Submit
Submitting to ePress demonstrates an understanding and acceptance of all our procedures, including a commitment to Open Access publishing and Creative Commons licensing. Publishing is a process that tends to take longer than most authors expect. When an author submits a work to ePress it is expected that the work is fully formed and ready for publication; all images, tables and graphs have the appropriate attributions and referencing, and are in the highest quality format possible; that all the guidelines have been read and understood.
Submission
Once your submission is received, the editors decide whether ePress would ultimately be interested in the work and may decline to progress the submission. If ePress would like to take it further, two to three internal and external reviewers are sourced. It can take a while to find the appropriate reviewers for any given piece. At ePress we are committed to publishing quality assured work and this means that the right reviewers must be found to do your work justice, even if this takes a while.
Reviewing
Reviewing can take between two to five weeks (longer for larger manuscripts) once the reviewers have been confirmed, depending on the reviewer and their current workload. Reviewers are sent a redacted version of your manuscript and a Reviewers Form to complete. Once all the reviews have been returned to ePress, we compile the comments, redact where it is required and send them to the author. At this stage the author is encouraged to consider the reviewer feedback carefully and take the opportunity to make amendments, suggested editing, double check copyrights (please remember that all images/tables/figures will fall under creative commons licencing; it is your responsibility to inform image/table/figure owners/authors of this and attain their permission) and referencing, if this will improve the piece. If there is a strong indication from the majority of reviewers that a rewrite is necessary then, with consultation between the author and ePress, the submission and review process begins again.
Production
After reviewer feedback has been considered and any adjustments have been made the production phase of the process begins. This can involve final proofreading, editing, layout and design and can take up to four weeks, sometimes longer with larger works. If the piece is a book, conference proceedings, journal or any other larger work that requires a keen design eye the work may need to go to a designer. ePress is happy to work with the author and considers all work on a case-by-case basis and will assist with, or cover, costs where possible. Please keep in mind if you are publishing a work as an editor/s, such as a conference proceedings, then all proofreading, editing, layout and design is the responsibility of the editor/s (assistance is provided but needs to be negotiated in advance).
Publication
Once everything is complete a final copy will be sent to the author for review. After this stage the piece is published on the ePress website and no further changes or corrections can be made – this is not negotiable. Please ensure you review the final work carefully before this happens, this is the authors last chance to make any corrections. Now the work is published feel free to share it with your friends and colleagues, and celebrate!
ePress operates an online open access quality assured publishing house with limited resources and relying on the contribution of Associate Editors and reviewers. We are happy to answer any questions you may have and welcome first time authors.
AUTHOR GUIDELINES
When submitting your work to ePress for production, complete the submission form and email the files to us, or get in touch to organise a shared Dropbox. Keep a complete backup copy and please do not zip your files. In the case of shorter length works, it may be possible to submit the entire manuscript electronically. It is essential that only complete, final manuscripts be sent to ePress. Text files should be provided in Microsoft Word (.doc) format. Should you wish to provide your manuscript using an alternative program, please contact ePress to discuss your submission.
Document Structure
For longer work, chapters should be saved individually. Please give the files logical filenames (i.e. Preface.doc, Chapter01.doc, Chapter02.doc, etc.). If your manuscript contains any unusual symbols, accents, or characters, this needs to be brought to our attention. It may be necessary to provide a hard copy print out with the unusual characters clearly marked.
Short Papers: Journal Articles, Individual Conference Proceeding Papers, Theses Reviews and eMedia text
ePress Series: Research Reports, Discussion and Occasional Papers, Working Papers or Specialised Papers
The length for these short papers is approximately 6000 words (excluding references). Please use the following document structure:
- Title page (including authors gull names, qualifications, institutions, and contact address)
- Abstract (maximum 350 words)
- Introduction/background
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Acknowledgements (if any)
- List of abbreviations or acronyms (if any)
- List of tables, illustrations, etc. (if any)
- Appendices (if any)
- References/Bibliography
Books and Monographs
There is no maximum length for longer works, which may include full-length books. Please use the following document structure:
- Title page
- Foreword (if any)
- Preface (if any)
- Contributors (if any)
- Acknowledgements (if any)
- List of abbreviations or acronyms (if any)
- List of maps, illustrations, etc. (if any)
- Contents page
- Introduction (if any)
- Subsequent chapters/sections (including all tables, figures and footnotes)
- Appendices (if any)
- References/Bibliography
Images and Tables
Illustrative material (with the exception of tables – see below) should not be embedded in MS Word but supplied as separate image files with the following standards:
- Saved and supplied as a JPEG or TIFF file. If in doubt, please discuss with ePress.
