NARRATION The act or process of narrating. Giving an account of events. Reciting events, particularly in chronological order. Narration is distinct from description, dialogue, or commentary. See also DIALOGUE NARRATIVE
NARRATIVE The relating of an occurrence or description of a sequence of events, whether true or fictitious. That part of a work of prose that reports events, rather than conversation. The term embraces the describing of an action, news items, historical or biographical works, travelogues, and diaries. It is the author telling the reader. For older or more sophisticated readers, dialogue should be used whenever possible, rather than narrative. See also APOLOGUE AS-TOLD-TO EPILOGUE FIRST PERSON NARRATIVE NON FICTION NOVEL PATHOS PROSE
NARROW MEASURE A term that describes a block of copy, which has been indented from either, or both, margins in order to differentiate it from the surrounding (full measure) copy and draw attention to it. See also COPY FULL MEASURE MEASURE
NATIONAL CHARACTER A character on a computer that changes in appearance depending on the country. For example, a character, such as $, is called a national characters because it may be replaced by another character (e.g., £) in a different country. See also CHARACTER CHARACTER SET LETTER
NATURAL FINISH A term to denote a book cloth or book paper that has a soft, slightly fibrous or fluffy appearance created by the finishing process. See also CLOTH COVER STOCK FINISH
NCR PAPER A popular term for no carbon required paper. This is a paper developed for use in multipart forms. It contains a chemical that makes it darken when pressure is applied See also CARBONLESS COPY PAPER MULTIPART FORMS
NEAR-LETTER QUALITY (NLQ) A term that describes printing, which is superior to draft quality, but not as good as letter quality. Also, a print mode on a high-end (e.g., nine-pin) dot-matrix printer. Although near-letter-quality printing is sharper than plain dot-matrix printing, it is not as legible as the output from a daisy-wheel printer. It resembles the printing produced by a cloth-ribbon typewriter and is not considered acceptable for correspondence on company letterheads. Most printers today are of letter-quality. However, they frequently offer a draft mode to save ink or toner by printing lighter. See also DAISY WHEEL PRINTER DOT-MATRIX PRINTER DRAFT MODE DRAFT QUALITY LETTER QUALITY LETTER QUALITY PRINTER
NEAR-LETTER QUALITY (NLQ) PRINTER A printing mode of a dot-matrix printer mode used to provide a quality, which is almost equal to that obtained from a typewriter. The printing speed of a dot-matrix printer is slower in this mode than in other printing modes. See also DOT MATRIX PRINTER LETTER QUALITY PRINTER
NEGATIVE A piece of photographic film in which dark areas of the original subject (image or text) appear light and light areas of the original subject appear dark. A photographically reversed image of the original that is obtained in the conventional photographic process. The tones in a negative are the reverse of those in the original subject. Positive prints are made from negatives. A negative is the intermediate stage between camera-ready copy and printing plate. Also termed film negative. See also FILM COLOR SEPARATION INVERT POSITIVE TRANSPARENCY
NEGATIVE LEADING A term applicable to the situation in which the size of the type exceeds the leading, the vertical distance between consecutive lines of type. That is, the space from baseline to baseline is less than the size of the type itself, as exemplified by 18-point type with a 16-point leading. Instead of adding space between lines, negative leading reduces the interline spacing. Although ascenders may collide with descenders, negative leading is sometimes used for special effects. Also known as minus leading. See also ASCENDER BASELINE DESCENDER LEADING
NEGATIVE LETTERSPACING A letter spacing that is tighter than that produced by the default setting. The spaces between characters are reduced by Kerning or tracking. The term, negative letterspacing is sometimes shortened to negative spacing. See also DEFAULT KERNING LETTERSPACING TRACKING
NEOLOGISM A new word or phrase, or new use of a word or phrase. Also, the introduction or use of new words or phrases. Finally, the use of a word or phrase in a new sense or for a new meaning. See also DICTIONARY GLOSSARY THESAURUS
NET, NET A term descriptive of book pricing in which the publisher does not suggest or recommend a retail price and the bookseller's purchase price is not subject to further discount. The bookseller simply marks the cost of the book up to whatever retail price he wants. See also DISCOUNTS MARKDOWNS MARKUP
NET RECEIPTS A term used in reference to the method of compensation of the writer of a published book. Royalty payments are usually based on the amount of money received by the publisher after all regular discounts to booksellers, special promotional discounts, and returns. 15% of net sales can provide the writer with a very modest income. See also ROYALTY
NET SALES Gross sales minus any applicable sales taxes, spoils, returns, allowances, and discounts or rebates given to customers. The total amount for which customers' were invoiced during a particular period. See also CASH DISCOUNT DISCOUNTS GROSS SALES TERMS
NEW CENTURY SCHOOLBOOK A popular and extremely legible font developed by A. Chekulaev and released between 1980 and 1987. It is based on the original Century Schoolbook font developed earlier in the century by Morris F. Benton, a leading American type designer, and released between 1918 and 1921. New Century Schoolbook performs well in almost any document where legibility is a consideration. It is preferred to the narrower Times Roman when there are wide blocks of text. See aso ARIAL COURIER FONT EGYPTIAN FONT GARAMOND HELVETICA JENSON SERIF TIMES ROMAN
NEW EDITION A reprinting of an existing title, although new printing plates are used. There are sufficient revisions or changes incorporated in the text of the new edition to justify the expense of preparing new printing plates. The term, new edition, also describes the reprinting of a title, which had been out of print for some period, using the original printing plates. See also DELUXE EDITION EDITION LIMITED EDITION OUT-OF-PRINT TITLE
NEWS AGENCY An organization that gathers, writes, and distributes news from around the world or the nation to newspapers, radio and television broadcasters, publications, and other users. It does not publish the news itself, but merely supplies it to the mass media and its other subscribers. Mass media organizations rely on the news agencies for most of the news, including even the few media companies that have news gathering organizations of their own. A news agency provides the news coverage that of its most subscribing members would be unable to afford on their own.
