IF YOU DECIDE TO LAUNCH A JOURNAL, your task will be editorial. Don't forget to define the scope, and make it clear what kinds of articles you're looking for, and what you are NOT looking for.
YOU'LL NEED AN ISSN (International Standard Serial Number), which will identify every issue for librarians and others who need to locate a copy. There is no fee to apply.
TO COPYRIGHT YOUR ISSUES is a separate process at a different office, providing copyright protection for your authors. The fee is currently $25, but some fees are scheduled to increase August 1, 2009.
THE MATTER OF COPYRIGHT ALSO pertains to quotations or graphic elements in your authors' articles. The author is responsible for securing permissions; you may need to remind them of this. The Fair Use doctrine is designed for teachers in a classroom, but is not intended for publications. With the advent of electronic publishing, the whole issue of copyright has become a matter of public discussion. However, copyright laws are on the books as of now.
AS FOR ACTUAL "EDITING" or dealing with author MSS, your job falls into several tasks:
SETTLE ON A STYLE MANUAL suitable for your field. Here are some common ones:
The first four are most frequently used for academic purposes.
SOME OF THESE TASKS you may be able to enlist the efforts of one or more graduate assistants. If not, it's up to you. Don't forget the end task of keeping track of subscriptions and shipping out individual copies.
WHEN IT COMES TO PRODUCTION, you'll need a budget. It's a good idea to shop around for a situation that will continue to be available when you need it, whether annual, quarterly, or however frequently you plan on publishing. Check the Estimate Page for book production resources.
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