After being in an industry for a while, there is a natural tendency to speak in code. Acronyms flow freely and can be a foreign language to those new to the conversation.

Below is an attempt to spell out some of the more common acronyms in the publishing industry and some specific to the Christian publishing industry. They are grouped by topic in a rudimentary way but in no particular order. If there is one I’ve missed or you have a correction, please add it to the comments below.

Impress your friends at your next party by confidently saying, “My WIP now has an ISBN, CIP, and a BOB. SLA represented it, and it will be published as a PB, HC, and EPUB. The BCC is nearly complete, and BHP has promised to create an ARC and make sure it is found at BAM and B&N. You really should read my new SF/F!”

Book Related (Editing and Production Lingo)

ARC – Advance Review Copy
P&L – Profit & Loss – The financial report created to determine if a proposed book will be profitable
D&A – Delivery and Acceptance – used in editorial to describe the two stages of a manuscript: delivered and later declared acceptable, which is when advance money is often paid
PubCo – Publication Committee (aka Pub Board) – where the final decision is made on whether or not to offer a contract on a proposed book (I described that meeting in a previous post.)
PB – Paperback
HB or HC – Hardback or Hardcover
EBK – Ebook
MM or MMP – Mass Market Paperback (4×6 trim size)
TP – Trade Paperback (5×8 trim size or larger)
DRM – Digital Rights Management
EPUB – Electronic Publication (now a standard ebook format)
PDF – Portable Document Format
BOB – Back-of-Book Ad
BCC – Back Cover Copy
ISBN – International Standard Book Number
ASIN – Amazon Standard Identification Number (used by Amazon instead of, or in addition to, an ISBN)
CMYK – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (The four colors in a four-color printing process. Read about it here.)
CIP – Cataloging-in-Publication (a program from the Library of Congress to capture bibliographical data on titles not yet published to help libraries)
ONIX – Online Information eXchange – The official term for the metadata information behind every book. Enables “if you bought this, you’ll like this” type of experience online.
ASCII – American Standard Code for Information Interchange (Curious how it is used? Read about it here.)
LOL – What agents and editors did when reading MY manuscript
ROFL – What agents and editors did when reading YOUR manuscript
NYP – Not Yet Published
POD – Print on Demand
WIP – Work in Progress
MS or MSS – Manuscript or Manuscripts (plural)
CMOS – Chicago Manual of Style (i.e., CMOS says …)
OP or OOP – Out of Print
CV – Curriculum Vitae (refers to author’s publication history; some might call it your resume or your sales history but CV is a shortcut)

Industry Related

ABA – American Booksellers Association (now a term to indicate the general market, as different from CBA)
ACFW – American Christian Fiction Writers (refers to both the organization and their convention)
ALA – American Library Association
AWSA – Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (refers to both the organization and their convention)
B&N – Barnes & Noble booksellers (approximately 600 stores nationwide)
BAM – Books-a-Million bookstore chain (260 stores in 32 states primarily in the South, Midwest, and Northeast U.S.)
BISG – Book Industry Study Group
CBA – Christian Booksellers Association (No longer exists. Instead, the acronym refers to the Christian market rather than the general market or ABA.)
CWI – Christian Writers Institute (I am president emeritus. It is owned by Becky Antkowiak.)
CWMG – Christian Writers Market Guide (the annual guide for all things Christian publishing)
ECPA – Evangelical Christian Publishers Association
SLA – The Steve Laube Agency (I had to sneak this in somewhere!)
AYSR – Are You Still Reading this list? I’m impressed.

Publishers and Distributors

BHP – Bethany House Publishers
HC – HarperCollins (And for those of us with long memories, H&R = Harper & Row.)
HCCP – HarperCollins Christian Publishing
IVP – InterVarsity Press
NAV – NavPress
PRH – Penguin Random House
PRH Christian – Penguin Random House Christian
S&S – Simon & Schuster
TN – Thomas Nelson (a division of HCCP)
TYN – Tyndale
WB – Waterbrook (a division of PRH Christian)
ZON – Zondervan (a division of HCCP)

Genre

MG – Middle Grade (usually means 8- to 12-year-old audience)
SF – Science Fiction
SF/F – Science Fiction and Fantasy
YA – Young Adult (usually means 13- to 18-year-old audience)
$$ – Finance books (just kidding!)