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This page covers special issues for subscription journals.
If you are interested in guest editing a special collection for an open access journal please click here.
Special or themed issues can be a great way to focus attention on a hot topic.
A good special issue can enhance the profile of your journal, attract top authors, and potentially boost usage and citations. Many editors arrange for a guest editor to handle the entire issue on her or his behalf. This allows for a specialist to oversee the issue and bring in their contacts and networks. This section offers some tips on how to manage special issues and work with a guest editor.
Special issues need to be planned well in advance; it can take between 6–18 months from issuing a call for papers to publication. Taking longer than 18 months might mean that the special issue loses timeliness, although some journals plan several years in advance. There are no hard and fast rules for planning special issues, but below are some general guidelines.
A note about timing
Deadlines: It is important that the guest editor sticks to deadlines. Otherwise, late submission could affect the rest of the journal’s publication schedule. Even if you choose not to put a formal contract in place with your guest editor, it is essential that he or she is aware of critical deadlines. Please check with your Sage Production Editor to confirm deadlines before sending them to external editors.
Publication date: Set a date for when you would like the special issue to be published. Remember that special issues have a tendency to exceed the usual page budget, so avoid publishing them in the final issue of the volume. Because special issues can help with citation activity, it is recommended to publish them earlier in the calendar year to give them a longer window in which they could be cited.
Content: Ultimately, you as the editor are responsible for the content and timely delivery of the journal, and therefore you should maintain oversight of the special issue. At the very least, you should read all the articles prior to submission to Sage. If any of the material is not up to par, you have the right to refuse publication.