B is for Backlist

Backlist, in publishing, refers to an author’s older titles still in print – as opposed to the author’s new or newest release.

Authors and others sometimes use the term “backlist” to refer to titles no publisher continues to publish, or to works which have gone out of print and which the author (or a different publisher) chooses to bring back and offer in digital format. Technically, this is only correct for titles in print at the time the description is used – whether by the original publisher, a secondary publisher, or through the author’s own e-publishing efforts.

Once a work goes out of print, it is “out of print” and no longer technically part of the author’s backlist.