If you’ve spent any time on social media, a bunch of these writing phrases and slang terms will be familiar to you! If you’re new to the writing or publishing world, though, it can become overwhelming. I thought it’d be fun and helpful to collect some of them into a glossary-slash-guide. They won’t just help you in chatting to other writers – publishing pros like agents and editors tend to use these too, so it always helps to be clued up.
Let’s have a look at some writing slang and other industry terms.
Writing slang
- Alpha/beta reader: Readers who provide feedback on an author’s book. Alpha readers usually see very early versions of a manuscript, maybe even a first draft. Beta readers will look at versions that are further along, closer to a finished product. Many authors use “beta readers” exclusively, to mean either of those types of feedback.
- AU: Alternate universe. Usually used in the fan fiction community. Based on an original, but changed in some way.
- Bromance/BROTP: A close relationship between two men/male bonding.
- CP: Critique partner. Someone who provides feedback on an author’s book, typically another writer. CPs tend to swap work with each other, so it’s a two-way process.
- Crit: Critique.
- Drabble: Short pieces of writing without much plot. Usually more reflective and based on characters.
- Gary Stu: The male version of a Mary Sue. A character who is unflawed or too perfect.
- Indie: An independent author, usually self-published.
- Info-dumping: Dumping a lot of information on the reader at once, usually as exposition or “telling”.
- Insta-love: When a couple in a book fall in love instantly, or too quickly.
- LI: Love interest.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: A female character who is bizarre/quirky. She’s often broken and unreachable. They’re used as a device to “teach” a male character a lesson, their only purpose being to help or save the males of the story.
- MC: Main character.
- MS or MSS: Manuscript.
- Mary Sue: A female character who is unflawed or too perfect.
- NaNoWriMo or NaNo: National Novel Writing Month. A writing event that takes place every November. Writers try to complete a 50,000 word book in a month. There’s also Camp NaNoWriMo, a similar event which runs in April and July.
- OTP: One true pairing. A reader’s favourite couple/pairing, even if they aren’t together in the story.
- Own voices (usually as hashtag #ownvoices): Books written about diverse/marginalised groups, by authors who are part of those groups.
- Pantser: Someone who doesn’t outline a story. They fly by the seat of their pants.
- Plantser: Someone who does a combination of outlining and pantsing/flying by the seat of their pants.
- Plotter: Someone who outlines their work before writing.
- POV: Point of view.
- Preptober: The name for the October before NaNoWriMo, when writers plan out what they’re going to write.
- Survival kit: Anything that gets you through the writing process or helps you write. Hot chocolate, coloured pens, notepads, candles, comfy hoodies, pyjamas…
- WIP: Work in progress.
- Word sprint or writing sprint: Timed bursts of writing without stopping. A word sprint is usually focused on hitting a particular word count (maybe writing 500 words). Writing sprints tend to focus on the time you’re given to write (how many words you can do in twenty minutes for example).
- Write-a-thon: An organised writing marathon. Writers write as much as they can in a given time frame, say over twenty-four hours or a week.
- Write-in: A write-in is an event where writers gather to write together. It may be online via a chat group, or at a cafe or venue.
Submission terms
- Acquisitions: When a writer has a literary agent, that agent will send their book on submission to publishers. If the book makes it to “acquisitions”, this means the editor likes it, and it will go to a meeting at the publishing house, where the rest of the team as a group decide whether or not to purchase the book.
- Elevator pitch: A very short pitch of one or two sentences. It summarises your book and makes people want to read it.
- Query/querying: A query is the initial email/letter you write to an agent to pitch your book. Querying is the process of sending out those queries.
- Pitch: A brief summary of your work to hook an agent or publisher.
- R&R: Stands for revise and resubmit. The process of revising after an agent gives you feedback, and resubmitting revisions.
- Slush pile: Unsolicited submissions received by agents or publishers.
Book publishing terms
- Advance: Money given to the author by a publisher to purchase their book. It’s paid before that book is published. Authors need to “earn out” their advance in book sales before they start receiving royalties.
- ARC/eARC: Advance reader copy. May also be called a gallery, review copy, or uncorrected proof. Given out by publishers to reviewers and industry professionals before a book is published.
- ASIN: Amazon Standard Identification Number. It identifies a book product on Amazon.
- Backlist: This can refer to a publisher’s older books, rather than new titles. As an “author backlist” it can refer to older books from the author.
