Publishing Frequently Asked Questions

How do I start the publishing process?How can I become a reviewer?How long is the proposal phase?Do I receive royalties for editing a book?Will you accept a book I published in another language?Can I publish a Second Edition of my book?Can I submit previously published work to IGI Global?What is the publisher's position on plagiarism?Is my book chapter/journal article formatted correctly?Do you accept .tex (LaTeX) or .pdf submissions?Do I need permission for images from a third party?Should I use British or American English?Does IGI Global capitalize the names of disciplines or other technical words?Does IGI Global offer any supplemental editorial services to help me polish my manuscript?Will my work be copyedited prior to publication?Will I see a proof of my publication prior to release?Can I reuse my IGI Global publication?How can I publish my work open access?How many complimentary copies of my publication will I receive? When can I expect them?Do you publish textbooks, how-to guides, or manuals?How will my published work be protected?How can I get my journal indexed?
TopHow do I start the publishing process?
If you are interested in editing or authoring a book, or becoming Editor-in-Chief of a new journal, we ask that you please submit a proposal. Upon receipt of your proposal, our acquisitions team will assess your plan and provide feedback concerning further review. Proposals can be submitted by filling out our book online proposal form, journal online proposal form, or contacting the Acquisitions Department at acquisitions@igi-global.com.

Alternatively, if you are interested in authoring a book chapter or journal article, you can find a list of all active IGI Global calls for content and submission guidelines on our Call for Papers Page. Please also see our Author Guidelines for more information on manuscript formatting and publication requirements. If you need help polishing your manuscript prior to submission, utilize editorial services from eContent Pro, a professional editorial services provider, to improve the quality and readability of your work, while benefitting from a 25% discount.

TopHow can I become a reviewer?
To apply to become a reviewer for an IGI Global journal, first complete the Application Form. Please feel free to apply to multiple journals that suit your interests and areas of expertise. Should the journal's Editor-in-Chief accept your application, you will be contacted to review manuscripts submitted to the journal for consideration. All reviewers will begin their role on an ad hoc basis for a period of one year, and upon successful completion of this term can be considered for full Editorial Review Board status, with the potential for a subsequent promotion to Associate Editor.

TopHow long is the proposal phase?
The initial assessment of your proposal will take approximately 1-2 weeks from the receipt of your proposal. Depending on the suitability of your proposal for our collection, the subsequent review process should take between 2-4 weeks.

TopDo I receive royalties for editing a book?
Editors and authors of full traditional book projects receive a royalty that is determined on a case-by-case basis by the Executive Editorial Board. That royalty is dictated in the contract.

TopWill you accept a book I published in another language?
Because of the various agreements we have with our booksellers and eContent vendors around the world, IGI Global must have complete copyright of the material that we publish, so we cannot reprint any previously published works. We would be happy to review a revision of your materials for potential publication, should you wish to enhance and update your previous book.

TopCan I publish a Second Edition of my book?
We actually endorse follow-up publications, as opposed to "second editions." We have found that our markets respond better to titles that have been updated, revised, and/or enhanced, with an emphasis on the advancements that have developed since the first title was released. We encourage editors to not only invite the original authors to update their chapters, but also to invite additional experts in the field to augment the valuable research of the previous title.

TopCan I submit previously published work to IGI Global?
IGI Global does not accept previously published material or simultaneous submissions. In most cases this represents a serious breach in professional ethics. If the work has been substantially updated, enough to become new work entirely, the intellectual property of the original research may be reused, however, large portions of verbatim text may not be included. If you have questions regarding this, please review the original publication agreement, IGI Global's publication agreements, and contact IGI Global directly.

TopWhat is the publisher's position on plagiarism?
IGI Global takes concerns of plagiarism very seriously. All manuscripts are checked for plagiarized passages prior to being accepted for publication. Please ensure that all information taken from outside sources is properly cited and that all thoughts are composed in your own words. All instances of plagiarism will be immediately returned to the authors for correction and may be cause for removal of the manuscript from the publication. Click here to view the full IGI Global Statement on Ethical Publishing Practices.

TopIs my book chapter/journal article formatted correctly?
Please ensure that your chapter or article is in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format, correctly utilizes the American Psychological Association's in-text citation and reference list style, that all equations are editable (not embedded pictures), and all figures are clear when displayed at 100% magnification. Please refer to our Author Guidelines for more information, or visit the Contributor Resources Page. Our typesetters will standardize all fonts according to our house style during typesetting, so please pay particular attention to correcting the content of your chapter or article and ensure that it is final and error-free. To ensure your manuscript is formatted correctly, consider utilizing editorial services from eContent Pro, a professional editorial services provider, while benefitting from a 25% discount.

TopDo you accept .tex (LaTeX) or .pdf submissions?
Unfortunately, any file format that does not perfectly convert to .doc or .docx is incompatible with our typesetting workflow. In order for our typesetters to create a professional publication, we must have all submissions in .doc, .docx, or .rtf. Otherwise, the result will be a substandard publication. Please draft your work in a compatible format or have it converted well before the final submission deadline.