- Resolution at a minimum of 300 dpi at 100% of final size
- Please name the artwork with logical filenames (i.e. Figure01.tif, Figure02. tif, etc.).
To indicate where this material should be included, clear text markers (such as “[INSERT FIG 1]”) should be placed in the text. Figure numbers/titles and captions should immediately follow this text marker.
Artwork should be placed as close as possible to the point where it is first mentioned in the text. All figures and tables should be numbered consecutively and should be referred to in the text by number. In your text, refer to the figures and tables by number (as in “see Figure 1”) rather than by position (never say “see the figure below”).
Tables generated by Microsoft Word or excel are preferred for overall design and layout.
Referencing
ePress requires all written work adhere to academic APA 7th referencing guidelines. Please click here for further information.
Indexing
Given the advanced search and find facilities of the browsers through which digital publications are read, it is often argued that static indexes are largely unnecessary. Should an index be required for your work, however, there are two options: (1) the author can compile the index or (2) the author can arrange for the indexing to be done professionally at their cost. It is important to note that the process of production necessarily changes the pagination of submitted manuscript files. Do not attempt to index your work before consulting with ePress. Indexes should only be compiled as the final part of the production process.
Permissions
Your published work with ePress will be Open Access, so you must ensure that your content has the appropriate permissions for this. It is the responsibility of the author to acquire written permission to use any type of copyright material, including but not limited to text, images, illustrations, etc, and to cover any associated costs. If in doubt, ask permission, or ask us. Under New Zealand copyright law – the Copyright Act 1994 – you may need to obtain the copyright owner’s permission to reproduce extracts from literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, film, sound and communication works. You are not allowed to use a “substantial portion” of any work without permission. How much “a substantial portion” is depends on the length of the original work and whether or not the piece is a significant piece of the work (“infringement depends on the quality of what is taken, rather than the quantity”). Using another’s photographs is more straightforward: permission is always required and attribution is essential (ePress can help you attain free Creative Commons images). There is no set time frame for acquiring copyright permissions. Approval can take weeks or even months, especially from overseas publishers. For further information about the copyright of other people/work not covered under a Creative Commons license click here.
Click here for a template letter for copyright permission. Your request should be directed to the publisher of the work you wish to reproduce. You are required to supply a list of copyright items, along with the final manuscript, click here for the template. A copy of each permission letter should be attached to the list, and the relevant extracts should be clearly indicated. If you are submitting a work which has previously appeared as a printed book, whether this might be out of print or not, you need to obtain written permission from the original publisher to do so. Click here for the template.
Design
ePress encourages and welcomes suggestions for the cover illustration and design. However we reserve the right to make the final decision on cover design. This is necessary for the following reasons:
- ePress maintains a high standard of presentation and design, representing as it does the best of Unitec research and scholarly communication. Decisions for each title are considered with the whole publishing site and publishing endeavor in mind.
- The cover design has to conform to a certain standard, which can be applied across all formats, i.e. PDF, ePub and websites. For this reason appropriate type styles, sizes and colour schemes are preferred.
- A title might form part of a series in which case the cover design has to remain consistent and true to the original concept.
- ePress staff are qualified to make decisions on the display and marketability of the works and are best able to advise authors on what works well in an online and print environment.
- The author is encouraged to work with the ePress to discuss and negotiate any design ideas. ePress will have the final decision.
If the author wishes to recommend an artwork or photograph for the cover, he or she should obtain copyright clearance for this image as well as the permission from the artist or the artist’s estate to do so. Any costs for the use of this image are to be borne by the author or ePress by negotiation. Cover images should be supplied in high-resolution TIFF or JPEG format with resolution at a minimum of 300 dpi at 100% of final printed size.