Last week I was reading some content online about self-formatting the interior of a book, typesetting and making the layout work. I was struck by how ‘jargony’ the terminology is, like a lot of industries I suppose.
Don’t forget, when typesetting language was first created, all type was set in blocks, by hand. Not on computers!
So here’s a summary of some jargon you might come across when formatting your book ready for self-publishing, and what those terms actually mean: