GUEST EDITOR KIT

IEEE Communications Magazine
Guest Editor Kit

Proposing and Organizing a Feature Topic Issue

1. Proposing a Feature Topic (FT)

   Feature topics are special issues of the magazine organized around a timely technical topic of broad interest to the readership. In contrast to stand-alone papers, papers in a FT (typically 3 to 6) are related around a central theme. FTs give papers more prominence and provide a broader perspective on a topic to readers.

   Guest editors interested in organizing an FT are invited to submit a proposal to the Editor-in-Chief (EiC) that describes the significance, timeliness, and scope of the FT. The proposal should address at least:

   • Background and motivation
   • Significance and relevance to Communications Magazine
   • Scope (typically including a list of specific technical issues)
   • Plan for advertising the CFP and handling the reviews of submissions
   • Short biographies emphasizing the guest editors' experience in the topic and relevant editorial experience
   • Tentative schedule (from CFP distribution to final manuscripts to ComSoc)
   • Draft call-for-papers
   • Optionally a list of potential authors/reviewers

   Guest editors should be aware that:

   • FTs are focused on a topic but the topic should have broad appeal to the magazine's readership.
   • Submissions should be collected from open call, not personal invitations (individual authors may be encouraged to write a paper but all submissions go through the same peer review process without assurance of acceptance).
   • Advertising a call-for-papers should not rely only on publishing the CFP in the magazine.
   • Guest editors can not submit papers to their own feature topic, without exceptions
   • A team of guest editors representing different geographical regions is an advantage. A large team of guest editors can become awkward to coordinate. A proposal with 3 or more guest editors should mention how the team members will work together.
   • Guest editors should be aware of the magazine's guidelines for style and paper length (see below).

   FT proposals will be reviewed by the editorial board. The EiC will notify the guest editors with a recommendation that may be rejection, conditional acceptance with recommended changes, or acceptance.

2. Organizing a FT

   If an FT is accepted, the EiC will schedule the FT for a specific issue and discuss the schedule with the guest editors. The guest editors should then start to advertise the call-for-papers.

   The EiC may assign a technical editor to serve as a liaison to the guest editors. The liaison editor is to provide help and advice and oversee the progress according to the committed schedule. The liaison editor is not to duplicate or replace the duties of the guest editors. The liaison editor does not review papers, but may be requested by the EiC to scan the final accepted papers and their reviews to verify conformance with the magazine's guidelines for format, style, and quality.

   If possible, the call-for-papers will be advertised in the magazine but should also be distributed through other avenues according to the FT proposal plan (e.g., mail lists, conference flyers, Web sites, newsletters). Accounts will be created for guest editors in Manuscript Central. All paper submissions should be done online through Manuscript Central following the usual procedures, except papers should be designated for the specific FT using a "Please Select a Topic or Series" drop down menu. When a paper has been properly uploaded, guest editors will be automatically notified by Manuscript Central.

   Manuscript Central should be used to assign at least three reviewers to each submission. If a reviewer does not already have an account, guest editors can create a new reviewer account.

   The general process for guest editors using Manuscript Central is:

