I thought I was familiar with all the abbreviations used in book descriptions until I found this list. Some of these things I’ve never heard of before! They are often used by reviewers and some writers in book descriptions, so I think it behooves ignorant writers like me to at least know what they are.
PNR is the acronym typically used for paranormal romance: Shifters and vampires and mermaids and so much more. Shifters are people able to become various animals. Vampires are simply vampires. It depends on the writer whether they are good or bad. The one thing most of them seem to have in common is drinking blood or sometimes life essence. A few writers of fantasy like Ilona Andrews (husband and wife writing team) treated them as another species (theirs don’t drink blood).
PWF Paranormal Women’s Fiction. These books will have adventure, passion, and LIFE. And they’ll kick ass, just like all our books already do! We are not inventing books with 40+ heroines. We are hoping to define a place for them amongst other genres.
OTP: One True Pairing (the couple that you will root for till the end of time)
NOTP: (Pronounced No-TP) Basically the opposite of an OTP. You do not want this couple together!
BROTP/Bromance: A friendship (between guys) that you adore!
Ship: If you ship a couple, it means that you want them to get together (comes from the word “relationship”).
HEA: Happily Ever After
Book Boyfriend/Girlfriend: The fictional boy (or girl) you only wishcould be your real-life love.
Insta-love/Insta-lust: The phenomenon that happens all too often in books when the couple meets and instantly falls in love (or, sometimes, lust).
Love Triangle: When the main character can’t decide between two romantic partners—most frustrating when this is drawn out for multiple books in a series.
Slash Fiction: A type of fan fiction where two same-sex characters are paired together (often guys). Sometimes slash can just refer to the imagined pairing of two same-sex characters (not necessarily within fan fiction).
OMYM/OWYM: Older man, younger woman/Older woman, younger man
M/M Male/male romance
F/F female/female romance
RH reverse harem – typically one woman several men
MC: Main character (book is told from their POV).
POV: Point of view (the perspective that the book is told from).
POC/BIPOC: People of color/Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
Daphne: A female character who must be rescued all the time (in reference to Daphne from Scooby Doo.)
Mary Sue: A character who is too perfect and/or too good which, strangely isn’t attractive.
Manic Pixie Dream Girl: A type of female character depicted as vivacious and appealingly quirky, whose main purpose within the narrative is to inspire a greater appreciation for life in a male protagonist.
Twist: An unexpected event in a book—typically one that changes the direction of the plot or characters dramatically.
Info-Dump: When the author gives you lots of background information all at once via narration or dialogue.
Bechdel Test: a set of criteria used as a test to evaluate a work of fiction (such as a film) on the basis of its inclusion and representation of female characters. the term was popularized by American Cartoonist Alison Bechdel so it was named after her. Alison Bechdel never claimed to be the originator of the test. In fact, she never gave it a name. She credited her friend Liz Wallace for the idea, but also the work of author Virginia Woolf in her essay “A Room of One’s Own”.
Unreliable Narrator: A narrator whose POV is not trustworthy (could be due to lying, misinformation on the part of the MC, mental health or memory issues, etc.).
GT Agent: a person who acts on behalf of an author, negotiating with publishers and promoters.
Alpha Reader The first reader, usually a non-professional, who provides feedback on a writer’s work.
ANT Antagonist: the adversary or competitor to the hero/protagonist of any story.
APS Associated Press Stylebook: a writer’s and journalist’s reference manual for rules on grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations, and word and numeral usage.
ARC Advance Reader Copy: free copy of a book given by a publisher to media, librarians, or other readers in advance of official publication.
ASIN Amazon Standard Identification Number: Amazon’s unique identifier for each book they sell.
AU Alternate Universe: a fictional universe in which recognizable details are changed to create the story.
Beta Reader A reader, usually non-professional, who provides feedback on a book after a writer has made revisions inspired by alpha readers.
