Why a Book Series?

Emerald has considerable experience publishing the following formats:

Image: books Book Series: A book series is a collection of volumes on a particular subject. The volumes can be themed individually, however the Series title and cover design are consistent to demonstrate the belonging to a collection. A book series will have one or more Series Editors, who guide the direction of the series and commission new volumes (and often specific volume editors). The Volume Editor(s) are responsible for one volume only. Volumes can be a monograph piece by one or two authors, or an edited collection of papers by various authors. Book series tend to produce one volume per year.

Standalone Books: A standalone book is a one-off publication covering a particular subject. It can either be a monograph or a collection of chapters written by various authors.

One of the key motivations behind an editor’s choice to work on a series over a journal is flexibility. Most of Emerald’s Book Series publish an annual volume, yet the demand is not as prescriptive as it can be for most journals, which can publish a minimum of three to four issues each year. Although schedules are agreed and abided by in both publishing models, the difference between the two formats is spelled out by Alexander W. Wiseman, Series Editor of International Perspectives on Education and Society.

"I don't want to be tied to a definitive frequency of, say, four volumes a year. This gives the volume series much more flexibility to address the real issues and interests of the field rather than be tied to a publication schedule."

The standard publishing model for the series, whereby the series publishes a volume either annually or bi-annually, serves to allow the Series Editor to concentrate on content and theme rather than a schedule, and follow it through to a satisfactory outcome. Contracts for each volume are usually agreed a year ahead of publication, thereby allowing time for editorial development. This editorial freedom is ideal for the augmentation of a particular idea, sub-discipline or theoretical exchange.

"We have a kind of dialogue across articles that you don't always get in journals. We think that helps the reader to see how competing points of view interact. It can be a very rich and stimulating vehicle for new ideas."

(Roger Koppl, Series Editor for Advances in Austrian Economics)

Volumes can be themed around a concept, which is often the case when papers have either been sourced through a conference or based on an emerging concept. However owing to the flexible nature of series, Volumes are not required to have a common theme running through each paper. Nor is it a requirement that consecutive volumes in a series follow the same subject or theoretical pathway. The only prerequisite being that each volume must have a logical association with the series title.

What makes a Series Editor?

The challenges faced by a Series Editor are nearly always commensurate to the rewards achieved, which explains why a number of Emerald’s existing Series Editors have been active in the role for a substantial amount of time. One of the reasons why the role is rewarding is often due to a personal motivation of a Series Editor to become more active, visible, and to contribute new knowledge to a particular subject community.

Series Editors are incentivized by obvious and emerging research gaps in subject communities and use their publication, whether book or journal, as the best method of facilitating further or extended discussion on important areas which have often been either misrepresented or underrepresented in previously published research.

Series Editor Expectations

A Series Editor is required to demonstrate a proactive approach to editorial responsibilities. Requirements can be split into three main areas:

Responsibility at subject level: which includes monitoring developments in a particular subject field, and commissioning new volumes where needed
Responsibility at editorial level: these include more project orientated tasks, such as maintaining a pipeline of volumes, assisting contributors when necessary, and appointing subject experts as volume editors.
Responsibility at marketing level: included here is an expectation that the Series Editor will contribute to the marketing of the series at product level: supplying volume information to the publisher at specific intervals prior to publication; promoting the series at conferences etc; recommending subject-specific promotional channels to the publisher – listservs, newsletters.

"The editor's job is three-fold. First, the editor identifies the topic that the volume will address. Second, the editor solicits reviewer comments and makes the final judgment regarding manuscript quality. Finally, the editor prepares the volume for submission to the publisher."

(John Bishop, Series Editor for Research on Economic Inequality)

A couple of the leading requirements of a Series Editor are detailed in the following paragraphs.

A) Responsibility to Content:

The content found in a standard Series is often different to the content found in a journal. Book Series can absorb more in-depth research on a particular subject, unlike journal issues, which usually publish many smaller research investigations on one meta-subject.

"The volumes typically collect a number of papers from the same subfield – this provides both the authors and readers the advantage of seeing several related papers in the same publication."

(John Bishop, Series Editor for Research on Economic Inequality)

To achieve this greater depth, the papers published in a series are often longer than those published in a journal. This length demonstrates a thorough commitment to the exploration of a concept, followed through to a satisfactory conclusion.

"Unlike usual journal articles, Advances in Econometrics papers are designed to be sufficiently long, and complete so that they are self-contained."

