Instead of presenting an alphabetical list of terms, we’re going to discuss the process of getting ink on paper and what’s involved, defining the words as we go. I’ll underline each new term and define it in parens right after. (If you really want a list, there are plenty of websites out there, but I find reading a dictionary rather disconnected from reality.)
After you’ve finished writing your ms (manuscript), you can start laying out (the process of making your text look like a book) your book. The first step is to decide what physical size book you want, how tall, how wide, how thick. There are a variety of trim sizes (physical size of book in reader’s hand) available, but most paperback books intended for entertainment come in three sizes: 6 x 9 trade (paperback version of previously released hardback book), 5 ½ x 8 ½ digest (magazine sized book), or 4 ¼ x 7 mass market (cheaper version, often sold in racks at airports and drugstores).
Pages
Once you’ve set the size of the page, you need to address the margins (white space surrounding your text on the page) and gutters (extra space on the spine side of the page to account for the binding). Set your word processor to Facing Pages or Book Fold, then adjust the margins and gutters to about ½ inch all around with an extra ½ to ¾ added into the gutter, even more if it’s a thick book.
Check your running headers and footers (text at the top and bottom of each page outside the content, often has author name and title of book, or chapter and section name). See that they are in the right places. Now is a good time to review the page numbers, too.
Verify that your justification (alignment of text lines on the right and left sides), indentation (alignment of first line of a pgph), and pgph spacing (extra space added between pgphs) is correct. Typically fiction uses left justification, small indents, and no spacing between pgphs, whereas non-fiction uses full justification, block indent (all lines even with each other), and a small space between pgphs. Make certain to not mix the two styles in the same ms.
Keep line spacing (aka leading, pronounced “ledd-ing” because it used to refer to adding strips of lead between the physical lines of type) between 1.15 and 1.25 for ease of readability. (For a ms to be edited, use 1.5 or 2, so there’s enough room for the editor to write comments.)
Zoom back
Now you can zoom back and take a long distance view of your page. Inspect every page for widows (last line of a pgph at the top of a page) and orphans (first line of a pgph at the bottom of a page or last few words of a pgph on a line by themselves). Clean those up by tweaking the line or character spacing in earlier pgphs.
That should take care of most issues found in poorly produced books…at least the appearance. We can address the actual content later.