by Chuck Sambuchino

Working for Writer's Digest Books, I come across a lot of literary terms -- both the common and uncommon.

Because it's healthy for writers of all levels to be familiar with terms they may come across in articles, conversations and contracts, here are some literary terms defined for your enjoyment.

Boiler plate contract (also known as a “standard contract”) – (n.) This term usually refers to an agreed starting contract between a literary agent and publisher. If Agent X sells a book to Putnam, for example, their next deal with Putnam will likely have the same royalty rates and subright splits as the first deal.

Denouement – (n.) French for an untying. The denouement of a novel or story follows the climax; it represents the unraveling of the complexities of a plot, and the clarifying of the story’s details and misunderstandings.

Galley – (n.) A bound version of just the text of the book (or article, if writing for magazines). There is little to no illustration and the cover is a solid color with release data printed on the cover. Used for the same purposes as ARCs (advanced reader copies).

Kill fee – (n.) A fee paid to a writer who has worked on an assignment that, for some reason, is not published. For example, you’re contracted to write an article for a magazine and you turn it in. The article itself is satisfactory. But then the editor calls you and says they are changing the focus of the upcoming issue and they can’t use your article as part of the package anymore. They have no more need for it, so they pay you a kill fee (a percentage of the original promised price -- usually 25–50%) and all rights to the article revert back to you.  Your best bet is to try and sell it elsewhere.

Logline – (n.) A one-line summary of your story.  For example: “A treasure hunter searches for a fabled artifact in the Himalayas.”

Narrative nonfiction – Nonfiction that uses the devices of fiction.  You’re telling a true story, but using things such as character development, dialogue and cliffhangers. Think about it like the movie Apollo 13. The whole story is true, but it’s told in a dramatic fashion, like a fictional story would be. Oft-cited examples of narrative nonfiction include The Perfect Storm, Seabiscuit, In Cold Blood and The Right Stuff.

New adult – a new and growing genre that features protagonists aged 18-26. This age of main character was previously a "no man's land" area between young adult fiction and adult fiction. Characters in new adult fiction are usually in college or just out of school starting their post-education lives.

(Hi, everyone. Chuck here chiming in for a second. I wanted to say I am now taking clients as a freelance editor. So if your query or manuscript needs some love, please check out my editing services. Thanks!)

On spec – Writing a complete assignment before money is assured through a contract. When you compose an original screenplay not commissioned by anyone, it is known as a “spec screenplay.” If you query a magazine or newspaper with an article idea, they may ask you to write it on spec, meaning they want to see the finished product in its entirety before making a decision to purchase and publish it.

Sic – Latin for thus or so. Usually [enclosed in brackets] or (parentheses), sic is inserted after a word, phrase or expression in a quoted passage to indicate that the word or phrase has been quoted exactly as it was written, even though it may seem strange or incorrect (e.g., there was a spelling error in the quote).

Simultaneous submission – (n.) A submission where the writer submits his work to multiple editors or agents at the same time.  Submitting to more than one agent is common (and encouraged). Some agents will only review queries or manuscripts exclusively; however, they should be upfront about this quirk in their online writers’ guidelines, and they should have a limited amount of time to be the only ones reviewing your work (one month, for example).

Stet – Latin for let it stand. Editors and proofreaders place the word stet in the margin of a manuscript to indicate that a marked change or deletion should be ignored, and the copy typeset in its original form.

Vet – (v.) A term used by editors when referring to the procedure of submitting a book manuscript (usually a memoir or exposé) to an outside expert for review before publication. A manuscript is usually vetted at the publisher’s expense.

ABBREVIATIONS

F&G: stands for fold & gather – (n.) The picture book version of a galley. They are not bound but show the picture book in all its four-color glory. It’s then sent to reviewers and the like.

MG: stands for the genre of middle grade fiction.

MS/MSS: stands for manuscript/manuscripts – (n.) The typed, double-spaced, in-a-standard-font version of an author’s work submitted to a publishing house.

PB: stands for picture book – (n.) A book for younger children that has sparse text and big, colorful (or occasionally black and white) pictures. They generally have 32 pages.

YA: stands for the genre of young adult fiction.

ATTRIBUTION LEVELS (JOURNALISM)

On the record – When everything in an interview is fair game to be printed and attributed normally.  This accounts for 99.9% of interviewing for most writers.