TopDo I need permission for images from a third party?
Images often require written permission from the copyright holder to republish. Some publishers specifically allow their authors to reuse figures, so if you are reusing your own figure from a previous publication, review the agreements under which your work was published. If you are using someone else's figure, you may need to contact their publisher and request permission. IGI Global will not reimburse you for any permission fees, so please consider carefully if the figure you want is necessary. A template permission request email and form is found in the image guide. Permission is almost always required for logos, photographs of minors, screen shots of films, and figures taken from journals, books, or other commercial publications. Images found on the internet may or may not require permission and it is incumbent on you, as the author, to acquire permission, if needed.

In some cases, it may be possible to adapt a figure to better illustrate your point. In this case, no permission is needed; simply cite the figure as (adapted from [APA style citation]).

TopShould I use British or American English?
Provided the entire document is consistent, either is acceptable. In the case of an edited collection of chapters, there will be variation between individual chapters. Any IGI Global generated content, such as the title of the publication, back cover text, and marketing materials will be in American English.

TopDoes IGI Global capitalize the names of disciplines or other technical words?
In order to establish a house style regarding capitalization rules, IGI Global will only capitalize words that are proper nouns. Beyond this, exceptions are made to include names of departments at universities and names of courses taught within universities, as well as concentrations/majors. Otherwise, fields of academic study or interest, or the names of disciplines will not be capitalized. This format is used as a means of standardizing among authors and editors for whom there is a current lack of consensus about what should be capitalized.

Examples of correct usage:

Capitalized: The Computer Science department at the University of Michigan will now offer the Parallel and Distributed Computing elective to its first year students starting in 2013.

Not Capitalized: A burgeoning new application in the field of computer science is parallel and distributed computing, a promising discipline offering a wide variety of new tools and technologies.

TopDoes IGI Global offer any supplemental editorial services to help me polish my manuscript?
IGI Global partners with eContent Pro, a professional editorial services provider, to offer supplemental editorial services, for which IGI Global authors and editors receive a 25% discount.

TopWill my work be copyedited prior to publication?
You are responsible for the typographical accuracy of the content submitted for final publication. IGI Global will correct minor formatting inconsistencies in preparation for our typesetting process, which includes linking your reference list to CrossRef and other online reference databases. However, your work will not be thoroughly examined for errors in language usage. Please read your work specifically for these errors or have your work professionally copyedited prior to final submission.

TopWill I see a proof of my publication prior to release?
Yes. Before the release of your publication, you will be sent a proof of the final typeset publication and given the opportunity to identify any errors present in the text. You will not be able to make extensive changes; this step is brief and meant to ensure that no errors were introduced during typesetting. Line-by-line copyediting will not be allowed; adding, moving, or deleting paragraphs or chapters will not be allowed; and correcting any error that was present in the original final submission to IGI Global will be at our discretion.

TopCan I reuse my IGI Global publication?
We thoroughly understand the needs of academic authors in terms of reuse, and we are happy to provide permission for uses associated with educational, professional, or personal advancement. However, we do require a record of this permission in order to determine which uses are legitimate. This is in part to protect you, as an author, from any accusations of duplicate submission or self-plagiarism. This is also required by our distribution partners, without which your work would not reach the widest audience possible. Please contact us for our Fair Use Policy, which includes a request form. You may also inquire regarding specific uses prior to signing our publication agreement if you are uncertain whether permission will be granted.

TopHow can I publish my work open access?
All IGI Global journals transitioned to publishing solely under open Access (OA) in January 2023 (under a gold open access model). For more information about open access, common misconceptions, etc. are all addressed on the Open Access Page

TopHow many complimentary copies of my publication will I receive? When can I expect them?
Please review your publication agreement with IGI Global. If you are to receive a print copy of the publication, it should arrive within two months of the release date. If the postal address you provided is outside of the U.S., it may take the entire two months to reach you. If you do not receive a copy, please contact cust@igi-global.com with your name, chapter title (if applicable), and title of the book.

Please note that IGI Global uses a third party shipper to send complimentary copies. The average delivery time is 4-6 weeks for international shipments and 2-4 weeks for domestic shipments. Tracking numbers are not available.

Instructions for accessing your online content and/or confirming your address for the complimentary copy will be emailed to you, so please check any spam filters for this email. They will be sent from marketing@igi-global.com within one week of the publication's release.

TopDo you publish textbooks, how-to guides, or manuals?
As an academic reference publisher, we cater to academic researchers, scientists, practitioners, and graduate and post-graduate students throughout the world. The goal of each publication is to inform the high-level study of another researcher through the sharing of academic progress. Therefore, we do not publish in the standard textbook, manual, or how-to guide formats. Our audience expects our publications to advance the field of research through this knowledge exchange, which often includes practical experience. Therefore, we only publish academic, peer-reviewed works that reach beyond the introductory level and link the theoretical frontier with functional, practical research. Many of our publications can be and are adapted for course supplementary use in upper level classrooms, with any classroom-slanted materials offered separately. We offer special discounts for classroom integration and encourage you to visit our Course Adoption Page to learn more!

TopHow will my published work be protected?
It is the full intention of IGI Global to protect its intellectual property and to ensure that its authors/editors receive full recognition for their research and ideas published in IGI Global books and journals. However, in light of all the possible means used by those who violate copyright, particularly in those countries where copyright laws are not recognized or enforced, it is extremely difficult to completely protect intellectual property from illegal uses. IGI Global takes every possible step to protect its publications in today’s electronic world to the best of our abilities.

TopHow do I get my journal indexed?
In order to get your journal indexed, it is important to adhere to the indexing guidelines here.