(Carter Hill, Series Editor for Advances in Econometrics)

The content published in a series must be of high quality, relevant and academically rigorous. One of the methods a Series Editor can employ to source content is a Call for Papers. The call can be disseminated to both the subject community and relevant associations, and the response can be reviewed and filtered to suit the volume. An example of this process is as follows:

"We have an initial review process when we select the chapter proposals, and then invite a shortlist of authors to write a full chapter manuscript to be sent for external peer review."

(Alexander W. Wiseman, Series Editor for International Perspectives on Education and Society.)

Of course the Series Editor is not expected to compile each annual volume. To share this responsibility, the Series Editor often appoints a Volume Editor to pull together a particular volume. The appointment of these Volume Editors can follow on naturally from a volume proposal they have submitted to the Series Editor, or it can come through invitation from the Series Editor. Either way, the Series Editor is responsible for ensuring that the standard of the series is not compromised through the appointment of a Volume Editor.

"The volume editors are selected by the series editors. Our goal is to find experts in a specialization, and charge them with helping to recruit the most able scholars to contribute papers within this area. The Volume editors also help refine and shape the call for papers for maximum impact on the profession."

(Carter Hill, Series Editor for Advances in Econometrics)

B) Responsibility to Development:

All good Series Editors realize that a proactive approach in their subject community must be supported by good editorial practice and patience. The typical development cycle for a volume, from the initial idea up to the submission of the final manuscript to Emerald, is usually a two-year process. A brief breakdown of this process is supplied by Roger Koppl, Series Editor for Advances in Austrian Economics:

"The process begins with a good idea for a theme. If we think it works, the editor will then round up a group of potential contributors. Typically it takes about a year before all potential contributions have been submitted and, perhaps, another six months before the process of reviewing, revising, and resubmitting has run its course. Sometimes you can squeeze the process down to about a year, but that's not always possible."

It is important that a Series Editor has good foresight, not only to identify emerging and developing trends in their subject of expertise, but also those researchers who will be in a position to deliver important volumes or papers at key times. It is a question of implementing good project management skills, from appropriate time allocation, to organized communication, creating achievable schedules and monitoring progress. In order to establish a consistent pipeline of submissions, the Series Editor may be required to coordinate a number of projects simultaneously, although pressure will be eased by the appointment of trusted Volume Editors.

It is expected that the tenure of a Series Editor will run for a minimum of three volumes, which can be extended on agreement with the publisher. If a Series Editor wanted to step down from the role, it is considered good practice that he/she identifies and appoints, in principal, their successor.

C) Responsibility to Marketing:

Emerald recognizes and values the subject expertise of each Series Editor. In return, Emerald expects the Series Editor to recognize Emerald’s commercial responsibilities to the book market and its loyal readers. Consequently it is important that the Series Editor (together with the Volume Editor) takes responsibility of providing Emerald with important information of a volume prior to publication.

For instance, it is important that a successful marketing campaign begins with a completed ATI leaflet (Advanced Title Information) six months before publication. Information needed for this ATI includes, volume title, approximate word count, and synopsis. Once completed, Emerald distributes this ATI to relevant market channels, such as bookshops, wholesalers and online aggregators, who require the ATI to make purchasing decisions. Without a completed ATI six months before publication, it is difficult for a volume or book to be picked up by the market.

Emerald Support:

The Series Editor will be supported throughout by a dedicated, subject specific, editorial team, consisting of a Commissioning Editor and Assistant Commissioning Editor. This collaborative working practice will be most effective in the following areas:

Editorial:

Working with the Series Editor to agree and assign schedules and contracts for each volume within the series
Assisting with Series Editor queries and implementing publishing expertise to find the best solution.
Disseminating calls for papers to prospective contributors
Processing the volume manuscript once submitted for production

Marketing:

Promoting the series to the relevant subject communities through a variety of market channels: conferences, association links etc
Developing the commercial appeal of the series
Developing the online visibility of the series through website maintenance and use of appropriate listservs

From proposal to publication, Emerald is committed to providing a rewarding and successful publishing experience to all of our editors and authors.

Emerald also agrees to pay the Series Editor an honorarium for each volume published. The amount of the fee will be established with the assigned Commissioning Editor before the series is officially accepted, and inaugural volume published. Yet how, if at all, this fee is split between the volume’s contributors (volume editor/author etc) is the discretion of the Series Editor.

Information and links to Emerald’s various support services, for both Editors and Authors, can be found on the Emerald website.

"Emerald has been very supportive and involved, encouraging us to develop the series"

(Alexander W. Wiseman, Series Editor for International Perspectives on Education and Society)