Presented at the 2015 Charleston Conference by Judith M. Nixon, Education Librarian, Purdue University, and Suzanne Ward, Collection Strategist, Purdue University.

1. Ideas on Collecting:
How to Edit a
Collected Work
from Concept to
Publication
Judith Nixon
Suzanne Ward
Charleston
Conference 2015
1

2. How to Edit a Collected Work
from Concept to Publication
2
Judy Nixon
Sue Ward
• authors
• co-authors
• books editors
• collaborators
, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
theme, proposal, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?

3. Outline
Four Stages
1. Thinking & Planning
2. Soliciting Content
3. Evaluating &
Selecting
+ The Gap
4. Editing &
Proofreading
3

4. Thinking & Planning Stage
4
Write about what
you do…
, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
theme, proposal, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
Implementing
Downsizing
Analyze
collection use

5. Thinking & Planning Stage
5
Write about your
collection…
Comp, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
theme, proposal, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
How to
use
collection
Books in
our
collection
Compiled
information
from
collection

6. Thinking & Planning Stage
6
Expand an article
idea…
, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
theme, proposal, co-editors, deadlines, style shet, etc. ?
From
one
article
to many
Developed
a special
issue
We
solicited
colleagues
Then
a
book

7. Thinking & Planning Stage
7
Single editor?
• Allow 2-3 years
• Get help
• Apply for sabbatical / research leave
• Resources needed?
, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
theme, proposal, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
Single
author
Co-edited
Co-editors?
• Allow 1-2 years
• Divide work
• Get help
• Set deadlines
• Create progress
spreadsheet
• Meet / call weekly
• Try intense week

8. Thinking & Planning Stage
8
Editorial
team
• Grammarian?
• Citation
expert?
• Publisher &
author
contact?
• Get expert
help
, proposal, co-editors,
deadlines, style sheet,
I’m an
English
major.
I know APA
style and
use
Endnote.
I’ll
communicate
with the
Press.
I can help
with
graphics.

9. Thinking & Planning Stage
9
Special journal
issue?
proposal, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
theme, proposal, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
Journals
• Welcome ideas
• Suggest authors
• Help with “call for papers”
• Help with peer review
• Quicker publication
• May also issue as a book
We
contacted
editor with
idea

10. Thinking & Planning Stage
10
Book?
proposal, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
theme, proposal, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
Judy contacted
Pierian Press
with this idea
Gale asked
Judy to
compile
this
This topic fit:
Charleston
Insights in
Library,…
• “Editor-reviewed”
• Longer than special
issues
• More prestige
• Deadline flexibility

11. Thinking & Planning Stage
11
Write
proposal
proposal, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
theme, proposal, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
one
page
proposal
Qualifications
Outlined
the book
sections

12. Thinking & Planning Stage
12
Set deadlines
, proposal, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
theme, proposal, co-editors, deadlines, style sheet, etc. ?
Start with final
deadline
Work
backwards to
set dates

13. Thinking & Planning Stage
Style sheet
• Style manual
• Spelling
• Grammar
• Tables & figures
13

14. Soliciting Stage
14
Invite authors foreword / chapters / afterword
• Email invitation and brief summary
• First phone call
• Abstract
• Follow-up phone call (optional)
• Milestone emails

15. Soliciting Stage
15
Call for Papers
Project description, publisher, major deadlines
Ask for abstract
Send call to listservs
- the “usual suspects”
- other lists

16. 16
Evaluating &
Selecting Stage
Review Abstracts
Eliminate unsuitable ones
- poor writing
- idea not useful
Sort others by theme (rough order)
Choose between similar ones
Make final selection

17. 17
Contact Authors
If NO, encourage to submit elsewhere
If YES ….
schedule phone call to discuss
send contract
send editorial details, deadlines, etc.
Evaluating &
Selecting Stage

18. 18
Work on own contributions
Introduction / Literature Review
Editorial matters
divide editing work
finalize sections / paper order
The gap

19. 19
Housekeeping
collect contracts
set up spreadsheet
The gap
Track 21
chapters

20. 20
Editing
Divide work between editors
Be prepared for some heavy editing
Citation management / consistency
Tables & figures
Editing &
Proofreading Stage
Check, check, and check again!

21. Editing &
Proofreading Stage
21
Balancing work
load
• Main + secondary
reader
• Getting expert
opinions
• Peer-reviewed?
, proposal, co-editors, deadlines, style
sheet, etc. ?
Two
editors
for each
chapter
We needed
help with
one paper

22. Editing &
Proofreading Stage
22
Balancing
work load
, proposal, co-editors,
deadlines, style sheet,
etc. ?
theme, proposal, co-
editors, deadlines,
style sheet, etc. ?
We
needed
help with
one paper
Used MS
Word to
track edits
Stored files
on shared
server

23. Editing &
Proofreading Stage
23
Balancing
work load
, proposal, co-editors,
deadlines, style sheet,
etc. ?
Sums across
all 10,974
Reads
Sums across
7,224 Reads of
11 or more
pages
Sums across
3,750 Reads of
less than 11
pages
Minutes 305,024 292,987 12,037
Pages 457,764 439,918 17,846
Sessions 29,884 24,439 5,445
Passages 179,780 172,469 7,311
Paired Passages 170,167 165,245 4,922
Individual Page Turns
Consecutive turns 219,785 211,693 8,092
Jump forward turns 97,571 94,727 2,844
Jump back turns 143,269 138,909 4,360
Passages
Figures
converted to
PGN Images
Expert staff
help with
figures
Redrew
figures for
consistency

24. Working with the publisher
•More editing
•More proofreading
•Check and check
(and check) again
24

25. It’s out!
25

26. Questions?
26