- Blurb: A short description of a book, usually on the back cover. May also be called back-cover copy.
- Blog tour: A virtual tour to promote an upcoming book on various blogs. It may include interviews with the author, guest posts, excerpts, etc.
- Cover reveal: Revealing the cover of a new book for the first time, either on social media or blogs.
- Frankfurt: Frankfurt Book Fair.
- Hybrid author: An author who is published both traditionally and independently.
- Indie/small press: An independent publisher, or a small press. They aren’t part of the major publishing houses.
- ISBN or ISBN-13: International Standard Book Number. Usually found on a book’s barcode. They identify a book product. They’re helpful for booksellers, librarians, publishers, etc.
- HC: Hardcover.
- LBF: London Book Fair.
- Metadata: Data that describes a book, such as the price, ISBN, and title.
- NG: NetGalley. A site where reviewers and book professionals can request digital ARCs to review.
- PB: Paperback.
- Pubbed: Published.
- POD: Print on demand. This means a book is printed as it is needed, rather than in large amounts.
- ToC: Table of contents.
- Trad pub/traditional publishing: The process of traditionally publishing.
- Typesetting: The process of arranging the text on the page ready for printing.
- Self-pub/self-published: The process of the author publishing a book themselves.
- Street teams: A method of book promotion. This is essentially a fan group, which helps the author promote their book online.
Genre specific abbreviations
- CB: Chapter book.
- CR: Contemporary romance.
- GN: Graphic novel.
- MG: Middle grade.
- NA: New adult.
- NF: Non-fiction.
- PB: Picture book.
- PNR: Paranormal romance.
- SFF: Science fiction and fantasy.
- SF: Science fiction.
- UF: Urban fantasy.
- WF: Women’s fiction.
- YA: Young adult.
Editing terms
- CE: Copyediting or copyeditor (see copy-editor below).
- CMOS: The Chicago Manual of Style. A reference book used by editors for guidelines on spelling, punctuation, numerals, capitalisation, etc. It follows US conventions.
- Copy-editor: Copy-editors ensure that text is correct. They look at spelling, grammar, punctuation, consistency, formatting and style.
- Developmental editor: An editor who helps the author develop their story. They look at broader elements like plot, character, world-building, and structure.
- DE: Developmental edit.
- Freelance editor: An independent editor who works with writers to improve their story. They may be developmental editors, copy-editors, line editors, or offer a combination of editorial services.
- NHR: New Hart’s Rules. A reference book used by editors for guidelines on spelling, punctuation, numerals, capitalisation, etc. It’s similar to CMOS, but uses British rules.
- Proofreader: Proofreaders are the last line of defence. They check through text after it’s been copy-edited and spot any lingering errors.
- Sensitivity reader: Sometimes called diversity readers. These readers use their personal experiences to provide feedback on an author’s work. So if an author has included a trans character in their book, they might hire a trans sensitivity reader.
- Stet: In editing, this means to leave something as it stands. Writers may write this to refuse an edit, or to let an editor know they want something retained.
- Track Changes: The editorial function of Microsoft Word – the standard in publishing used to perform edits.
- Query: A question/query for the author, left by an editor.
Other writing slang and acronyms
- AuthorTube: The YouTube author community.
- BEA: Book Expo America.
- BookTube: The section of YouTube dedicated to book videos made by “BookTubers”.
- BookTok: The section of TikTok dedicated to books.
- Book blogger: Someone who blogs about books.
- Book hangover: An emotional slump after reading a book. It prevents the reader from moving on to another book straight away.
- Bookstagram: The book community on Instagram. Lots of lovely photos of books and bookish things!
- DNF: Did not finish. Refers to a book a reader couldn’t complete.
- Feels: The overwhelming emotions/feelings you get when you read or finish a book.
- GR: Goodreads.
- NYALitFest: The Northern YA Literature Festival. It’s run by UCLan.
- POC: Person of colour.
- Readalong: A community event online, where people read a book together at the same time and discuss it.
- Spoiler: Anything that gives away a crucial or important part of the story.
- TBR: To be read. Usually as a TBR pile. All the books you have stacked up waiting for you to read them!
- YALC: London’s Young Adult Literature Convention.
Can you think of any more writing phrases and acronyms I haven’t listed here? Drop them in the comments and I’ll add them! You can subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date with my blog posts, and to receive exclusive content and writing/publishing advice straight to your inbox.
