Special Issues
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS ) offers an efficient new way of publishing special issues which are commonly the result of a session or multiple sessions at conferences, but can also be from a small group of people deciding that a given special issue on a given subject of theme would be appropriate. The individual papers are peer-reviewed & published as soon as available in regular issues, but then labeled as part of the special issue and linked electronically. The special issue can comprise any number of journals, the special issue editors can be the same or different in different journals, the manuscript processing follows the standard special issue pathway of the journal where the manuscript is submitted, all published papers are co/listed on a joint special issue webpage (in addition to the regular chronological volume of each journal).
The specific advantages are:
- Publication date is not limited by the latest paper/slowest peer-review process: every individual contribution to the special issue is published as soon as available.
- All contributions efficiently linked and coherently presented on dedicated special issue webpages (an appropriate logo is welcome as *.jpg file), easily accessible from the NHESS Online Library (chronological volumes and issues).
- Guest editors can define the order of the published papers on the SI webpage.
- Print-version available upon completed publication of all contributions. A minimum order of 20 copies will be needed, and the price will depend on the total number of pages in the special issue.
The price per printed copy is calculated as follows:
number of pages x 0.15 €
+ Softcover and Binding (2.25 €) (Hardcover price on request)
+ Priority Mail (individually calculated)
= Net Price + VAT
Please contact the Copernicus Publications Production Office for an official offer.
Special Issue Proposal & Guidelines for Editors
Thank you for considering publishing a special issue with NHESS. We have drawn up some brief guidelines to help you with the process of submitting a proposal, and so that you might better understand your responsibilities as a special issue editor. Please note that we (a) particularly encourage "review" articles for a special issue, with an average of one review article solicited for every 8-10 papers in the special issue, (b) welcome a "preface" by the special issue editors, pulling together articles, and (c) encourage the special issue editors to work with the authors, so that each set of authors are aware of what others are submitting, and thus can "cross-reference" other papers in the special issue where appropriate.
Submission & Review of a Proposal
If you are interested in guest editing a special issue of NHESS, submit a two to three page proposal to the Managing Editor. The proposal should include the following information:
- Proposed title for the special issue;
- Names, affiliations, full contact details, and brief CV of the proposed special issue guest editors;
- Expected start & end dates for submissions;
- A brief (half page) statement describing the purpose of the special issue;
- A draft of the call for papers that will solicit submissions for the special issue;
- A description of the policy you propose for reviewing the submitted manuscripts;
- Any other information that will help the evaluation of the proposal (e.g., Is the special issue the result of one or several conference special sessions? Are there specific people that you already have in mind that might contribute? Do you have a rough idea of about how many papers might be published and their average length?).
Your proposal will be reviewed by the Managing Editor, who will decide based on the expected contribution of the special issue and its appropriateness for NHESS.
Responsibilities of Special Issue Editors:
If the Executive Editorial Board decides to pursue the publication of a special issue, an Editor or Managing Editor from NHESS will be assigned as liaison, and the editors of the special issue will assume the following responsibilities:
- Work with the authors to obtain manuscripts of high quality.
- Ensure that authors are aware of the manuscript submission process.
- Coordinate a rigorous peer-review process (at least two independent referees).
- Ensure that the English is at a high level, and request a copy-editing if necessary.
- Discuss with the Liaison Editor any changes that constitute a significant deviation from the prospectus.
- Work to keep the special issue on schedule and periodically update the Liaison Editor on the progress of the special issue.
Please view currently Scheduled Special Issues or browse existing special issues following the link Special Issues.