News agencies assume several forms. In some metropolitan areas, newspapers, radio, and television stations have combined their news coverage of local matters, such as the police, courts, government offices, etc. National news agencies have extended this by gathering and providing sports scores, election reports, and stock-market news. A few agencies also provide worldwide news. The services of news agencies have grown to include photographs, videotape and audio recordings, interpretation of the news, special columns, and entertainment features. Many agencies are cooperative ventures in which individual media organizations pool news from their own local areas for use by all members. The worldwide and national news agencies have their own reporters in the major centers to cover important events. In addition to the general news agencies, there are many specialized organizations, such as Religious News Service, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, and Science Service. Nevertheless, a few major news agencies account for most of the news printed and broadcast each day throughout the world. A news agency is also called a press agency, press association, wire service or news service. See also DATELINE LEAD
NEWSLETTER A short, usually informal periodical, which provides specialized information to a limited or well-defined audience. Newsletters frequently offer inside information, news, and advice. They are often written in a crisp style and follow a simple format. Newsletters are usually issued at regular intervals.
The circulation of modern newsletters varies from one hundred or less for the free letters of small voluntary associations, or new Internet entrepreneurs, to the hundreds of thousands achieved by newsletters, such as The Kiplinger Washington Letter The topics covered in newsletters include all possible subjects, including business, the professions, health, travel. diet, etc. Many corporations and nonprofit organizations publish newsletters to keep employees and members abreast of developments.
The availability of the typewriter, cold type, and quick and economical offset printing, which reproduces camera-ready art, contributed to the rapid growth of newsletters during the latter half of the 20th century. The use of direct mail and the development of specialized mailing lists helped. Word-processing systems and electronic delivery have hastened production and delivery. By the late 20th century more than 100,000 different newsletters were being issued in the United States. The Newsletter Association of America was founded in New York City in 1977 and renamed the Newsletter Association in 1982. See also ONLINE NEWSLETTER PERIODICAL ZINE
NEWSPAPER COLUMNS A word processor, newspaper-like, page format comprised of two or more columns of text printed vertically on the page. The text flows down the first column and continues at the top of the second. This page format is executed well by Microsoft Word and WordPerfect. They can even balance the bottom margin of columns to give a professional appearance. See also COLUMN DOUBLE COLUMN PIPELINING
NEWSPRINT A light, coarse, unsized, low quality, low-cost, absorbent paper on which newspapers (dailies, weeklies), free journals, and similar publications are printed. Newsprint is produced mainly from mechanical pulp and recycled fibers. Chemical pulp accounts for only about 25 per cent of the pulp mixture used to manufacture newsprint. Newsprint is a calendered rotary printing paper (40-56 gsm) intended for use as a short-lived information medium. As a result, its requirements for optical properties and printability are lower than those for other printing papers (e.g., coated papers). However, newsprint must have good tear strength in order to facilitate uninterrupted production on high-speed rotary presses. See also GROUNDWOOD PAPER MECHANICAL PULP PAPER
NEWS RELEASE An announcement of a new product or book (or other newsworthy event) provided to a newspaper, magazine, or other publication or medium for dissemination to the public. See also PRESS RELEASE PUBLICITY
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY The largest city library in the United States and one of the greatest public libraries in the world. The New York Public Library was created in 1895 by the consolidation of the privately endowed Lenox and Astor libraries and the Tilden Foundation trust. The library's central building is located at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. It opened to the public in 1911. The library contains more than 10,000,000 books and 10,000,000 manuscripts, in addition to large collections of pictures, maps, films, microfilms, and books for the blind. The library maintains 83 branch locations as well as its bookmobiles. See also LENDING LIBRARY LIBRARY LIBRARY EDITION MANUSCRIPT
NIP To squeeze a newly bound book along its backbone in order to reduce the swell caused by the sewing thread and to give all books a uniform bulk. See also BULK FINISHING OPERATIONS NIPPING PRESS
