Glossary

We’ve curated a glossary of terms regarding all things writing and publishing related. From commonly-used terms to abbreviations, our glossary will guide writers and people starting out in publishing, to cut through the jargon and gain a better understanding. 

Filter by

Full colour
A printing process where four colours (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) are combined to produce complete colour images, artwork and design on pages.
Future perfect
Verb tense used to indicate completion in the future of something that is currently not complete, for example, By this time tomorrow he will have left.   A more extensive list of grammatical terms is included in The Right Word: A Writer’s Toolkit of Grammar, Vocabulary and Literary Terms (Bloomsbury 2021)  © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2021
 
Genre
Different styles or categories of literature.
Gerund
Noun ending in -ing that is formed from a verb, for example, smoking.   A more extensive list of grammatical terms is included in The Right Word: A Writer’s Toolkit of Grammar, Vocabulary and Literary Terms (Bloomsbury 2021)  © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2021
 
Ghostwriting
When a book is written up by an uncredited writer, from interviews with the credited author or the credited author\'s draft and notes. The uncredited writer will write as if the credited author is the narrator. This is often done for life stories or autobiographies.