Guidelines for Volume Editors

The editors of contributed volumes must follow the Press’s standard guidelines for authors, but they also have additional responsibilities as outlined in the Guidelines for Volume Editors (click here to download PDF).

Guidelines for Indexing

In most cases, authors of scholarly books are required by contract to prepare (or hire a professional indexer to prepare) an index according to our Guidelines for Indexing (click here to download PDF).

The index must be prepared at the same time as you proofread page proofs (i.e., after copyediting and typesetting). The turnaround time is typically three to four weeks. If you wish to hire a professional indexer, the Press can recommend someone, or you can find one through the American Society for Indexing.

Guidelines for Copyright and Permissions

All copyrighted material in your manuscript requires written permission unless public domain or fair use apply. You are responsible for obtaining written permission to publish any copyrighted material in your manuscript, per the requirements outlined in the Guidelines for Copyright and Permissions (click here to download PDF).

Guidelines for Illustrations

All illustrations must be provided at the same time as your final manuscript, and they must meet the standards outlined in the Guideline for Illustrations (click here to download PDF) before your manuscript can be copyedited.

Guidelines for Manuscript Preparation and Submission

Before providing your final manuscript to the Press, we ask that you edit and format it to meet our requirements, as outlined in our Manuscript Preparation and Submission guidelines.

Click here to download the complete set of our Guidelines for Authors.

Publish with WVU Press

Authors who would like West Virginia University Press to consider theirwork for publication should contact submissions@wvupress.com.

General guidelines for proposals are below. Email inquiries only. Please do not phone the office to discuss proposals or submissions, and please do not mail hard copies of your proposal or manuscript. We will not return mailed submissions. 

Guidelines for literary short fiction, fiction, and creative nonfiction submissions are here

Preparing a Book Proposal

Proposals should include, at a minimum, the following information:

1. An overview of the book including:
   • A summary of the book’s main argument, themes, and goals
   • A comparison of your book to others
   • A description of the target audience for your book
2. An annotated table of contents
3. Sample chapters, preferably including the introduction and at least one substantive chapter
4. Current curriculum vitae or biographical information
5. Manuscript specifics, including estimated length, delivery date, and any special requirements (e.g., artwork, tables, photographs, film stills)
6. Contact information for you, including mailing address, phone, and e-mail address

We do our best to respond to submissions in a timely manner, but due to our staff size and the steady flow of proposal submissions, our review of your proposal may take several weeks or months. Email inquiries to submissions@wvupress.com only. We cannot respond to phone calls or to mailed proposals or manuscripts. 

Resources for Authors and Writers:

Alfred Fortunato and Susan Rabiner, Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction and Get It Published (WW Norton, 2003)

William Germano, From Dissertation to Book (University of Chicago Press, 2005)

William Germano, Getting It Published, 2nd Edition: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious about Serious Books (University of Chicago Press, 2008)

Beth Luey, Handbook for Academic Authors (Cambridge University Press, 2002)
 
Beth Luey, Revising Your Dissertation: Advice from Leading Editors (University of California Press, 2007)

WVU Press House Style Guide

West Virginia University Press uses the following sources to resolve questions of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and style:

• The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.)
• Merriam-Webster’s Online (unabridged.merriam-webster.com and merriam-webster.com)
• Garner’s Modern English Usage (4th ed.)

The Press follows the recommendations in these three sources in nearly all cases. The WVU Press House Style Guide (click here to download PDF) provides exceptions to these sources as well as an overview of some common style points.

Of course, we acknowledge the validity of other style manuals and will follow the author’s choice of style as long as it is consistent, clear, and comprehensible to the reader.

West Virginia University Press publishes literary short fiction, fiction, and creative nonfiction by both new and established writers. Historically, WVU Press has published literary fiction with a focus on Appalachian culture, and although this continues to be an important part of its mission, its scope now expands beyond this region as it seeks to publish original voices from across the globe. With this in mind, WVU Press is dedicated to publishing literature that deals with diverse aspects of all cultures and bears a strong sense of place.

