Writing community slang, phrases and acronyms
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.