NIPPING PRESS A small press consisting of a fixed iron base plate and an upper, movable platen that is raised or lowered by a vertical screw. The nipping press is used to hold books flat or to apply uniform pressure to compress the spine of a newly sewn book for various bookbinding operations. Its easy opening and closing make it useful for quick pressing operations, although it cannot exert the pressure of a standing press. See also BOOKBINDING
NLQ An acronym for near letter quality. See NEAR LETTER QUALITY
NOM DE PLUME A pen name. A pseudonym. See PEN NAME
NON-BREAKING HYPHEN A permanent hyphen that is manually inserted in word processing to prevent a line break. A non-breaking hyphen prevents the word processing program from inserting a line break within a hyphenated proper noun, such as G.A.Stevenson-Brown. It prevents the word combination from word wrapping. In contrast to the permanent, non-breaking hyphen, a soft hyphen will disappear if the text reflows. A non-breaking hyphen is also termed a hard hyphen. See also HYPHEN NON-BREAKING SPACE REQUIRED HYPHEN SOFT HYPHEN
NON-BREAKING SPACE A special space character used in typesetting between two words to prevent them from being separated by a line break. It replaces the standard space character. See also ALPHANUMERIC LINE BREAK NON-BREAKING HYPHEN WHITE SPACE
NONFICTION Works of literature, except novels or short stories, poetry, or drama. Nonfiction works typically deal with facts and reality, including histories, biographies, non fiction narrative prose, essays, books, and all writing or books that do not constitute fiction, poetry, or drama. The nonfiction category is the broadest category of written work. See also AMERICANA ANGLE ANTHOLOGY ASSIGNMENT BRASS CHECK ESSAY GENRE MONOGRAPH NARRATIVE NOVEL POLEMIC PROSE SATIRE THINK PIECE
NON IMPACT PRINTER Any printer that forms images on paper without striking the page mechanically. The printer makes no contact with the paper during printing. Instead, it sprays or fuses ink to the page. Non-impact printers are much quieter than impact printers. However, they are unable to print multiple copies with the use of carbon paper. Ink-jet, thermal, and laser printers are common types of non-impact printers. See IMPACT PRINTER INK-JET PRINTER LASER PRINTER THERMAL PRINTER THERMAL WAX TRANSFER PRINTER
NONPAREIL A term in printing and typesetting to denote the 6-point size of type. See also POINT TYPESETTING TYPESIZE
NON-REPRODUCING BLUE A light blue ink that is invisible to a plate-making camera and will not be reproduced. It is used to make notations on layouts and camera-ready artwork that should not appear on the final printed piece. Also termed non-repro blue or non-photo blue. See also ARTWORK CAMERA-READY LAYOUT PIECE
NON-REPRO PENCIL A light blue pencil used to mark up layouts. Like a non-reproducing blue ink, the mark of a blue non-repro pencil is invisible to the platemaking camera and will not be reproduced. See also LAYOUT
NON-WOVEN MATERIAL Natural and synthetic materials, except cloth, used to manufacture covering materials for books. These include granulated leathers and a cloth-like material made of materials other than cloth, such as paper fibers bonded with latex, impregnated paper fibers, or matted polyethylene fibers bonded under heat and pressure. The paper fibers are not woven. Instead, they are matted on a fine mesh screen from a suspension of water or air, with or without binders. See also BINDER COVER MATERIALS CLOTH GRADE
N.O.P. An abbreviation for "Not our publication," used on invoices by a publisher when an order, which he receives, includes a title only available elsewhere. See also INVOICE INVOICE SYMBOLS TITLE
NOVEL Any fictional prose of sufficient length to be considered a book. The acceptable length of a novel depends on its genre. A romance typically runs between 60,000 and 85,000 words, whereas Westerns vary in length from 50,000 to 150,000 words. The novel is a realistic prose fictional narrative. Typically it concerns the everyday events of ordinary people and takes the form of a story. A novel depicts life and human experience. It is concerned with characters and events. The important elements of a novel include description, action, and discovery. See also ANACHRONISM CHILDREN'S NOVEL CHRISTIAN NOVEL DIALOGUE EMOTIVE LANGUAGE GENRE GOTHIC GROTESQUE HISTORICAL NOVEL HISTORICAL ROMANCE NOVEL MYSTERY NOVEL NARRATIVE NON FICTION NOVELLA PLOT PULP FICTION REGIONAL NOVEL ROMAN A CLEF SUBPLOT
NOVELLA A work of fiction that is shorter than a novel, but longer than a short story. Although there is no standard length for a novella, it is generally assumed to be in the range of 20,000 to 50,000 words. See also NOVEL
NUMERIC KEYBOARD That part of the computer keyboard that resembles an adding machine. It consists of 17 numeric keys at the right end of most computer keyboards. They are the ten digits (0 to 9) and mathematical operators ( +, -, *, and /). These keys also serve to move the cursor (PAGE UP, PAGE DOWN, etc.) if the NUM LOCK is turned off. See also INTEGER KEYBOARD QWERTY KEYBOARD
NUT Another term for en to differentiate it easily from em. See also EM EN
N.Y.P A common abbreviation for Not yet published. It is used on invoices to indicate the status of a title ordered that cannot be shipped. See also INVOICE INVOICE SYMBOLS