Agents and solicited submissions may email queries to submissions@wvupress.com

We accept unsolicited proposals from authors of all backgrounds (previously published or not) via email only. In return, we ask that you familiarize yourself with our publishing list in order to determine if your manuscript is a good fit for WVU Press. You may email queries and submissions to submissions@wvupress.com

West Virginia University Press no longer publishes creative work under the Vandalia Press imprint. All creative work will be published under West Virginia University Press.

At this time we are not accepting proposals for historical fiction, novellas, unsolicited poetry, young adult fiction, or children’s books. We do accept proposals for other genres, especially short story collections and novels. Creative nonfiction may be considered.

To submit:
Please provide, at minimum, a synopsis of the project, a short personal bio, and two chapters for a novel or creative nonfiction, or two stories for a story collection. You may also provide more information through a proposal.

Email submissions only. We do not accept submissions through the mail, only by email. Please do not call to discuss proposals or submissions, and please do not mail hard copies of your proposal or manuscript. We will not return mailed submissions. 

We do our best to respond to submissions in a timely manner, but due to our staff size and the steady flow of proposal submissions, our review of your proposal may take several weeks or months. If the fiction editor would like to read your full manuscript, you will be contacted. We cannot respond to letters, phone calls, or emails requesting proposal status. 

Call for Fiction Manuscripts

West Virginia University Press publishes literary short fiction, fiction, and creative nonfiction by both new and established writers. Historically, WVU Press has published literary fiction with a focus on Appalachian culture, and although this continues to be an important part of its mission, its scope now expands beyond this region as it seeks to publish original voices from across the globe. With this in mind, WVU Press is dedicated to publishing literature that deals with diverse aspects of all cultures and bears a strong sense of place.

Agents and solicited submissions may email queries to submissions@wvupress.com

We accept unsolicited proposals from authors of all backgrounds (previously published or not) via email only. In return, we ask that you familiarize yourself with our publishing list in order to determine if your manuscript is a good fit for WVU Press. You may email queries and submissions to submissions@wvupress.com

West Virginia University Press no longer publishes creative work under the Vandalia Press imprint. All creative work will be published under West Virginia University Press.

At this time we are not accepting proposals for historical fiction, novellas, unsolicited poetry, young adult fiction, or children’s books. We do accept proposals for other genres, especially short story collections and novels. Creative nonfiction may be considered.

To submit:
Please provide, at minimum, a synopsis of the project, a short personal bio, and two chapters for a novel or creative nonfiction, or two stories for a story collection. You may also provide more information through a proposal.

Email submissions only. We do not accept submissions through the mail, only by email. Please do not call to discuss proposals or submissions, and please do not mail hard copies of your proposal or manuscript. We will not return mailed submissions. 

We do our best to respond to submissions in a timely manner, but due to our staff size and the steady flow of proposal submissions, our review of your proposal may take several weeks or months. If the fiction editor would like to read your full manuscript, you will be contacted. We cannot respond to letters, phone calls, or emails requesting proposal status. 

Permissions Request

West Virginia University Press publishes literary short fiction, fiction, and creative nonfiction by both new and established writers. Historically, WVU Press has published literary fiction with a focus on Appalachian culture, and although this continues to be an important part of its mission, its scope now expands beyond this region as it seeks to publish original voices from across the globe. With this in mind, WVU Press is dedicated to publishing literature that deals with diverse aspects of all cultures and bears a strong sense of place.

Agents and solicited submissions may email queries to submissions@wvupress.com

We accept unsolicited proposals from authors of all backgrounds (previously published or not) via email only. In return, we ask that you familiarize yourself with our publishing list in order to determine if your manuscript is a good fit for WVU Press. You may email queries and submissions to submissions@wvupress.com

West Virginia University Press no longer publishes creative work under the Vandalia Press imprint. All creative work will be published under West Virginia University Press.