   1. Log in with your user id and password at http://commag-ieee.manuscriptcentral.com/. You may update your password and edit your information.
   2. Click on Editorial Board Center.
   3. To see all the manuscripts assigned to you, click on "Original Manuscripts" in the left frame. Or to search, insert information about a specific paper (e.g., author's name) on the right and click "search." Note: your designation will be "Liaison Editor" on any paper for which your are the assigned editor.
   4. Download the articles by clicking on the article title. In the next window, click on the article's title again. The file will be downloaded to your hard drive and opened by the appropriate application.
   5. Familiarize yourself with the article. Once you decide if an article is to be either rejected without review or submitted to the review process, return to the manuscripts page and click on the "View Details" button for the article you are working on. Find the "Liaison Editor Actions" section and do one of the following:
      1. If you choose to reject the article without a review, click the "Make Recommendation" button. In the next window, go to the "Post Recommendation" block and click the "Post Recommendation" button. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select the "Rejected" radio button. You may add information to the two comment blocks at the top of the page as you see fit. Click "Send to the Editor-in-Chief" button.
      2. If you choose to submit the article to the review process, click the "Assign or Remove Reviewer" button. In the next window, follow the "Instructions" in the box in the lower half of the page. You must assign a minimum of three reviewers to the article. When a reviewer notifies you that they accept the invitation to review, you must return to the Editorial Board Center of Manuscript Central. Choose your article and then "View Details." Click "Assign or Remove Reviewer," and click on the "Agreed" button next to the reviewer's name. A standard email letter will pop up again. If this article is going to be part of a topic, you should insert a reminder to the reviewer that this article is part of a larger entity containing several articles on the same topic. The reviewer should take this into account in their review. You can add information on the topic at this point if you see fit.
   6. The reviewer reviews the article. You will be notified by email when the review is complete. To make a decision once a minimum of three reviews are completed, return to the Editorial Board Center of Manuscript Central. Click "Original Manuscripts: Manage Reviewers and Make Recommendations" in the left column, and then click "View Details" for the article you are working on. Scroll down to the second from the bottom block and click "View Review Form" for each Reviewer. To see any documents that the Reviewer may have added to their evaluation or to add your own documents, click the "Attach Files" button below the "View Review Form" button. Close. When you are ready to make a recommendation, go to the "Liaison Editor Actions" block and select the "Make Recommendation" button. Scroll down to click "Post Recommendation" when you are ready to send your recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief. Fill out the form and enter your comments. When you are finished, click "Send to Editor-in-Chief." Click "Send Letter."

   There are detailed instructions for this process in Manuscript Central. You can download a PDF of the instructions by clicking on the "Editorial Board Center Guide" title of the Editorial Board Center. Please contact IEEE Support (http://ieeesupport.custhelp.com) if Manuscript Central is not functioning according to the Guide.

   Regarding acceptances and rejections:

   • All articles must comply with the magazine's guidelines for style and format (see below). Articles not in compliance risk being rejected.
   • The purpose of 3 reviews for each submission is not only to decide on acceptance or rejection, but also to help authors improve their work. In particular, reviews should offer constructive advice for authors of rejected papers.
   • A submission may be rejected promptly without review for certain reasons:
     1. It is not technical in nature.
     2. It is essentially an advertisement of a commercial product.
     3. It has been previously published or has been submitted elsewhere at the same time.
     4. It grossly violates the magazine's guidelines, e.g., the paper is 7,000 words long or contains 20 equations.
   • If a submission is judged to be outside the scope of the FT, the EiC should be notified to redirect it to another part of the magazine.
   • It is helpful if authors of conditionally accepted papers return a revised paper along with a list of changes made in response to specific reviewers' comments. A conditionally accepted paper requiring minor changes usually does not need a second round of reviews if it has evidently addressed all of the recommended changes.
   • Usually, an FT schedule will not allow acceptance of papers requiring major revisions because these papers need to go through a second round of reviews before acceptance. However, if these papers are revised and found to be acceptable eventually, they can be published later as standalone papers.

   If a liaison editor has been assigned, the guest editors should inform the liaison editor about the accepted papers. The accepted papers and their reviews should be made accessible to the liaison editor.

   After a paper is accepted for publication, the author will need to submit an entire publication package over and above what they submitted for this review process. Instructions for the publication package are available at: http://www.comsoc.org/pubs/commag/pub_guidelines.html. The publication package will be sent to the ComSoc publications staff. The publications staff does not have access to Manuscript Central and to materials submitted there.

   Final manuscript materials are due to the ComSoc publications office at least 2 months prior to the FT issue. For example, if the FT is scheduled for December, final manuscripts are due by October 1.

   Guest editors should prepare a guest editorial (800 words maximum) that mentions each paper in order of appearance and includes IEEE-style biographies for each guest editor (75 words maximum). The guest editorial should address the significance, impact, practical usefulness, and future directions of the topic. Perhaps most importantly, it should convey the guest editors' enthusiasm to the readers. An editorial which does little more than describe each feature article will not be acceptable.

   Guest editorials should be emailed in plain text to the publications office, along with black and white photographs of each guest editor. Digital photographs often do not exhibit the quality required for print formats, so regular photographs are preferred. If a digital photo is necessary, it should be tiff format with at least 300 dpi resolution.

