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. 

Rhetorical question
A question which is not intended to be answered but is instead used to emphasise a point.   A more extensive list of literary terms, with quotations from fiction and non-fiction sources showing the terms in use, is included in The Right Word: A Writer’s Toolkit of Grammar, Vocabulary and Literary Terms (Bloomsbury 2021)  © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2021
 
Rights manager
A person who negotiates and co-ordinates rights sales (e.g. Subsidiary or translation) and often travels to book fairs to negotiate these.
Royalties
Money paid to a writer for the right to use his or her property (the work), usually a percentage of sales or an agreed amount per sale.
Royalty split
How the royalty proceeds are divided between multiple authors or author and illustrator.
Royalty statement
A statement document from a publisher showing the royalty amount due to an author.