At this time we are not accepting proposals for historical fiction, novellas, unsolicited poetry, young adult fiction, or children’s books. We do accept proposals for other genres, especially short story collections and novels. Creative nonfiction may be considered.

To submit:
Please provide, at minimum, a synopsis of the project, a short personal bio, and two chapters for a novel or creative nonfiction, or two stories for a story collection. You may also provide more information through a proposal.

Email submissions only. We do not accept submissions through the mail, only by email. Please do not call to discuss proposals or submissions, and please do not mail hard copies of your proposal or manuscript. We will not return mailed submissions. 

We do our best to respond to submissions in a timely manner, but due to our staff size and the steady flow of proposal submissions, our review of your proposal may take several weeks or months. If the fiction editor would like to read your full manuscript, you will be contacted. We cannot respond to letters, phone calls, or emails requesting proposal status. 

Editorial Resources

➢    Chicago Manual of Style
(in print or at www.chicagomanualofstyle.org)

The CMS is your go-to reference for all grammar, punctuation, usage, or style questions—our house style almost always matches up with Chicago style. Navigating the stylebook takes some practice; be prepared to think of different terms that relate to your question so you can find the topic in the index. This book is particularly helpful when it comes to special subjects like religious terms, ethnicities, titles, etc., but it’s always a good first resource.

If you prefer to use the online version, you’ll need to pay for an account. Two great benefits to the online version are the search bar and the Q & A, where Chicago answers questions from other writers and editors.

➢    Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary 
(www.merriam-webster.com)

This is the primary dictionary that is used for our house style when spelling or usage is in question and cannot be determined by the CMS. In most cases, use the first spelling given by this dictionary. It contains most words and is useful for checking hyphenation of terms, as well—you can even look up some prefixes (i.e., anti-) to see a list of words beginning with them.

➢    Oxford English Dictionary
(http://dictionary.oed.com/entrance.dtl)

Available for free through the WVU library, this is a backup reference for when the free version of Merriam-Webster doesn’t contain a word in question. The OED contains almost every word in the English language, the history and development of each word, and examples of its use. Although not used by the press as the primary dictionary, it’s a good source to have on hand when others fall through.

➢    The Elements of Typographic Style
(by Robert Bringhurst)

This little black book is a great resource for special characters, which often come into play in medieval manuscripts. Appendix A, beginning on page 214, displays and names characters like dyets, eths, and thorns, providing a reference for when you need to discuss them in emails or correction lists or when you don’t recognize a special character. The following pages give details on each of the characters.

➢    Refdesk – Newspaper Titles
(www.refdesk.com/paper.html)

Newspapers may be mentioned in your text, and you may not be sure if the newspaper title is correct or whether the city is part of the name (i.e. The Morgantown Dominion Post vs. the Dominion Post). This site lists all the current newspapers by state, as well as newspapers worldwide. It’s a good idea to check any newspaper title you may be referencing.

(When dealing with newspapers that are no longer extant, it’s often easiest to type the supposed name and the city/state it’s from into a search engine—usually that will bring up a hit on Google.)

➢    EasyBib
(www.easybib.com)

This site is useful if you need to check a citation format. Just type in the title and choose the format, and it will automatically produce a citation.

Fiction

West Virginia University Press publishes literary short fiction, fiction, and creative nonfiction by both new and established writers. Historically, WVU Press has published literary fiction with a focus on Appalachian culture, and although this continues to be an important part of its mission, its scope now expands beyond this region as it seeks to publish original voices from across the globe. With this in mind, WVU Press is dedicated to publishing literature that deals with diverse aspects of all cultures and bears a strong sense of place.

We accept unsolicited proposals from authors of all backgrounds (previously published or not) via email only. In return, we ask that you familiarize yourself with our publishing list in order to determine if your manuscript is a good fit for WVU Press. You may email queries and submissions to submissions@wvupress.com.

West Virginia University Press no longer publishes creative work under the Vandalia Press imprint. All creative work will be published under West Virginia University Press.

