Devon and Cornwall Record Society (Charity Registration no. 1011931)
Notes for prospective
editors
PART I: WHAT WE PUBLISH
1. The Devon and Cornwall Record Society exists to publish
editions of original records relating, wholly or in major part, to one or both
of the two counties. Occasionally, it publishes handbooks too, such as Exeter Freemen, 1266-1967 and Guide to the Parish and Non-Parochial
Registers of Devon and Cornwall 1538-1837.
2. The Society usually publishes a single volume each year.
Our publisher is Boydell and Brewer. The normal print run is about 400-500
copies. Copies are sent to the 300 or so subscribers, and the rest are stored
for sale to the public, primarily through Boydell and Brewer; local sales are
also handled by the Society.
3. Volumes are paperback, and normally include about 100-250
pages (40,000-90,000 words). Longer and shorter texts will be considered for
publication but if texts are very long volume editors may be asked to make cuts
or seek additional funding to cover the higher publication costs. Longer texts
may also have to be split over two volumes.
4. Anyone wishing to propose a volume for publication should
write a proposal (see below) and submit it to the Honorary Editor along with
the other materials required. The Honorary Editor is also happy to discuss
potential volumes before a formal proposal is submitted. The application will
be considered by the Society's Council, in consultation with other experts in
the field.
5. When reviewing applications and drawing up a timetable
for publication, the Council will take the following into consideration:
- The
document’s significance and interest. Why is this document important? Why will
it interest the Society’s members, who include many local historians, family
historians, and general readers, as well as students and academics beyond the
Society’s membership? Is it primarily of
interest within the region, or in a wider area?
- How does it fit into the existing timeline of
publication and other planned series volumes? The Society plans its sequence of
volumes several years in advance. It aims to publish a diverse range of
volumes, keeping a balance between Devon and Cornwall, and between different
periods and types of document, as far as possible. This may mean that we
sequence some volumes later or earlier than others, rather than following a
strictly first-come-first-served policy.
- Does
it open up difficult or inaccessible documents to a wider audience? The Society welcomes proposals to edit
documents of all types from any period but it may give particular weight to
publishing material that is difficult for non-specialists to access without a
published edition, e.g. because of language or palaeography, or because it is
in a distant archive.
- The author’s
skills. Many of our volumes are not edited by professional academics and we
welcome submissions from independent scholars or local historians including
those without formal publishing experience. However, we will seek to confirm
that prospective editors have the skills to transcribe (and, if necessary,
translate or summarize) the documents and so we ask prospective editors to
submit digital photos of the original manuscript alongside their sample
transcriptions (see below, Part 4).
6. If the Council approves the application, it may, if it
chooses, appoint a General Editor for the volume, generally a member of Council
or other specialist in the field who will liaise with the author and help to
oversee the production of the final manuscript. Otherwise the Hon. Editor will
be the main point of contact. Other experts may be involved in commenting on
the project as it proceeds – for example, reading a draft introduction or
sample of text.
7. The Society normally bears the cost of type-setting,
printing, binding, mailing copies to subscribers, and sending out about 20
review copies. Authors are normally expected to pay for research costs, finding
illustrations, and arranging reproduction of material in copyright and
permission to publish (although the Society can reimburse the costs of
permissions and archival photography to a certain extent – see below, part 2).
Authors are also responsible for reading and checking proofs and for providing
an index. It is, however, helpful if authors can suggest organizations which
might offer grants to support publication. This should be discussed with the
Honorary/General Editor as appropriate before the final text of the book is
produced.
8. The Author will receive four free copies of the book, and
may buy others at 33% discount to the normal sale price, provided that these
are not for re-sale.
9. The Society reserves the right to increase or reduce the price
of its volumes and to hold book sales, at any time.
PART 2: OUR VOLUMES
The character of our volumes can be seen by looking at
recent previous ones. This section gives details about their format and
contents. Please also refer to Boydell and Brewer’s author guide, which
explains the process of publication, and their house style sheet. These can be
found at https://boydellandbrewer.com/boydell-brewer-author-guidelines/
Roughly speaking, each volume includes:
(a) Prelims: Table of Contents, Preface, Acknowledgements,
Lists of Text-Figures/Tables/Maps/ Illustrations/ Abbreviations as appropriate.
(b) An Introduction normally up to about 35 pages, i.e.
about 10,000 words. Some readers may not
be specialists in this period of history or kind of document, so it is
important in the introduction to explain the historical context of the
document, and also to show why this document is interesting and important. The
Introduction would normally be divided into sections with subtitles, and would describe
the nature of the document(s) being edited, the kinds of material it contains,
any problems and benefits which arise from using the document, how the document
affects (and is affected by) a wider understanding of the field to which it
relates, and how the document has been edited (e.g. has everything been
transcribed? Has original spelling/punctuation been amended at all?). The
Introduction aims to cater for both intelligent general readers and
professional historians -- providing what each needs to know. The Introduction
also includes footnotes as references.
