Publishing Jargon Busting

Posted on October 19, 2021

Being surrounded by buzzwords and jargon is intimidating at the best of times. Add in the complexities of the publishing world and it becomes a real barrier for anyone wanting to write and publish a book for the first time.

So for today’s Writer’s Club post, we’re busting some of the jargon down into something a bit more understandable!

Manuscript

Traditionally the handwritten text of your book, now more generally used for typed copy too – which should really be called a typescript.

House style

House-style relates to how the text looks within the book – how paragraphs, titles, subtitles, and such are laid out.

Editorial style

Editorial style relates to how the words appear in the book. This includes punctuation, grammar, capitalisation, how numbers are written, abbreviations, etc. Many British publishers follow a similar style to New Hart’s Rules (including us).

Recto

The right-hand page of a double-page spread (two pages side by side), which has an odd page number. New sections or chapters of a book always start on a recto.

Verso

The left-hand page of a double-page spread (two pages side by side), which has an even page number.

Epigraph

A relevant quotation that is usually at the start of a book or chapter.

Keep an eye on our Writers’ Club posts for more jargon-busting and writing tips to help you on your publishing journey. Got advice to share? Let us know in the comments over at @marylebonepublishing.