Information for Authors - Research Assessment Exercise 2008

As the RAE deadline approaches, we thought that it would be pertinent to give our authors as much information as possible about the plans that we are putting into place for the publishing and scheduling of RAE-eligible titles.

This page will be updated periodically as the deadline nears. Please note that it relates to Palgrave Macmillan only.

For books to be considered eligible for the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, we understand that they must have been published (i.e., stock must have been released from our warehouse) by 31 December 2007.

Although we cannot promise a particular date for publication, we can assure you that with your cooperation we will do our best to ensure that any typescript contracted and submitted for publication for the RAE is released in time. However, there may be circumstances beyond our control that delay the schedule. Also, in the case of some of our textbooks, we may need to take into account marketing considerations and the ideal publication period for maximizing adoptions for your book, but your commissioning editor will almost certainly have raised this issue with you already.

Delivery Deadline

For a title to be published by December 2007, the full delivery package (see below) must be received and the typescript accepted and approved in-house for publication by October 2006 at the latest. This is longer than our standard schedule but we have to make

allowances for the likely high volume of publishing going through at the time, based on experience from previous RAEs. If you deliver your typescript after October 2006, but before the end of December 2006, we will make our best effort to publish the book within 2007, but you will need to discuss this with your commissioning editor. There may be commercial reasons why we cannot accommodate your request.

The full delivery package includes:

• 2 copies of the double-spaced typescript
• 1 copy on disk/CD-Rom
• Completed Author publicity form
• Completed Editorial Information Form
• Signed Agreements from Contributors (if an edited book)
• Copies of all permissions requests for third party material
• Cover suggestions
• Any other requested information

To ensure a smooth production process, it is important that you turn around queries, proofs and the index proofs as quickly as possible, informing the Editorial Services Consultant promptly of any problems or changes, for example change of address.

Tracking titles

We will monitor and track all RAE eligible titles through our production system, so it is important that you let us know well in advance whether you plan for your book to be included.

If you already have a contract for a book with us, and you have now decided that you want to submit it for the RAE, or you have questions or concerns about your timetable for delivery, please discuss this with your editor as soon as possible.

Titles not yet under consideration

If you have a new proposal for a book that you would like to have published for the RAE, please send us your proposal and sample material to the relevant subject editor as soon as possible. As the deadline for publication approaches, we will only be able to consider full manuscripts for RAE publication.

Copyright dates

It is standard practice for publishers to change the copyright line date in the latter months of the calendar year (usually in the last quarter). This is to prevent titles looking out of date at the beginning of the next year.

HEFCE’s advice on verifying dates of publication is given in its Guidance on Submissions (RAE 03/2005) para. 100

100. For publications the date of appearance will generally be that indicated by its imprint. If the date of imprint differs from the date of actual publication, and one of these dates lies outside the publication period, the variance must be noted in the data collection software. Examples could be journal volumes relating to a particular year in a sequence but actually published in a different calendar year. In such circumstances institutions may be required to provide evidence of the actual date of publication for data verification purposes, such as a letter from the publisher. In all cases the date for determining whether or not an output was produced within the publication period and hence is eligible for submission will be the date at which it became publicly available.

If your book does carry 2008 date on the imprint page, and yet it is going to be published before the end of 2007, please contact your commissioning editor to provide you with a formal letter confirming the actual publication date of the book.