chosen at upload, and on most stores the choice cannot be reversed for that edition.
EPUB
EPUB is the open standard file format for ebooks. Inside, it is a zip archive of HTML and CSS — which is why the text reflows to fit any screen and any font size the reader chooses.
Front matter
Front matter is everything printed before chapter one — half title, title page, copyright page, dedication, contents, and sometimes a foreword or preface. It is what makes a book look like a book rather than a document.
ISBN
An ISBN is a 13-digit number that identifies one specific edition of one specific book. Bookshops, libraries and distributors use it to order the right thing; it is a product code, not a copyright registration.
KDP
KDP is Amazon’s free self-publishing platform. You upload a manuscript and a cover, set a price, and the book is on sale in the Kindle store — and, if you want, as a print-on-demand paperback — usually within 72 hours.
Lead magnet
A lead magnet is something genuinely useful given away in exchange for an email address. The exchange only works if the thing is worth the address — which is why a specific, finishable guide beats a generic one every time.
Print on demand
Print on demand means a single copy is printed and shipped only after a customer orders it. There is no print run, no minimum order and no box of unsold books in your hallway — you are paid the difference between the list price and the printing cost.
Reflowable text
Reflowable text re-wraps itself to fit whatever screen and font size the reader is using. It is how nearly every ebook works, and it is why an ebook has no fixed page count.
Royalties
A royalty is your share of the list price after the store takes its cut. On Amazon there are two ebook bands — 70% and 35% — and which one you get depends on your list price and a set of conditions attached to the higher one.
Trim size
Trim size is the finished width and height of a printed book after the pages have been cut. It is chosen before the interior is laid out, because changing it later re-flows every page and changes the page count.
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