Would anyone like to talk to me about editing journal issues (or editing in general)?

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

I'm in Arts, FWIW.

I have heard the dire warnings (it takes ages; it is a lot of work; it's like herding cats), but I've never edited any kind of collection of other people's work, and I wondered if anyone would like to talk me through how it works? To what extent do you need to have sounded out potential contributors before you submit a proposal? I know journals will differ, but I'd like to get a sense of how people actually did it and not just what they claimed to have done!

Thanks all.

I'm an Assoc Editor (volunteer muggins, ie) on a public health journal.
It's been an eye opener.

I don't understand what you mean about a proposal? Do you mean a proposal for commissioning articles, or editing a special issue of an established journal?

Editing a special issue of an established journal. Sorry, I should have been clearer.

I think it will depend on the journal’s policy. If they don’t have any advice on this online, i’d try to get a tentative commitment from a couple of people working in the area you are focusing on and then suggest names of other people you will approach if successful.

My tip is to lie about deadlines, no one will stick to them, so if you give an earlier date you have half a chance of getting late articles by the real date.

I've done lots of this. It pays to be organised! Get your spreadsheet ready now.

A few things to bear in mind:

Yes, definitely sound out potential contributors and get titles and abstracts prepared. To what extent do you have contributors in the pipeline (are they sourced in a past or upcoming conference)? Will you also issue a call for papers?

Assume a fair bit of attrition.

Be extremely strict about deadlines and be prepared to push, push, push to get papers in. Send out reglar reminders. Will you workshop the papers or have some other event that will encourage people to write something by a particular date?

Start thinking now about peer reviewers and the timeframe for publication.

Do you have access to (a fund for) a student to do the style guide compliance and cite check all the papers? If not, who is going to do this? I find academics notoriously resistant to using any style guide they are not already familiar with.

Thanks both, and sorry for late reply!

boo, YY, a fake date sounds good!

ghis, thank you so much, that's so useful! Especially the last point. I will check.

My aunt was a editor of a newsletter for her old church. She loved doing it.

Her advice is to ask lots of questions and pay attention to any set deadlines. Remember that organisation will pay off. How much does it cost to produce? Are you going to put the word out? Also its a good idea to use a spreadsheet. Seek out possible contributors well in advance.

Jot down titles and abstracts. Regarding contributions do you have any contributors in the pipeline or not? What will it be about? Any dates in mind? What prompted this? How are you going to advertise your publication effectively as well? What methods will you use? Consider the timeframes.

Thanks! That sounds useful and shows how similar all different editing practices are. I feel very lucky, in context, that I don't have to worry about costs!

Just thought of this one...pass on the editorial style at the time you commission the articles. Nothing worse for authors than to have written in one style only to have change all the references to another. Some a

Sorry iPad playing up. Some authors may even refuse to change and leave you with this thankless task.