Off the record – When a source explains something not for publication by any means, but just as a personal explanation to the interviewer. To be truly off the record, both the source and writer must agree to it. If a source simply says “Off the record” and gives their thoughts without the writer agreeing to stop reporting, then the conversation is not truly off the record, and the writer must determine whether to use the material.

Unattributable – This is the current term for when you quote a source but keep their identity anonymous.

On background – What’s said cannot be quoted nor can the source be identified, but the gist of what’s said may or may not be printed. For example, “A source inside the McCain campaign, who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of this information, hinted that they may be as few as only two names on McCain’s short list of potential vice presidential candidates.”

(These terms and definitions were excerpted from a variety of Writer’s Digest Book titles, including the glossary sections in WD’s market book line.)

Note:
This post is Part 1 of Chuck's debut series here at WITS: Take Your Writing By Storm. Part 2 posts in an hour at 8 am ET: 11 Frequently Asked Questions About Book Royalties, Advances and Money.

About Chuck

Chuck Sambuchino of Writer's Digest Books edits the GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS and the CHILDREN'S WRITER'S & ILLUSTRATOR'S MARKET. His Guide to Literary Agents Blog is one of the largest blogs in publishing.

His 2010 humor book, HOW TO SURVIVE A GARDEN GNOME ATTACK, was optioned by Sony Pictures. Chuck has also written the writing guides FORMATTING & SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT and CREATE YOUR WRITER PLATFORM.

Besides that, he is a freelance book & query editor, husband, sleep-deprived new father, and owner of a flabby-yet-lovable dog named Graham.

Find Chuck on Twitter and on Facebook.

photo credit: greeblie via photopin cc

Big News!

We are absolutely giddy to announce a new monthly blogger - Chuck Sambuchino, of Writer's Digest and Guide to Literary Agents fame!

To celebrate, today we're posting six amazing blogs from his vault of brilliance, and one brand new one. Going forward, Chuck will be blogging with us on the first Friday of every month.

You are going to notice several gems from WITS today, sparkling in your inbox (you've subscribed to WITS, right?). We've scheduled one every hour throughout the morning with a few more this afternoon. It's like your own mini-writing seminar!

We hope you enjoy it. We know we will.

For now, we bring you Part 1:

Literary Terms Defined: The Uncommon and Common

Welcome Chuck! We're delighted to have you on board here at Writers In The Storm.

~ Fae, Jenny, Laura, Orly & Sharla

Writers in the Storm welcomes debut author Debbie Herbert, sharing writing tips on how different types of journals can help you with the initial story, emotion, and even writer's block. And Debbie has generously offered a copy of her debut novel, Siren's Secret, to one lucky commenter. Thank you, Debbie.

by Debbie Herbert

I bet most of us as a child kept a diary that was leather-bound and could be locked with a tiny key (to keep out nosy siblings).  I got hooked on diaries after reading The Diary of Anne Frank.  I loved how she viewed it as her best friend.   Every year my new year’s resolution was to write in my diary every day.

Yeah, you guessed it, about mid- February that diary started having more blank pages than written entries.  And every day was the same old thing – I got up, ate breakfast, went to school, blah blah blah.

Skip ahead a few decades.  I decided I wanted to try writing again and used a journal as a way of easing into a daily writing practice.  But my entries were no better than elementary school ramblings – they contained long lists of things to do, how tired I was from working so hard, blah blah blah.

For inspiration I read Anais Nin.  Ah, now there’s a woman with an interesting life.  But the idea of journaling a la Nin as a literary masterpiece was daunting and promptly shut down my creativity. I eventually learned to be gentle and realistic with my expectations.

The following types of journals and notebooks have helped me over the years in my writing journey.

1.     The on-the-run notebook

I suspect most writers have a portable notebook they carry around.  In mine, I jot down anything that catches my eye or my fancy:  character names, street names, dialogue, bits of description, word plays, puns, etc.  Recent tidbits I’ve written down include: Smut Eye Grill, Fat Girl’s BBQ, Grassbusters lawn care, Booger Hollow Road, Lullwater Street, and the list continues.

2.     Dream journal

I’ve been on and off again with this over the years.  Currently, I’m back on it after attending a dream journaling workshop at RWA13.  I don’t often cull much writing material from dreams, but when I do they are humdingers.  The premise of the first book I sold was based on a dream.

