An edited volume has different needs and challenges than those you would encounter when authoring a book. As volume editor, you have responsibilities at each stage of the project, as outlined in the Life Cycle of the Book [[LINK]].
Volume Editor Responsibilities
Developing the Volume
- Establish the focus of the volume and maintain the overall objective for the work
- Oversee chapter development, including reviewing and editing draft chapters
- Keep the manuscript length under the word count specified in the contract
- Determine the documentation style and share with contributors
- Communicate to contributors about the schedule for submission
- Distribute information from the press to contributors, including:
- Manuscript Requirements
- Illustration Requirements
- Permission Guidelines [[LINK]
- Institutional Repository Policy [[LINK]]
Responding to Peer Review
- Develop a plan with contributors to revise chapters in response to critiques. This may involve removing chapters that are not successful in supporting the goals of the volume.
- Compose a letter responding to the reviews and outlining revision plan for submission to the editorial board.
Final Submission
- Gather final chapters from contributors adhering to the Manuscript Requirements
- Gather final illustrations and tables, ensuring that contributors follow the Illustration Requirements in preparing a list of figures, list of tables, captions, and alt text
- Confirm the word count and illustration count are within contract specifications
- Collect a signed Contributor Release [[LINK???] and a brief bio from each contributor
- Ensure that contributors have secured necessary permission following our Permission Guidelines [[LINK]] and using our Permission Request Template [[LINK]] to reproduce material
Unique Qualities of an Edited Volume [Volume Editors Should Also Keep in Mind…]
Cohesion and Consistency
Many editors find it useful to share the table of contents, chapter abstracts, or drafts of chapters so contributors can read other materials. Across chapters, ensure that contributors are consistent in using definitions and terminology and that all chapters follow the same treatment of translations.
Introduction
The introduction should articulate the core organizing principles of the volume, establish necessary context, define important terminology, explain the order and significance of the chapters. We recommend sharing a draft of the introduction with the contributors. Refrain from mentioning conferences in the introduction or acknowledgments so as not to make the book appear to be a conference volume, thus undercutting sales.
Documentation
Establish the documentation style for the volume and ensure that all contributors follow this style. For edited volumes, we prefer the documentation to be contained at the end of each chapter, either as in-text citations and reference list; shortened endnotes and bibliography; or long-form notes and no bibliography.
Author and Contributor Bios
Include a short biography for each and contributor. Provide the author’s name, academic affiliation, and one to two previous publications, if relevant. For example, “[Author name] is assistant professor of [subject area] at [university]. She is the author of [book title].” Do not include additional information about research areas, current projects, or personal hobbies.