BG Bad guy: the Freddy Krueger, Lord Voldemort, or Darth Vader of your narrative.
BS Backstory: history or background that occurs before the current events of a story.
Character Arc The inner journey and transformation in personality of a character between the beginning and the end of a story.
CMOS Chicago Manual of Style: a writer’s and editor’s reference manual for grammar usage, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations, and word and numeral usage.
Cont Contemporary (genre): a genre that, although fictional, depicts realistic events that could happen in today’s society. An example: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
CP Critique Partner: a writer who provides feedback on a fellow writer’s work.
Drabble One hundred words that tell a story. Drabbles, because of their brevity, demand strong verbs, zero redundancies, and minimal showing. They usually require more time to write than longer stories.
F & SF Fantasy And Science Fiction (genre): make-believe worlds and characters combined with narrative that is based on scientific principles. Think Star Wars by George Lucas, et al.
FF Flash Fiction: very short fiction, usually containing fewer than 1000 words.
FN/Fant Fantasy (genre): stories about mythical worlds often populated by magical creatures. Example: Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling.
GMC Goal, motivation, conflict: important elements for engaging stories.
GN Graphic Novel (genre): stories that are told using a combination of graphic panels and text. Although a graphic novel may be similar to a comic book in format, it usually encompasses an intriguing plot with character growth. Example: the Logan’s Run graphic novels by William F. Nolan, et al.
HC Hardcover
Hook An element that is unique to a story. Always memorable, it may also be controversial.
HR Horror (genre): frightening stories that often include elements of fantasy. Examples: Children of the Corn by Stephen King and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.
Indie An independent writer who maintains creative control and who is not associated with a major publisher.
Juv Juvenile (audience/genre): usually geared to children under twelve years of age. Example: Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White.
LI Love Interest
Logline A brief summary, usually one sentence, that presents the main conflict or storyline, often combined with a hook to stimulate the interest of readers.
LOI Letter Of Introduction
If you think of more, please write in and add to the list.
Abbreviations Used In Book Descriptions
I thought I was familiar with all the abbreviations used in book descriptions until I found this list. Some of these things I’ve never heard of before! They are often used by reviewers and some writers in book descriptions, so I think it behooves ignorant writers like me to at least know what they are.
PNR is the acronym typically used for paranormal romance: Shifters and vampires and mermaids and so much more. Shifters are people able to become various animals. Vampires are simply vampires. It depends on the writer whether they are good or bad. The one thing most of them seem to have in common is drinking blood or sometimes life essence. A few writers of fantasy like Ilona Andrews (husband and wife writing team) treated them as another species (theirs don’t drink blood).
PWF Paranormal Women’s Fiction. These books will have adventure, passion, and LIFE. And they’ll kick ass, just like all our books already do! We are not inventing books with 40+ heroines. We are hoping to define a place for them amongst other genres.
OTP: One True Pairing (the couple that you will root for till the end of time)
NOTP: (Pronounced No-TP) Basically the opposite of an OTP. You do not want this couple together!
BROTP/Bromance: A friendship (between guys) that you adore!
Ship: If you ship a couple, it means that you want them to get together (comes from the word “relationship”).
HEA: Happily Ever After
Book Boyfriend/Girlfriend: The fictional boy (or girl) you only wishcould be your real-life love.
Insta-love/Insta-lust: The phenomenon that happens all too often in books when the couple meets and instantly falls in love (or, sometimes, lust).
Love Triangle: When the main character can’t decide between two romantic partners—most frustrating when this is drawn out for multiple books in a series.
Slash Fiction: A type of fan fiction where two same-sex characters are paired together (often guys). Sometimes slash can just refer to the imagined pairing of two same-sex characters (not necessarily within fan fiction).
OMYM/OWYM: Older man, younger woman/Older woman, younger man
M/M Male/male romance
F/F female/female romance
RH reverse harem – typically one woman several men
MC: Main character (book is told from their POV).
POV: Point of view (the perspective that the book is told from).