If nothing else, recording dreams will make you more conscious of symbolism, which makes novels so much richer and layered. You can use a free, online dream journal at: www.dreamjournal.net to record your dreams and enter keywords about them.  Over time, you can track your dream’s themes, characters and settings. Also at the site you can read other’s dreams which can provide story ideas.  I read one poster’s dream about a Wiccan Beauty Pageant.  That could make an awesome story!

3. Lists as entries 

My favorite journal device.  I compile such lists as perfume descriptions from women’s magazines and other rich, sensory descriptions. Other types of lists can be more thought-provoking, such as: things that irritate me, things I fear, my bucket list, top twelve milestones in my life, or my top ten fantasy dinner guest list.

4. Writing Tips Notebook

At the start of RWA '13 a fellow writer friend, Mia McKimmy, gave me and Sherrie Morgan a leather-bound journal that has a drawing of a calligraphy pen and the words ‘Just keep writing’ on the cover. I love this notebook and it goes with me now to every RWA meeting and conference to record useful writing information from various speakers.   I also use it when I read or hear a quick tip about writing.  It keeps my craft notes all in one place and has a good ‘feel’ to it.

A recent example of my latest recorded writing tip came from author Cindy Dees after one of those random, serendipitous twitter exchanges.  Cindy had followed me and I followed her back.  That same day, my RWR magazine arrived featuring an interview with Cindy. I tweeted how much I loved the article and mentioned how impressed I was that she wrote 20-25 pages a day.  I mentioned how as a new Harlequin writer, I struggled keeping up with my daily word count goals.  Here’s what she wrote back:  “Don’t worry about upping your word count. Update the intensity of emotions. The word counts will rise as you do bigger emotions justice.” Isn’t she fabulous?  And it’s so true. I wrote it down so I’ll be sure and remember.

5. Book notebooks:

Personally, this isn’t a technique I employ that often, but so many writers do, I had to mention it.  Some enjoy specific WIP notebooks where they have dialogues with their characters, ask ‘what if’ plot questions, and journal other story elements.

6. Traditional/Emotional Journals

I believe writing through a stressful time in your life is not only helpful, but as a writer you can reread entries at a later time and cull the emotional record to incorporate in scenes.

Beyond writing, lots of people use journals for self-development and insight.  One method that has been around since the 1960s was developed by a psychotherapist, Ira Progoff, and is trademarked as an ‘Intensive Journal’ method.  You can read more about the method online and even take a workshop.

Diaries can also be useful in overcoming writer’s block.  Novelist Virginia Wolf recorded in her diary about an internal censor that hampered her writing.  Later, in an essay on ‘Professions for Women,’ she described the censor and how she crushed it.  Other writers have used their journals to hash out their fears causing writer’s block, or entered into a dialogue with their own internal critic/censor.

Experiment and see if using one of these journal devices helps you become a better writer, or if it adds joy to your writing.  Unlike writing novels where I have to be strict about word count goals, I give myself permission to only write in these journals when I’m in the mood.  These are strictly for fun and to help me with specific areas . . . or when I want to word play and write really bad poetry.

Do you use journals or notebooks? I’d love to hear how you incorporate them into your writing.

Debbie Herbert writes paranormal romance novels reflecting her belief that love, like magic, casts its own spell of enchantment. She’s always been fascinated by magic, romance and gothic stories.

Married and living in Alabama, she roots for the Crimson Tide football team. Her oldest son, like many of her characters, has autism. Her youngest son is in the U.S. Army.  Unlike the mermaid characters in Siren’s Secret, she loves cats and has two spoiled feline companions. When not working on her upcoming book, Siren’s Treasure, Debbie enjoys recumbent bicycling and motorcycle riding with her husband.

A past Maggie finalist in both Young Adult & Paranormal Romance, she’s a member of the Georgia Romance Writers of America. Debbie has a degree in English (Berry College, GA) and a master’s in Library Studies (University of Alabama).

Debbie's debut novel, Siren's Secret, will be released by Harlequin Nocturne in November and is available now on pre-order:
http://tinyurl.com/l2wmld9

Do you hear the excitement building here at Writers in the Storm for the rollout of our new guest blogger on Wednesday? Did we mention he's sponsoring a contest for our readers, too? Oh, did I just give you a clue? How about another? Laura Drake has been working long hours preparing the bonus (did I say "the"--how about six?) that will be delivered to your inbox in just two days.