Rights

Publishing rights or copyright, which the author assigns to the publisher in the author contract. Generally, moral rights are not assigned. Specific rights can license use of the work in its original form (volume rights) or in a substantially altered form (subsidiary rights). Across these classifications, rights can also be assigned by market, territory or language. The assignment of digital rights is now an issue with the ebook revolution beginning to take off.

This definition is extracted (and expanded on) from the book Getting Published: A Companion for the Humanities and Social Sciences by Gerald Jackson and Marie Lenstrup.

Author contract

Contract between author and publisher defining rights and obligations between the parties, and formalizing copyright and transfer of the publishing rights from author to publisher.

This definition is extracted (and expanded on) from the book Getting Published: A Companion for the Humanities and Social Sciences by Gerald Jackson and Marie Lenstrup.

Author copies

Copies of a book that are given to an author by the publisher free of charge as per the terms of their author contract. These are among the advance copies sent out at (or even before) publication. Usually, the author contract will prohibit the sale of these copies by the author (or any others bought at the author discount price).

This definition is extracted (and expanded on) from the book Getting Published: A Companion for the Humanities and Social Sciences by Gerald Jackson and Marie Lenstrup. It was first properly referred to in the blog Getting Published in a post on advance copies.

Advance copies

Copies of a new publication received from the printer in advance of the main shipment and sent on to the author, to distributors and other key people (major book buyers and reviewers, for instance). Sometimes, in shorthand form, these are referred to as ‘advances’ but they should not be confused with publishers’ advances (advance payments to authors).

This definition is extracted (and expanded on) from the book Getting Published: A Companion for the Humanities and Social Sciences by Gerald Jackson and Marie Lenstrup. It was first properly referred to in the blog Getting Published in a post on advance copies.

End papers

In a hardback book, the blank pages lying between the start and end of the book pages proper. Sometimes these are coloured and/or decorative. The function of the end papers relates to bookbinding where the sheets are glued in to hide the join between the hardback case and the book block within it and to give greater strength to the binding.

This definition is extracted (and expanded on) from the book Getting Published: A Companion for the Humanities and Social Sciences by Gerald Jackson and Marie Lenstrup. It was first referred to in the blog Getting Published in a post on bookbinding.

Wibbling

On a hardback book, the two-coloured ribbon finishing the tops and bottoms of a set of signatures, also known as head- and tail-bands.

This definition is extracted (and expanded on) from the book Getting Published: A Companion for the Humanities and Social Sciences by Gerald Jackson and Marie Lenstrup. It was first referred to in the blog Getting Published in a post on bookbinding.

Sewn pages/binding

Form of binding where all of the large printing sheets are folded into signatures and stitched together before being attached to the spine material, end papers, etc. This binding is normal for hardbacks and has a much longer lifespan than perfect binding.

This definition is extracted (and expanded on) from the book Getting Published: A Companion for the Humanities and Social Sciences by Gerald Jackson and Marie Lenstrup. It was first referred to in the blog Getting Published in a post on bookbinding.

Spine

The back of a book (not the same as the back cover). This is the book face along which the book block is bound to the cover. Shelved books are usually stored spine out today but in much earlier times books were shelved spine inwards.

This definition is new, i.e. it is not extracted from the book Getting Published: A Companion for the Humanities and Social Sciences by Gerald Jackson and Marie Lenstrup. It was first referred to in the blog Getting Published in a post on bookbinding.

Perfect binding

A form of binding where the gathered signatures of a book are trimmed along their spine edge, gashed or notched then this roughened edge is glued to the inside spine of the cover. Thereafter the other sides of the book block and cover are trimmed to their final size. This binding is typical for paperbacks and has a shorter lifespan than sewn binding because glue becomes brittle and breaks over time. In contrast, the thread used in a sewn binding can last a century or more..

This definition is extracted (and expanded on) from the book Getting Published: A Companion for the Humanities and Social Sciences by Gerald Jackson and Marie Lenstrup. It was first referred to in the blog Getting Published in a post on bookbinding.

Library binding

High-quality sewn binding, usually of a hardback book, using more durable materials. However, the squeeze on library budgets has caused some libraries to opt for cheap paperbacks instead (where these are available), the calculation being that, if the first cheap paperback falls apart, a second copy can be bought (and, later, even a third). The accumulated cost is still less than the cost of buying a book (or rebinding it) with a library binding.

This definition is extracted (and expanded on) from the book Getting Published: A Companion for the Humanities and Social Sciences by Gerald Jackson and Marie Lenstrup. It was first referred to in the blog Getting Published in a post on bookbinding.