POC/BIPOC: People of color/Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
Daphne: A female character who must be rescued all the time (in reference to Daphne from Scooby Doo.)
Mary Sue: A character who is too perfect and/or too good which, strangely isn’t attractive.
Manic Pixie Dream Girl: A type of female character depicted as vivacious and appealingly quirky, whose main purpose within the narrative is to inspire a greater appreciation for life in a male protagonist.
Twist: An unexpected event in a book—typically one that changes the direction of the plot or characters dramatically.
Info-Dump: When the author gives you lots of background information all at once via narration or dialogue.
Bechdel Test: a set of criteria used as a test to evaluate a work of fiction (such as a film) on the basis of its inclusion and representation of female characters. the term was popularized by American Cartoonist Alison Bechdel so it was named after her. Alison Bechdel never claimed to be the originator of the test. In fact, she never gave it a name. She credited her friend Liz Wallace for the idea, but also the work of author Virginia Woolf in her essay “A Room of One’s Own”.
Unreliable Narrator: A narrator whose POV is not trustworthy (could be due to lying, misinformation on the part of the MC, mental health or memory issues, etc.).
GT Agent: a person who acts on behalf of an author, negotiating with publishers and promoters.
Alpha Reader The first reader, usually a non-professional, who provides feedback on a writer’s work.
ANT Antagonist: the adversary or competitor to the hero/protagonist of any story.
APS Associated Press Stylebook: a writer’s and journalist’s reference manual for rules on grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations, and word and numeral usage.
ARC Advance Reader Copy: free copy of a book given by a publisher to media, librarians, or other readers in advance of official publication.
ASIN Amazon Standard Identification Number: Amazon’s unique identifier for each book they sell.
AU Alternate Universe: a fictional universe in which recognizable details are changed to create the story.
Beta Reader A reader, usually non-professional, who provides feedback on a book after a writer has made revisions inspired by alpha readers.
BG Bad guy: the Freddy Krueger, Lord Voldemort, or Darth Vader of your narrative.
BS Backstory: history or background that occurs before the current events of a story.
Character Arc The inner journey and transformation in personality of a character between the beginning and the end of a story.
CMOS Chicago Manual of Style: a writer’s and editor’s reference manual for grammar usage, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations, and word and numeral usage.
Cont Contemporary (genre): a genre that, although fictional, depicts realistic events that could happen in today’s society. An example: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
CP Critique Partner: a writer who provides feedback on a fellow writer’s work.
Drabble One hundred words that tell a story. Drabbles, because of their brevity, demand strong verbs, zero redundancies, and minimal showing. They usually require more time to write than longer stories.
F & SF Fantasy And Science Fiction (genre): make-believe worlds and characters combined with narrative that is based on scientific principles. Think Star Wars by George Lucas, et al.
FF Flash Fiction: very short fiction, usually containing fewer than 1000 words.
FN/Fant Fantasy (genre): stories about mythical worlds often populated by magical creatures. Example: Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling.
GMC Goal, motivation, conflict: important elements for engaging stories.
GN Graphic Novel (genre): stories that are told using a combination of graphic panels and text. Although a graphic novel may be similar to a comic book in format, it usually encompasses an intriguing plot with character growth. Example: the Logan’s Run graphic novels by William F. Nolan, et al.
HC Hardcover
Hook An element that is unique to a story. Always memorable, it may also be controversial.
HR Horror (genre): frightening stories that often include elements of fantasy. Examples: Children of the Corn by Stephen King and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.
Indie An independent writer who maintains creative control and who is not associated with a major publisher.
Juv Juvenile (audience/genre): usually geared to children under twelve years of age. Example: Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White.
LI Love Interest
Logline A brief summary, usually one sentence, that presents the main conflict or storyline, often combined with a hook to stimulate the interest of readers.
LOI Letter Of Introduction
If you think of more, please write in and add to the list.
Writer and Artist 