Glossary of Terms: Inhouse, Freelance

In publishing, there are many terms that become familiar over the years to insiders, but they are odd, quirky, or even incomprehensible to those not familiar with the field. So, without further ado, we begin a series of semi-regular glossary entries.

• inhouse—publishing industry terminology for someone who works on staff; from the fact that book publishing businesses have traditionally been called publishing houses
• freelance—publishing industry terminology for someone who is hired by project, for example, for a substantive edit of one book or to proofread a series of publications; an independent contractor (And, contrary to what one author I’ve worked with said, the opposite of an inhouse editor is not an outhouse editor. Oh, that Canadian humour…)