3. Guidelines for Style and Format
   • Articles should be tutorial in nature and written in a style comprehensible to readers outside the specialty of the article.
   • Articles may be edited for clarity and grammatical accuracy, and will be copyedited according to the magazine's style.
   • Mathematical equations should be limited to three.
   • References should be limited to 15. References to URLs and IETF drafts should be avoided due to their temporary nature.
   • Paper length should not exceed 4,500 words.
   • Figures and tables should be limited to a combined total of 6.
   • Footnotes are strongly discouraged.
   • Articles should avoid statements perceived as advertisements or endorsements of commercial products.
   • References must be numbered sequentially, not alphabetically. The basic reference format is: [#] A. Brown, "Communications and modern man," IEEE Commun. Mag., vol. 1, no. 1, Jan. 1998, pp. 11-38.
4. Timeline
   • Final publication packages are due to the ComSoc publications office at least two months prior to the FT issue. Ensure the authors have been directed to the author guidelines at http://www.comsoc.org/ci to determine what they need to send in for a full publication package prior to the deadline.
   • Page proofs are sent to the contact author of each paper 4 weeks prior to issue date.
   • Page proofs are due back to IEEE 3 weeks prior to issue date.
5. Submission of Accepted Materials to the Publishing Staff

   Only articles that have been accepted by the EiC following the review process should be sent to the production staff. When submitting the final version of the article, the following materials must be included:

   • Editable electronic files for the manuscript (ascii, text-only) via e-mail. Microsoft Word files are also acceptable. Use of zip, stuffit or other compression is advised. Do not send files on a floppy disk.
   • Clean hard copy of the manuscript with abstract, figures, tables, equations, biographies, references, etc. Captions for figures and tables and callouts for them within the text must be included. Figures must separated out. Even if they are included within the manuscript pages, place figures at the end of the paper, one per page. PDF files can be accepted for hard copy.
   • If you cannot provide a PDF file, you must print out a version and send that by the deadline. Faxes are unacceptable. ue to differences in the use of Microsoft products across platforms, Microsoft Word files are not acceptable as the hardcopy version.
   • Printed copy as well as an electronic version of all authors' biographies (recommended length: 50 to 75 words).
   • Completed and signed copyright form. In addition, The IEEE U.S. Export Control Compliance Form should be completed by authors who are submitting military- or defense-related material, and:
     • Are U.S. nationals (including green card holders); or
     • Work for a U.S.-based organization, regardless of where they are physically located; or
     • Work at a U.S. location of a non-U.S.-based organization.
     The copyright form must be mailed. No electronic copies of the copyright form can be accepted. For information on IEEE copyright policy please visit the IEEE Copyright FAQ page and the IEEE Policies and Guidelines page. For information on obtaining permission to reuse IEEE copyrighted material, see the IEEE Information page. For information on electronic preprints or posting your article on your own server, please visit the IEEE Electronic Information Dissemination page.
   • Contact author's mailing address suitable for Federal Express delivery (i.e., no P.O. boxes), telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address. Also include the e-mail address for each author if available.
   • Hardcopy of manuscripts should be one-sided only and include all required formatting in text, figures, tables, equations, etc.
   • IEEE Communications, Network, and Wireless Communications magazines do not use templates for submission of materials.
   • Figures will be redrawn to fit the style of the magazine. We will need a version, printable by us, sent as part of the PDF file. Please send each figure, clearly labeled on a separate page or in a separate file. If your article contains photographs, do not send gifs or jpegs. These low-resolution formats work fine on the Internet or for viewing on a monitor, but they will not yield high quality print versions. Send original photographs for scanning by the staff. If your photograph was prepared digitally (i.e. with a digital camera or as a screenshot), please use the high-resolution (300 dpi or greater) tif setting. If your photo was captured as a jpeg and then converted to a tif, it will retain the low quality of the original jpeg in the final print version. In other words, don't bother changing it from a jpeg or gif to a tif, it won't improve the quality. Remember: jpegs and gifs are fine for the web but not for print processes. If there is no way you can supply us with a good quality original photo, we can not be responsible for the results you will see in the final printed magazine.
   • Screenshots: If your paper contains screenshots, please send the original digital image along with your paper via email.
   • All materials should be sent to:

     Pubsub
     IEEE Communications Society
     3 Park Ave.
     17th Floor
     New York, NY 10016 USA
     tel: +1-212-705-8963; fax: +1-212-705-8999

   Single complementary issues of the magazine are mailed to contact authors, with copies included for distribution to co-authors.

6. Contacts

   Please view the Staff List for contact information.