At this time we are not accepting proposals for historical fiction, novellas, unsolicited poetry, young adult fiction, or children’s books. We do accept proposals for other genres, especially short story collections and novels. Creative nonfiction may be considered.

To submit:
Please provide, at minimum, a synopsis of the project, a short personal bio, and two chapters for a novel or creative nonfiction, or two stories for a story collection. You may also provide more information through a proposal.

We do our best to respond to submissions in a timely manner, but due to our staff size and the steady flow of proposal submissions, our review of your proposal may take several weeks or months. Email inquiries to submissions@wvupress.com only. We cannot respond to phone calls or to mailed proposals or manuscripts. If the editorial director would like to read your full manuscript, you will be contacted. 

Track Changes (in Microsoft Word)

The Track Changes tool can be found in the Reviewing toolbar (View → Toolbars → Reviewing).  Once the toolbar is visible, click on the Track Changes button to turn it on or off or press Command+Shift+E.

To customize Track Changes, click on “Show” (near the left side of the toolbar) and choose “Preferences.” A few tips:

• If more than one person will be editing the text (i.e., in-house editor and a freelancer, editor and an author), it’s best to leave the marks in the default “By author” setting, which means each person’s marks will be in different colors.
• Unless there are extremely few incidences of markup, it’s a good idea to turn the mark for changed lines off.  By default, changed lines have a black vertical line in the margin beside them. However, with a heavily marked text, this can end up as a continuous line in the margins and is more annoying than helpful.
• Turning off the balloons is another good idea. If they are left on, every little change will have its own balloon in the margin detailing the change. They crowd the page and can be confusing instead of helpful. 
• If you want to comment on something (i.e., point out text related to a query or suggest a rewording), highlight the relevant text and click “New Comment.” The reviewing pane will pop up so you can type your comment. 
• The reviewing pane can be turned on or off by going to Show → Reviewing Pane. 
• If multiple people have marked the text and you want to see only certain individuals’ marks, go to Show → Reviewers and click on the names of the reviewers you don’t want to see to turn them off. You can do the same thing to turn them back on later.
• To view the text with the marks implemented without accepting them, choose “Final” from the dropdown box nest to the “Show” button. 
• Use Track Changes with care—don’t just turn it on and markup the text indiscriminately.  Sometimes, a change is easier to understand if you turn the Track Changes off at certain moments.
  • (Ex: If you are changing an en dash to an em dash, it ends up looking like a long line or two em dashes. You can turn Track Changes off to delete the en dash and on to insert the em dash, which increases the clarity of the markup.)

Preparing a Book Proposal

Proposals should include, at a minimum, the following information:

1. An overview of the book including:
   • A summary of the book’s main argument, themes, and goals
   • A comparison of your book to others
   • A description of the target audience for your book
2. An annotated table of contents
3. Sample chapters, preferably including the introduction and at least one substantive chapter
4. Current curriculum vitae or biographical information
5. Manuscript specifics, including estimated length, delivery date, and any special requirements (e.g., artwork, tables, photographs, film stills)
6. Contact information for you, including mailing address, phone, and e-mail address

We make every effort to respond to inquiries promptly, but please expect an average response time of four weeks. Email inquiries only. Please do not phone the office to discuss proposals or submissions, and please do not mail hard copies of your proposal or manuscript.

Resources for Authors and Writers:

Alfred Fortunato and Susan Rabiner, Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction and Get It Published (WW Norton, 2003)

William Germano, From Dissertation to Book (University of Chicago Press, 2005)

William Germano, Getting It Published, 2nd Edition: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious about Serious Books (University of Chicago Press, 2008)

Beth Luey, Handbook for Academic Authors (Cambridge University Press, 2002)
 
Beth Luey, Revising Your Dissertation: Advice from Leading Editors (University of California Press, 2007)

Glossary

Publishing/Editorial Glossary

Abbreviations:

AP
Associated Press, which has its own style guidelines

CDC
Chicago Distribution Center, who distributes the WVU Press’s books.

