Preparing Your Manuscript for Publication: Guidelines for Chapter and Article Authors

You have conducted your research, recorded your findings, reached your conclusion, and written your manuscript. You found a book or journal that is accepting submissions that you believe is an excellent fit for your study. But before you submit your manuscript to IGI Global, you have one more step ahead of you: formatting.

Formatting is often not a major concern of chapter authors, but it is of tantamount importance because it ensures your research is clearly laid out for readers and is consistent with IGI Global’s publishing standards. Consistency lends itself to the credibility of the researcher as well as the publisher, and ensuring the material reaches IGI Global’s quality benchmarks will present your research in the best light. Today, we will discuss IGI Global’s formatting guidelines, so your manuscript is the best version of itself.

First, some basics on the formatting of your manuscript:

All manuscripts must be typewritten in English and submitted in Microsoft Word. Manuscripts must be written in objective third person point of view throughout (using “the authors” or “the researchers” and NOT “I” or “we”).

IGI Global also has certain word counts that correspond with certain publishing formats:

• Journal article: 5,000 – 7,000 words

• Encyclopedia articles: 5,000 – 7,500 words (though word count ranges may vary from project to project)

• Edited book chapter: 7,000 – 10,000 words

• Case book chapter: 7,000 – 10,000 words

• Handbook of Research chapter: 10,000 – 12,000 words

Additionally, IGI Global has strict guidelines for the content of your manuscript.

1. Originality of manuscripts. Only ORIGINAL submissions will be accepted for publication. This means that no manuscripts that have been previously published or are submitted for publication elsewhere will be considered.

2. Simultaneous submissions. No manuscript may be under consideration by any other publisher or any other IGI Global publication at the same time. You can, however, resubmit a manuscript rejected from one book or journal to another IGI Global book or journal. If the manuscript was rejected for any reason other than it not suiting the scope of the publication, it is strongly advised to consider conducting extensive revisions before submitting it to a new publication.

3. Revised manuscripts. IGI Global will not publish a “revised” version of a manuscript that has already been published elsewhere. In order to be considered original, a manuscript must be at least 80% new material with no more than 200 consecutive words (properly cited) repeated verbatim from any previously published work.

4. Teaching Notes (case studies only). If you are writing a case study, please provide supplemental teaching notes in a separate document as these notes will be provided to readers interested in adopting your work as course material. You can find more Case Support Material Guidelines here.

5. Copyright. For those already familiar with IGI Global’s publication process, the PDF version of the Author’s Warranty and Transfer of Copyright Agreement is no longer accepted. As part of the manuscript submission process, chapter authors must sign the Author’s Warranty and Transfer of Copyright Agreement digitally in the eEditorial Discovery® manuscript submission system.

6. Plagiarism. IGI Global takes concerns of plagiarism very seriously. At the publisher’s discretion manuscripts are checked for plagiarized passages prior to publication. Please ensure that all information taken from outside sources is properly cited and that all thoughts are composed in your own words. You can view IGI Global’s statement on Ethical Publishing Practices here.

7. Titles. Titles cannot be longer than 100 characters, and any subtitles you include cannot be longer than 50 characters. Additionally, all titles must be entered in title case. To put a title in title case, the first letter of each word should be capitalized unless that word is a preposition fewer than 4 letters (“in”, “by”, or “at”), conjunction (connecting words such as “and” or “but”), or article (“a,” “an,” or “the”). The only exceptions to this rule are that the first word of the title or subtitle is always capitalized, even if it is an article, preposition, or conjunction.

8. Headings. Similarly, headings must be formatted in the Authored/Edited Chapter Template, which can be found by clicking on the link (and must not be numbered). Headings within the body of the text may be tailored to the content.

9. Key Terms and Definitions (book chapters only). All book chapters must include a list of 7-10 key terms and definitions that are written in the author’s own words and follow the references and additional reading lists.

10. Images. A manuscript cannot include more than 20 figures, which must be submitted as a separate .tif file and follow IGI Global’s Image Formatting Guidelines here. Any images that do not meet these guidelines will be returned to the author or authors for correction. Finally, please note that it is the author’s responsibility to obtain permission to use any image currently under copyright by a third party.

11. APA citations. Please ensure that all information in your manuscript that is taken from another source is substantiated with an in-text reference citation. A minimum of 10 sources is required for each submission. Please also note that your references must follow APA (American Psychological Association) style. (The publisher will return your submission to you for correction if you do not properly format your references.) A note on self-citation: if you need to cite one of your own previously published works to effectively communicate an idea, you are free to self-cite, but it is important that self-cited works do not account for 50% or more of the total references in the manuscript. For more information and examples on APA citations, please see IGI Global’s APA Citation Guidelines here.

12. LaTex. LaTex files are NOT accepted because they are not compatible with IGI Global’s typesetting program. As an alternative, we request that you use MathType (see “Equations” below).

13. Equations. If a symbol or equation can by typed directly into Microsoft Word, please do so. Otherwise, we require using MathType to format all equations. Authors can download a free trial version of MathType here.

14. English Language Copy Editing. English language copy editing of your manuscript must be conducted prior to submission, since manuscripts that are submitted to the publisher are considered to be ready for publication. IGI Global offers a variety of editorial services, including English language copy editing. You can learn more here.

15. Translation. Similarly, while manuscripts submitted for publication must be written in clear English, IGI Global offers translation services which you can learn more about here.

16. APA and IGI Global house style. Your manuscript may be adjusted during the typesetting phase to follow APA and IGI Global house style rules for capitalizations, the appearance of lists, and the placement of images on pages. You can find templates for chapter and article styles here. Note: The Manuscript Organization and Formatting Template is designed for the purpose of standardizing manuscript submissions and does not reflect how your work will actually appear in print. Format and design of the final publication is at the sole discretion of the publisher.

17. Peer Review. All submissions must undergo a double-blind peer review process before they can be accepted for publication. Authors of book chapters will be expected to serve as reviewers for 2-3 chapters. Authors have a vested interest in ensuring the quality of all chapters within the publication, as improving the quality of the publication as a whole will also improve the reception of their own work within it. For journal publications, the editorial review board conducts the peer reviews. Please view IGI Global’s peer review process here.

Finally, please note that all manuscripts MUST be submitted through the eEditorial Discovery® online manuscript submission system.Manuscripts submitted outside of the system will not be considered for publication.

These guidelines are in place so your manuscripts are clear, informative, and rigorously tested for accuracy, and so the publication process goes as smoothly as possible. With your cooperation, your manuscript can become a stellar example of scientific innovation with the help of IGI Global.

Have research that needs a home? Please visit IGI Global’s Call for Chapters Page to browse books and journals currently seeking submissions.