A true publishing partnership
SAGE publishes more than 750 journals, including those of more than 225 learned
societies and institutions. We are committed to meeting the needs of academic and
professional communities and to working with those communities to define and meet
the information needs of the future. This means keeping focused on the opportunities
that arise through the development of new media, as well as new trends, new research
agendas, new methodologies, and new publishing models.
Our mission is to enhance and distribute effectively intellectual property. Our extensive
list of journals spans more than 30 disciplines and includes some of the premier journals
in the social sciences and medicine and technology. SAGE prides itself on offering:
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responsive and flexible editorial and publishing support
open and collaborative partnerships with editors and societies
targeted international marketing
high quality editorial production and printing
speedy distribution and efficient customer service.
Because we are a privately owned publisher, we have the luxury of devoting substantial
time and effort to cultivating our publishing relationships. You'll find working with us is
much different than working with a large "mega-publisher." We are large enough to
have all resources needed to serve our publishing partners and our customers, yet small
enough to provide personal attention and responsiveness to your publishing needs.
Publishing your journal with SAGE Publications
SAGE Publications' fast expanding journal programme reflects a commitment to
publishing research of the highest quality on an international scale.
At every step we emphasize quality of service, professionalism and an understanding of
the needs of editors and learned societies as our publishing partners.
Our commitment to dissemination through vigorous international marketing is
unrivalled and widely acclaimed. In this context we invite those involved in existing
journals to discuss what SAGE Publications can offer in terms of production, marketing
and editorial support.
We also strongly encourage ideas for new journals that reflect or extend the range of our
publishing and would encourage you to read our guidelines below on how to prepare a
new journal proposal.
If you would like to discuss either bringing your journal to SAGE Publications or
an idea for a new journal, please contact
Neetu Kalra
Executive Editor – Journals (Commissioning)
SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd
B-1/I-1, Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area,
Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044
Tel: +91-11-4053 9222 Fax: +91-11-4053 9234
neetu.kalra@sagepub.in
www.sagepub.in
Preparing a proposal for a new journal
We are looking for a proposal which covers the following key areas:
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the aims and scope of the journal
the journal's rationale (why the journal is needed)
the envisaged editorial structure
the journal's format/level/approach
the journal's target audience and market potential
To elaborate, the following are the issues which you should address in putting
the above together:
Editorial aims and scope
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What are the aims and scope of the journal
Who is it for, at what intellectual level and what disciplines?
What disciplines or sub-disciplines will be covered?
It is worth noting that a journal which is extremely diffuse in its crossdisciplinarity is usually the most difficult to make commercially
viable, since it requires considerable (and therefore expensive)
promotional coverage of a number of different areas. If at all possible,
you should try and identify some 'core' target fields within which
would be found the main audiences for the journal.
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How international will the journal be and how will this be reflected in
the editorial objectives? For example, how will you ensure that you
receive contributions from other countries of the world?
Again, you should note that it is generally important to us that a
journal is truly international in its scope, both in terms of
contributions and editorial structure. It is also a 'fact of journal life'
that in most instances a journal's long term financial viability is
dependent on obtaining a significant proportion of its subscriptions in
America. You should address the need to appeal to the global market
and any implications, for example, of possible key differences,
approaches and interests in the field(s) covered between the
continents.
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What intentions, if any, do you have regarding foreign-language
contributions? We would encourage you, for a range of practical
reasons, to consider certainly initially, limiting contributions to the
English language. If you wish to translate articles, you need to
consider a) who would undertake translation and b) how will
decisions be reached on articles in languages not known by the
Editors?
Rationale for the journal
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Why is the journal needed?
What is the background to the proposal in terms of the current and
future development of the field?
How will the journal relate to relevant existing journals in the world
and what will your journal offer that these do not?
How confident are you of not only finding an audience for the
journal, but also of generating sufficient high quality contributions?
Editorial board and administration
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Who would be the journal's editors?
As the journal is to be international, we would wish to see
international scholars in prominent editorial positions. There are
several ways to do this. For example, you could have one or more
editors based in different regions (e.g. Europe, Asia, US, Asia-Pacific
etc.) or an editor based in one of these locations with a couple of Coeditors based in the others.
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Whom would you invite to be members of the editorial board?
How do you propose to handle the administration of the journal and
what role, if any, do you see the editorial board as playing in this
process?
Format of the journal
Here, we would appreciate some more details of how you see the content and
structure of the journal. For example:
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What will be the balance between theoretical, empirical/research
based and 'practice-oriented' papers
What will the journal feature? For example, book reviews, review
essays, special thematic issues, translations of articles not yet
translated into English etc.? Please include mock contents of the first
two issues of the journal. These need not be real titles of actual articles
but more the sort of spread of areas and authors you are planning to
approach.
How will you deal with any issues of interdisciplinarity?
How many issues would you envisage annually (We would
encourage you to think about a tri-annual/quarterly journal).
Market profile/potential
Many of the following issues will have been addressed explicitly or implicitly in
the above sections but we need to have at some point in the proposal, as detailed
an account as possible of the market profile and potential for the journal. For
example:
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An assessment of who, and in what fields, would subscribe to the
journal.
We would be relying heavily on individual subscribers at the
beginning of the journal's life as well as institutions. Could you
quantify (approximately) your sense of the size of the overall market
in terms of numbers of potential individual subscribers?
Would the market be easy to reach? For example, which
associations/societies would the readership belong to? Which major
international conferences would they attend?
What relatedly, is the estimated potential institutional base of the
journal?
We need to see the journal move from a primarily individual to a strongly
institutional subscriber base. Thus:
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Where is the work in this area being done, at what sort of institutions?
What is the geographical spread of the work, in terms of different
countries and thus the international spread of potential institutional
subscribers? In particular, what is the state of the field in the USA and
Europe?
Is there currently and/or will there be, a teaching as well as a research
base for this work to solidify the library demand?
Timing
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When would you see the first issue of the journal being published?
In case it is an existing journal
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Please do let us have the following information, in addition to the ones supplied
above:
o since when the journal is being published
o the existing market
o current subscription structure
o current number of subscriptions (please provide the geographical breakup)
o current editorial board
o reasons behind offering us this journal.
o If the journal is registered with Registrar of Newspapers in India (RNI).
In case yes please let us have the registration number.
Thank you!