What Makes Duke Press Journals Special?
Reaching across disciplines, Duke Press shows why journals still matter
Many hours of hard work go into publishing a single journal issue. With over 50 journals at Duke University Press, the Press staff works with scholar editors to create beautifully designed, easy-to-read and readily available journal issues.
But much of the process can be mysterious, even to scholars. Duke University Press is currently running a blog series that goes behind the scenes of journal publication. You can read the entire series here. Below are some of the highlights:
Stacy Lavin, managing editor of South Atlantic Quarterly, which was launched by historian John Spencer Bassett back when Duke was Trinity College, says the biggest challenge is "making key decisions about timeliness while maintaining high editorial standards—making good judgment calls about when to move forward."
"It’s really exciting troubleshooting all the small issues that come up at the boundary of content and form, because I get to help shape the final project," said Lavin.
She added the Press prides itself on good customer service, "being courteous and understanding where people are coming from."
Journals aren't just for the humanities, and Duke University Press publishes leading journals in a range of fields, including the Duke Mathematical Journal. Ray Lambert, senior managing editor for science, technology and mathematics journals at Duke University Press, says all journals share the goal of publishing a clearly understood, well-designed publication, even though the editors may be reaching a different audience.
"We want to maintain a high standard of quality and accessibility, so we focus on making sure that the language is clear and that terms and notation are used consistently within articles," Lambert said. "Our main goal is to work with our authors to make sure that the final articles are well presented. Our group has a lot of collective experience in editing math articles; and while our approach is thorough, particularly to citations and bibliographies, we do know when to tread carefully!"
With years of experience, Duke University Press editors have a pretty good idea of what makes a successful journal article. There are several steps, editors say, that will get their attention, getting them saying, "I look forward to reading this."
"An editor can usually tell within three pages of reading a submission whether it is relevant to the journal’s interests, and sometimes even sooner, when, for example, the cover letter betrays a lack of awareness about the journal (it is addressed to someone who is not the current editor or 'to whom it may concern,'" said Michael Cornett, editor of Duke University Press' Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies.
10 Elements of a Good Journal Proposal
