Last week, we covered some basic author-related terms and things that happen to the manuscript, and the people involved. This week, it’s time to tackle some of the stuff that refers to what happens inside the book!
BOOK TERMS:
[X]k: The X is a number, and that number refers to the wordcount of the book. (Thankfully, writing programs do that automatically these days.) The ‘k’ at the end refers to thousand (1,000), like with other number-related usages of it. So a 237k manuscript is a manuscript with 237,000 words.
chap(s): Short for “chapter(s)”! Easy enough and easier to type.
char(s): As like above, this is short for “character(s)”. Again, typing it is easier. Writing social media is all about writing less so the rest of the mystical writing energy is used for Actual Writing.
MC: Acronym for “main character”. There can be multiple per project.
FMC/MMC (& others): Acronym for “female main character” or “male main character” or others.
LI: Acronym for “love interest”—again, can be multiples, and can be typed with possessive, as in “MC’s LI”. Look at you, catching onto the lingo!
OC: Acronym for “original character”. As with above terms, can be pluralized. (OFC and OMC (and others) can be used to refer to “original female character” and “original male character”, but they’re used less commonly, and only in specific circumstances, like writing prompts.)
fanfic: Short for “fanfiction”. Can also be shortened simply to “fic”. This means a written work of someone else’s intellectual property, although 99% of the time it is written for free. Fanfic written of things in the public domain can be published, as everyone rushing to publish their Great Gatsby books have found out this year. (Notable fanfic things you know of include: The Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, and, technically speaking, 50 Shades of Grey.)
longfic: We will actually go into this topic in a later blog post, but this is just a term for longer (fan) fiction. The exact definition of “long” varies, but if you tag something as longfic and it’s 10k, I’m going to set something on fire.
ao3: Short for Archive Of Our Own, a website dedicated to hosting fanfiction to read for free. (Get it, A OOO?) There are other websites that also offer the same thing, but don’t have as short or confusing of an acronym.
ARCs: Stands for “advance reader copies”. They’re copies sent out to specific people, usually bloggers or press people or lucky friends, prior to official release date. They’re a great tool to drum up some media attention prior to release, and also make for really cool collector’s items after the fact.
ebook: I believe it originally came from “electronic book”, but nowadays, it just means a digital-only copy of a book. You can read them on your kindle, phone, tablet, computer, or other ereaders, and come in different file formats, but it’s still a book you read electronically. Ah, technology!
paperback: A paperback is a printed version of a book with a softer cover. There are a couple of different options, but they will always be flimsier than a hardcover. (Lighter, too, which is why I usually prefer them.)
hardcover: For some reason, most books release in this format first, at least from bigger publishing agencies. These are the covers that are at least cardboard-sturdy, heavier, definitely will not bend or rip, and may or may not include a neat dust jacket.
audiobook: Exactly what it says on the tin—a book in audio format! A narrator reads the book to you. Like ebooks, they come in a lot of file formats, and there is nuance to how they’re read, but they are an amazing accessibility option and also great for commutes.
book tour: What I want to do.
