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Editing an 'In Focus' Dossier

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josefnguyen edited this page Jun 6, 2023 · 9 revisions

This information is intended for guest editors of In Focus (IF) dossiers whose proposals have already been formally approved by the JCMS co-editors-in-chief or the journal’s In Focus Editor. If you are looking for general information about In Focus dossiers or you are interested in proposing an In Focus, please visit the “Proposing an In Focus dossier FAQ” page.

Information below:

The role of IF guest editors:

IF guest editors serve a role similar to special issue guest editors for other journals. They are the main point of contact and information for the contributors to the IF. This means that they are responsible for communicating logistical information to their contributors, such as information about next steps, upcoming deadlines, and the journal’s guidelines for citations and images. They are also responsible for ensuring that authors stay on track with planned timelines and submit work that complies with the journal’s guidelines.

Beyond this administrative work, IF guest editors are the leaders of the editorial vision for the IF dossier. The JCMS editorial team will provide guidance throughout the process, and when requested. However, the IF guest editors should have a clear, specific idea of the dossier they want to produce, which includes its contributions and its interventions.

As part of leading the dossier, the guest editors should work closely with authors on at least one (more, if needed) round of meaningful revisions prior to submitting the dossier to the JCMS editorial team. This first round of revisions should be substantive, and should address both the conceptual and structural aspects of the essays. At later stages, the JCMS editorial team will provide feedback toward a second round of revisions and then provide finer grain developmental edits to help clarify and strengthen writing. However, it is important that the IF essays are already strong in their writing, focus, and argumentation before being submitted to JCMS so that the editorial and publishing processes can proceed on schedule.

Overview of IF editing process:

  • Step 1. In Focus proposal formally accepted; guest editors notify authors, provide author deadlines, and communicate information below; authors begin work on essay drafts
  • Step 2. Authors submit essay drafts to guest editors; guest editors provide feedback for a first round of revisions; guest editors’ feedback should solidify the intervention of the dossier and result in substantive revisions
  • Step 3. Authors submit revised essays to guest editors; guest editors check that drafts comply with JCMS guidelines; guest editors write their introduction, giving a holistic vision of the dossier; guest editors submit full dossier to JCMS by deadline agreed up with JCMS editors
  • Step 4. JCMS editors provide feedback on essays and introduction; authors complete second round of substantive revisions; guest editors read revisions and re-submit revised dossier, once again checking that essays comply with JCMS guidelines. IF editors also compile and submit 1) a list of bios for each author (25-40 words each) and 2) a list with email address and mailing address for each author (for complimentary physical copy of the issue).
  • Step 5. Dossier contents enter developmental edits; JCMS editors provide fine-grained suggestions to authors for improving clarity of writing; authors return finalized essays.
  • Step 6. Dossier contents enter production; Michigan Publishing works directly with guest editors and authors on copy edits and proofs leading up to publication.

Sample timeline for editing an IF dossier:

The following sample models roughly how long IF guest editors should expect each step in the process to take. Note: Every IF has its own due date for the submission of the full dossier contents, which IF guest editors will agree upon with JCMS editors at the time their proposal is accepted. If the guest editors discover they will not be able to meet this deadline, they notify the JCMS editors as soon as possible to avoid missing their publication slot.

  • January 1, 2023 - proposal accepted, authors begin work on drafts
  • May 1, 2023 - authors submit first drafts to IF editors (4 months for initial draft)
  • June 1, 2023 - IF editors send feedback to IF authors
  • August 1, 2023 - authors submit first revisions to IF editors (2 months for first revision)
  • September 1, 2023 - IF editors send revisions essay drafts and their editors’ introduction to the JCMS editors
  • October 1, 2023 - JCMS editors send feedback for essays and introduction
  • December 1, 2023 - IF authors submit their second revisions to IF editors, IF editors submit revised essays and revised introduction to JCMS editors (2 months for second revision)
  • January 15, 2024 - IF editors and authors receive their developmental edits from JCMS editors
  • February 15, 2024 - IF editors and authors return their finalized drafts to JCMS editors; dossier contents enter production March 1, 2024
  • Spring / summer 2024: Michigan Publishing contacts authors to review copy edits and proofs
  • September 1, 2024 - dossier ready for publication. (Note that IF dossiers are published in print issues; print issues are published four times annually, on roughly February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1. So, in the case of this sample timeline, the dossier would be ready to print in the November 2024 issue.)

Information to communicate to authors:

  • IF guest editors should be sure that the authors contributing to their dossier are aware of the following requirements for IF essays. Please communicate this information to your authors before they begin work on your drafts. Please also verify at both the draft and the revision stages that essays continue to meet these requirements.
  • IF essays are between 2,000 and 2,500 words. This includes endnotes. It does not include an abstract. Authors should not include abstracts or keywords with IF essays.
  • IF essays should be appropriate in scope for the short essay format. Essay authors should take on a topic or argument that they can address substantively within the word limit. They should avoid attempting to address too many topics simultaneously.
  • IF essays should have a clear point or takeaway for readers–a sense not only of what (i.e., what the topic is) but why (i.e., why the reader should find this interesting or illuminating). Essay authors should directly articulate their individual argument or provocation.
  • IF essays should comply with the guidelines in the JCMS style guide. Please remind authors that JCMS uses Chicago Manual (17th edition) citations, with bibliographic information contained in endnotes.
  • Each IF dossier can contain up to six images. This number is intended to allow for one image per essay. Please make sure that authors follow the instructions in the “Images” section of the JCMS style guide before submitting their essays to the journal.
  • IF essays must be original works and cannot be excerpts from or paraphrases of the author’s previously published work. Authors are welcome to reference and/or draw from their existing work, but the essay as a whole must be sufficiently different from this existing work.

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