Information for editors

Manuscript Prep for Transmittal to Press

Article Formatting

The order of article elements is as follows:

1. Article Title: Article Subtitle (no line breaks between title and subtitle)
2. Author byline (by Author Name)
3. Author bio (25–40 words)
4. Abstract (50–100 words)
5. Epigraphs (if applicable) should be clearly indicated and should have an attribution (an em dash followed by the name of the person being quoted).
6. Article text (8,000–10,000 words)
7. Acknowledgments, if any
8. Endnotes, embedded using Microsoft Word’s reference tools with all reference numbers at the end of the sentence

For each word file:

• Set the entire text (including endnotes, captions, and block quotes) in size 12, Times New Roman, double-spaced, left aligned.
• Check document for nonbreaking spaces, hard returns, and extra spaces after periods and use Microsoft Office’s replace function to eliminate.
• Check that subheads are set in bold font and that there is a single hard return before the first line of text.
• Delete all header and footer information from documents, including page numbers.
• Ensure that there are no tracked changes from earlier edits.
• Ensure that paragraphs all start with indents, except when they begin with run-in subheads.

For each image (no more than 6 per document):

• Illustrations should be saved as a separate TIFF of JPG file, not embedded in the word document
• In the first sentence that analyzes or mentions the figure contents, be sure to include the figure number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. For example, (see Figure 1).
• After the paragraph that discusses the image, include a callout and caption, with a paragraph break between the main text and the image information. The callout should be formatted exactly as it is below.

{PLACE FIGURE 1 ABOUT HERE}

Figure 1. Miss World (Carole Laure) performs for the camera at a commercial shoot in Sweet Movie (Maran Films, 1974).

• Tables, like images, should have captions and callouts. They should be saved in their own separate Word file.

In Focus Essays and Book Reviews

In Focus dossiers should:

• Be approximately 2,000 words per introduction (between 1,500 and 2,500 words) and approximately 2,500 words per essay (between 2,000 and 3,000 words). Word counts include endnotes.
• Include the same elements as main articles in the same order, but do not need an abstract and all In Focus author bios should be collected in a single, separate document.
• The first In Focus essay (usually an intro) should include the section heading IN FOCUS:, followed by the section title, followed in turn by the title of the introduction itself and then the byline: “by Editor Name, editor”.

Book Reviews should:

• Be 2,500-3,000 words each
• Include the following at the top of each document, in the below style:

Book Title

by Book Author Name. Press Name. “Series Title if Applicable” Series.

Year. $Price hardcover; $Price paper; also available in e-book. # pages

reviewed by Review Author Name

• The first Book Review essay should include the section heading, BOOK REVIEWS:.

Peculiarities of Chicago Manual of Style

• Cinema and media titles should be followed by publication information in parentheses, rather than in endnote form. See the JCMS Style Guide for more details.
• The gender-neutral pronoun “they” is preferred to “he or she.”
• For film and media titles, the original language of the title should always come first (transliterated if necessary), followed by the title translated into English.
• Page ranges should employ en dashes, rather than hyphens.
• Citations should not abbreviate University or Press. For example, “Duke University Press,” not “Duke U P.”
• Short form citations should be used rather than ibid.
• Page ranges should truncate the first digit of a three-digit number. For example, 212–14.

Sending Articles to Authors

The Managing Editor will review and lock all files after they have been reviewed by both the Associate Editor and Editor. They will send the respective pieces to the Book Reviews Editor and In Focus Editor for distribution to authors, and the research article files directly to the authors.

The cover letter that accompanies article files might read as follows, with more specific advice for each article included ad hoc. This is the response template titled "Manuscript for Press":

Dear AUTHOR,

I’m writing to notify you that your article, “<TITLE>” will be published in JCMS <ISSUE#> in .

Attached you will find your manuscript file with some queries and edits from our masthead team. These developmental edits are offered in the spirit of collaboration and in the hopes of making the argument as accessible as possible to the journal’s diverse international readership. You are not required to engage all of our queries and recommendations, but we hope that you’ll consider them during this final opportunity for revision. Please review this file and make the necessary changes by . Please let me know if you anticipate any difficulties with this timeline.

Tracked changes are locked in the file, but this should not prevent you from adding or deleting text and adding comments. (You may find that it temporarily affects the numbering of notes; don’t worry about that, it’s an easy fix on our end.) If you rely on a word processor other than Microsoft Word, such as Google Docs or Scrivener, we ask that you take special care to ensure that tracked changes remain on and comments and formatting are intact when you return the manuscript to us.

Please let me know as soon as possible if you encounter any issues with the file. As you review and revise, please adhere carefully to the JCMS Style Guide: https://github.com/jcmsjournal/editorial/wiki/Style-guide. All citations and stylistic formatting should conform to the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed.

Note that this is your last opportunity to make substantive changes before we transmit the file to Michigan Publishing for copyediting, typesetting, and proofreading. (You will, of course, have an opportunity to review final proofs of your article prior to publication.)

When you return your file, please also let me know your mailing address where you'd like the complimentary copy of the issue sent.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns, and thank you again for choosing JCMS as a home for your work. If you could please confirm that you received this email, that would be much appreciated.

Best,

MANAGING EDITOR

Once all files have been received back from authors and editors, the Managing Editor will unlock the files, and review and accept all changes, returning queries to authors as need be. The Managing Editor will double-check that all citations adhere to Chicago Manual of Style. (Nonsubstantive changes to citation style do not need to be redlined or run by authors.) When the file is clean, it should be uploaded to the Drive.

Once all files are uploaded to the Drive, the Assistant Manuscript Editor should let the Associate Editor know so that they can upload files to Box for Michigan.

Guidelines for Formatting Submission Files for Uploading to Box

In addition to the article files, the following should be submitted as separate Word files:

• A single author contact list for all main article authors and Spotlight interviewees as well as book review and In Focus contributors, with mailing addresses and emails.
• Table of contents.
• Forthcoming page.
• Note: Frontmatter “fine print” such as submission guidelines, editorial board listings, etc. don't need to be submitted with each issue. In general it’s easiest if you check these at page proofs and make alterations then.

Article files should be organized via the following conventions:

• Each article, In Focus essay, and book review is saved as an individual Word file.
• Research article files are numbered to show the order in which they will appear, with any sort of introduction or editor’s note coming first. Start with “01_ Author Last Name,” then proceed from there.
• In Focus essays and book reviews are numbered and named in the same way, with the contributor bios numbered so that they come last.

Image files should be organized via the following conventions:

• Article files are named “Author Last Name_ Fig 01,” then proceed from there.
• Article images should be a minimum of 1500 pixels wide or tall (or at least 3–4 inches when saved at 300 dpi).
• Image files for each book cover in the review section should also be included, named by Book Title.
• Ideally images are saved as TIFF files, but jpgs are also acceptable.

Permissions:

• Screengrabs from a film are considered fair use, when discussed in the text.
• If an author uses an epigraph, quotes a whole piece of writing (like a poem), or quotes a large portion of a piece of writing, then that may not be considered fair use. If it is not, then we will need permission from the author/rightsholder to reprint.
• Signed interview releases are needed from anyone being interviewed for an article, or some other equivalent form of permission. The only likely exception might be very short quotes.

Alert Michigan in advance if an article includes math, music, or non-Roman alphabet characters.