| Books Guidelines | |
| 1. | Submission, Review, and Acceptance |
| 2. | Suggestions to Organizers |
| 3. | Manuscript Preparation |
| 4. | Figures |
| 5. | Tables |
| 6. | Appendixes, Data Repository, and Cover Art |
| 7. | Contact Information |
| 8. | Ethical Guidelines for Publication |
GSA Books
Submission, Review, and Acceptance
Organizers (conveners of GSA symposia or other meetings, as well as independent project editors) of volumes are encouraged to write early in their planning to Bryan Hibbard at GSA Books with a one-page proposal. It should include a preliminary table of contents (on second page if necessary) with possible authors for each chapter. It should include a statement as to why GSA should publish the book and the audience for whom it is intended. Please note if the book is intended for specialists or if it will appeal to a more general earth sciences audience.
In addition, it is helpful to include some information on the background and significance of the proposed volume. After giving provisional approval to a project, the GSA Books Science Editor appoints the volume editor(s) for the proposed Special Paper or Memoir. Normally, the organizers of the volume will become the editors of the proposed volume. The steps in this process follow.
- The volume editors are responsible for obtaining two independent reviews for each manuscript. Reviewers should be knowledgeable in the field but not associated with the project. Reviewers can critique more than one paper. (The Books Science Editor will furnish manuscript appraisal forms for book reviewers.)
- The volume editors send the manuscript with the reviewers' comments and their additional recommendations to the authors for revision.
- Authors send the revised manuscripts, along with the original manuscript with line numbers keyed to reviewer comments, to the volume editors.
- Once the volume editors approve the revisions and the manuscripts are revised if necessary, one copy of the volume is sent to the Books Science Editor along with the electronic files for each manuscript (including figures and tables) and the reviewer-related material for each chapter.
- The Books Science Editor checks over the manuscript prior to sending GSA headquarters the recommendation to publish. At this point, the volume is assigned a Special Paper or Memoir number and the publications production process is carried out by GSA Books Program staff.