CIP
Cataloguing-in-Publication data supplied by the Library of Congress for each book.  Typically, it is the responsibility of the press GTA to apply for CIP data.

MS
manuscript

TOC
table of contents

Terms:

Back Matter
everything that follows the last page of the main text (i.e., afterword, bibliography, author bio, etc.)

Callout
reference in text to indicate placement of image

Cross-References
reference by an author to another point in the text or to another author’s work in the same book

Edition
“version” of a text. For a new printing to be considered a new edition, there have to be significant changes made or new material added

Extract
block quote set out in text, usually indented, although we are placing them flush left more and more often

Front Matter
everything that precedes the first page of the main text (i.e., title page, copyright, table of contents, preface, etc.)

Global
applicable to the whole work (e.g., global changes)

Half Title
main title of the book; does not include subtitle

House Style
editorial style rules that are particular to a certain publishing house/press

Launch
the start point of the publication process of a book, where the basic information of the book is confirmed and the team discusses what needs done to get the process moving forward

Leading
vertical space betweens lines of text

Orphan
a word or part of a word that appears by itself on the last line of the paragraph, or the first line of a paragraph at the bottom of a page when the rest of the paragraph is on the following page

Reprint
new printing of book with no significant changes (errors may be corrected)

Running Heads
the chapter name/author name that runs across the top of each page

Style Sheet
a document created by an editor or copyeditor that details any terms that the editor was unsure about and any editorial decisions about spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, etc.  Its purpose is to maintain consistency & accuracy in the text.
 
Subheads
section headings in a text, not including chapter titles. They are often referred to by their level; a level 1 subhead would be a typical heading, while a level 2 subhead would fall within/below another heading.

Subsidy
money provided by a grant or foundation to help with or cover publication costs

Tracking
horizontal space between characters

Transmittal Sheet
a document that contains details about each book. Staff members will usually receive a draft of this before a launch meeting and a final copy will be put on the server. This is the go-to source for ISBNs, final title/subtitle, subsidy statements, format, etc.

Query
a question concerning the text, usually for the author/volume editor. Author queries usually concern questionable facts, confusion/clarification, and rewording to rectify awkwardness or lack of clarity.

Widow
a word (or few words) of a paragraph alone at the top of the new page

Submission Checklist

Please go through this list carefully to ensure that your manuscript is ready for submission. To download a PDF version of this checklist, click here.

Manuscript Final Editing

Have you:

• Made sure that the manuscript conforms to the style outlined in Chicago and in the manuscript guidelines?
• Prepared a style list and anomalies sheet and checked the manuscript against them?
• Included all the parts listed in the guidelines?
• Confirmed the spellings of names and terms, the accuracy of dates and quotations, etc., mentioned in the text?
• Confirmed that the chapter titles (and subheadings) match the table of contents and all related cross-references?
• Checked that each footnote/endnote has a corresponding reference number in the text, and vice versa?
• Checked that the source citations in all footnotes/endnotes match the information in the bibliography?
• Edited all charts, lists, and tables thoroughly?
• Confirmed that all captions correspond to the proper images?

Manuscript Preparation

Have you:

• Followed the electronic file preparation guidelines provided?
• Double-spaced the text?
• Used one-inch margins?
• Numbered the pages?
• Used Times New Roman font?
• Avoided complicated formatting (e.g., drop caps, small caps, bold text)?
• Inserted callouts in the manuscript to designate where images should be placed?
• Obtained permissions for all images and text under copyright?
• Prepared the permissions log for all copyrighted material?

Manuscript Submission

Have you:

• Sent the correct version of the manuscript?
• Included the style list and anomalies sheet with the manuscript?
• Supplied all images, tables, and captions (as separate files) in addition to the manuscript?
• Provided permissions letters and the permissions log with the manuscript?

Contact the Press as soon as possible with any questions or issues.