Publishing and Book Abbreviations
42 abbreviations · part of Arts & Entertainment Abbreviations
Abbreviations used by publishers, authors, editors, librarians, booksellers and readers: identifiers such as ISBN and ISSN, manuscript and production shorthand, book formats, genre labels such as YA and SFF, reader slang from Goodreads and BookTok, and comic-book industry terms. Standard identifiers are governed by international ISO standards, while reader slang varies by community.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ARC | Advance reader copy | Prepublication edition of a book, often uncorrected, sent to reviewers, booksellers, librarians and influencers to build buzz before release. |
| ASIN | Amazon Standard Identification Number | Ten-character alphanumeric code Amazon assigns to each product in its catalog, used to identify listings, variations and advertising targets. |
| BISAC | Book Industry Standards and Communications | Subject-heading codes used by booksellers and distributors to classify books by topic, such as FIC009000 for fantasy fiction. |
| CGC | Certified Guaranty Company | Florida company that grades and authenticates comic books on a 10-point scale and seals them in tamper-evident plastic cases, nicknamed slabs. |
| CIP | Cataloging in Publication | Library of Congress program that prepares a catalog record for a book before it is published, so the record can be printed on the copyright page and libraries can… |
| CMOS | Chicago Manual of Style | Names the style guide published by the University of Chicago Press, used widely in book publishing, history and the humanities. |
| DC | DC Comics | American comic book publisher of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Justice League, one of the two largest US comics companies with Marvel. |
| DNF | Did not finish | Result code for a competitor who started a race or event but did not complete it, because of injury, mechanical failure, a crash or withdrawal. |
| DOI | Digital Object Identifier | A permanent identifier assigned to a journal article, book chapter, dataset or other digital object, allowing it to be found even if its web address changes. |
| FCBD | Free Comic Book Day | Annual event, usually on the first Saturday in May, when participating comic shops give away specially printed comics to attract new readers. |
| FMC | Female main character | The primary female character in a romance novel or romantic storyline, often the narrator. |
| HC | Hardcover | Book bound with rigid covers, usually with a paper dust jacket, often the first edition of new adult fiction and nonfiction. |
| HEA | Happily ever after | Romance-genre promise that the central couple ends the story together and committed, a requirement for a book to count as romance under common genre definitions. |
| HFN | Happy for now | Romance ending in which the couple is together and happy but without a firm long-term commitment, such as marriage. |
| ISBN | International Standard Book Number | Unique 13-digit identifier assigned to each edition and format of a book, so the hardcover, paperback, e-book and audiobook of the same title each get their own number. |
| ISSN | International Standard Serial Number | An eight-digit code identifying a serial publication, such as a journal, magazine, newspaper or annual, rather than any single issue. |
| KDP | Kindle Direct Publishing | Amazon's self-publishing platform, which lets authors publish e-books and print-on-demand paperbacks and hardcovers for sale on Amazon worldwide. |
| KU | Kindle Unlimited | Amazon subscription service, launched in 2014, giving readers unlimited access to a large catalog of e-books and audiobooks for a monthly fee. |
| LCCN | Library of Congress Control Number | Unique number the Library of Congress assigns to a book's catalog record, used by US libraries to find and share bibliographic data. |
| LCS | Local comic shop | Neighborhood store that sells comic books, graphic novels and related merchandise, where fans pick up weekly releases and reserve titles in a "pull list." |
| LitRPG | Literary role-playing game | Fiction subgenre in which characters live inside game-like worlds with visible stats, levels and skills described in the text. |
| MC | Main character | Protagonist of a story, game, webnovel or anime, often the character the player or reader controls or follows, as in "the MC of this manga." Also used in "main… |
| MG | Middle grade | Book category for readers roughly 8 to 12, between chapter books and young adult fiction. |
| MMC | Male main character | The primary male character in a romance novel or romantic storyline, usually the hero the heroine falls for. |
| MMPB | Mass-market paperback | Small, inexpensive paperback format, roughly 4.25 by 7 inches, traditionally sold in supermarkets, airports and drugstores as well as bookstores. |
| MS | Manuscript | Identifies a handwritten or typed document, or an author's unpublished draft, in citations, archives and publishing. |
| MSS | Manuscripts | Plural of MS, used by publishers, magazines and archives to refer to submitted manuscripts or collections of historical handwritten documents. |
| NA | New adult | Fiction category featuring protagonists roughly 18 to 30 years old, often dealing with college, first jobs and independence. |
| OGN | Original graphic novel | Book-length comic published directly as a complete volume, rather than collected from previously released single issues. |
| OOP | Out of print | Status of a book that the publisher no longer prints or sells new. |
| PB | Paperback | Book bound in flexible card covers, cheaper and lighter than a hardcover. |
| POD | Print on demand | Production model in which items such as T-shirts, mugs, posters and books are printed only after a customer orders them, so the seller holds no inventory. |
| PRH | Penguin Random House | World's largest trade book publisher, formed in 2013 by merging Penguin (owned by Pearson) and Random House (owned by Bertelsmann). |
| SASE | Self-addressed stamped envelope | An envelope addressed to oneself and bearing postage, enclosed with a letter so the recipient can reply or return materials at no cost. |
| SFF | Science fiction and fantasy | Combined genre label for science fiction and fantasy, used by publishers, bookstores and awards. |
| TBR | To be read | A reader's list or pile of books they plan to read, as in "my TBR is out of control." Central to BookTok, Bookstagram and Goodreads culture. |
| TK | To come | Placeholder used by writers and editors for information not yet available, such as a statistic, name or page number, as in "the company employs TK people." The odd… |
| TOC | Table of contents | Refers to the list of chapters, sections and page numbers at the front of a book, report or thesis. |
| TPB | Trade paperback | Collected edition that reprints several issues of a comic series, usually one complete story arc, in a single paperback volume sold in bookstores and comic shops. |
| WC | Word count | Number of words in a manuscript, used to judge whether a book fits its genre's expected length. |
| WIP | Work in progress | Partly finished goods in a manufacturing process, recorded as inventory and valued at the materials, labor and overhead costs incurred so far. |
| YA | Young adult | Book category written for readers roughly 12 to 18, typically with teenage protagonists and coming-of-age themes. |