(c) The Main Text, i.e. the document(s) being edited. If the
document is in Latin, an English translation must also normally be provided. A
calendar or summary might also be appropriate for certain kinds of document but
this needs to be discussed with the General Editor. If it is in old-fashioned English, it can
normally be transcribed as it stands, keeping the original spelling, but
modernising the use of i/j, u/v. Words that will be unfamiliar to most general
readers should be explained – this could be in footnotes, brackets, or a
glossary. Policy on capital letters,
punctuation, and spacing (e.g. of financial accounts) should be discussed with
the General Editor(s). The Main Text usually has only a few footnotes, limited
to explaining textual problems, names or technical terms, rather than long
explanatory notes.
(d) Bibliography, divided into published and unpublished sources.
(e) One or more indexes of names, places, and subjects. This
does not need to be submitted until the publisher has provided proofs of the
text.
(f) Tables, maps, plans and photographs are welcome. We
would normally publish these in black and white. Authors are responsible for
providing professionally drawn maps and plans and prints of photographs. In
order to provide illustrations of the document the Society can reimburse the
cost of a small amount of archival photography and the cost of permissions to
publish images – please discuss this with the General Editor before ordering.
Policy about maps and illustrations must be discussed with the General
Editor(s) at an early stage. Boydell and
Brewer has its own guidelines for the quality of images needed (e.g. resolution
of digital photos) and the permissions needed – so please discuss this with the
General Editor. The General Editor can also provide a template letter for
requesting permissions.
Authors are responsible for getting permission to reproduce
text, quotations, or illustrations from those to whom copyright belongs.
Permission should be gained from public archives, as well as private owners, to
reproduce photographs, documents or literary works. Please check with the
General Editor as to which permissions are required. Good-quality images and permissions to
publish maps or photographs must be sent to Boydell and Brewer at the same time
as the final manuscript.
PART 3: SUBMISSION OF TEXTS
1. All the contents of a volume (including tables, plans, maps,
and illustrations) must be seen by the Hon/General Editor in final draft before
the General Editor submits a clean text to the publisher. This is to enable the
Editor to see and comment on the nature of the work. This final draft must be submitted to the
General Editor well before the final submission date for the publisher, to
enable him/her to read and comment and allow time to make any changes. This
final draft should be absolutely complete, as regards checking and insertion of
references.
2. The clean text should be submitted to the Hon Editor in
MS Word in the first instance, either by email or via a file-sharing programme
such as Dropbox or WeTransfer.
3. Authors must produce texts according to Boydell and
Brewer’s House Style which can be found here: https://boydellandbrewer.com/boydell-brewer-house-style-guidelines/
4. The Society aims to publish its volumes late in each year. The following timetable indicates the typical
sequence for preparing and submitting a manuscript (although the General Editor
will discuss this with individual authors):
o 1
September of previous year (at latest). Author submits a final draft to the
General Editor to enable the Editor to comment on it. This draft should be
complete and ready for publication in all respects, including references.
o 1
January. General Editor will have sent comments on the final draft to the
author.
o 1 March. Author
sends final version to General Editor, who will send files to the publisher,
complete with manuscript, images, and permissions.
o
May-September. Author is available to answer
copy editor’s queries, read proofs and produce index
Any author unable to conform to this timetable should
discuss the matter with the General Editor as soon as possible and well before
the submission deadline for the draft.
PART 4: APPLICATION TO PUBLISH A VOLUME
Please produce your book proposal, drawn up as follows,
including both the section numbers and titles or questions, as listed below.
This will be considered by the General Editor(s) and by the Council of the
Society. Please submit it to the Hon. Editor (c.r.rider@exeter.ac.uk)
along with a sample transcription (approx. 3 pages) and digital photos of the
original document that relate to the section of text that has been transcribed.
1. The Applicant
- Surname and Forenames
- Preferred Title
- Occupation
- Relevant experience (e.g. degrees, professional
qualifications, previous publications)
- Contributions to Costs. (Are you able to contribute to the
cost of publishing your book, or can you identify organizations that may offer
grants to support publication?)
2. Description of the Volume
i. Title of Proposed
Book (preferably not more than 12 words). Consider here a title that will make
clear what the book is about and appeal to a general reader.
ii. A Synopsis of the Book. Please look at the Part 2,
above, before writing it. The synopsis should include a summary of each section
and a total word length. In calculating
word lengths, please remember to include footnotes. It should include a Description, of a page or
two, of what the Introduction and Main Text will each cover.
iii. Three Specimen Pages of Text along with digital photos
of these pages of the original document.
3. Questionnaire (Please start on a new sheet)
1. Why does this book merit publication? What makes this
document important, interesting and/or unusual?
2. What other books exist in the same field, and how does
yours differ from them?
3. What aspects of your work will interest general readers
who read history mainly for pleasure?
4. What aspects of your work will interest scholars?
5. What readership do you envisage the book having? (Please
identify, e.g. general readers, local or amateur historians, students (school
or university), academic historians, specialist groups? Readers within the
region, or outside it?)
6. Personal links.
(Do you have any personal links or reputation that would help the sale of your
book?)
7. Book Sales. (Who is likely to buy the book other than the
Society’s subscribers, who include many local historians and libraries in the
two counties, and major university libraries in England?)
8. Reviews. (Where should the Society send copies of your
book for review?)
9. Outline your timetable for completing the work. (Please
say how long you need to carry out remaining research and writing, and the date
by which the Society’s General Editor will be able to see all the work in final
draft.)
Catherine Rider
Honorary Editor, Devon and Cornwall Record Society
February 2022