Publishing
PUBLISHING YOUR BOOK WITH PUFC
In line with the research policy of the UFC, PUFC’s publications are intended to disseminate work produced in the University’s research centres and institutes, together with with their local, national and international partners. But we also welcome unsolicited proposals that correspond to the core interests of our research centres. Anyone wishing to submit a book proposal to PUFC should contact the General Editor of the Collection or Series in which the book might be included. In case of doubt, authors should contact the Managing Director of PUFC (Jean-Paul Barrière, email : jean_paul.barriere@univ-fcomte.fr) who will forward the proposal to the appropriate person.
The initial proposal should include:
- A synopsis of the book with a detailed table of contents and a list of keywords.
- In case of an edited volume, a résumé of each chapter and the name and affiliation of each author.
- A CV with a list of the main publications (2 pages maximum).
- The aims and objectives of the publication (academic and commercial: target readership etc.)
- Any grants (from research centres/ institutes, French or international learned societies, etc.) or other sources of financial support (collective purchase, etc.) to help with publication costs.
If the proposal is accepted, the full text will then be read by the editorial board of the collection before a final decision is reached.
This, however, does not apply to journals published by PUFC. They have their own peer-reviewing processes, details of which will normally appear on their website.
The assessment of a book proposal – depending on the specific nature of the project – would normally pass through the following stages:
Preparing the proposed text
Apart from specific cases such as those using LateX, authors should intervene as little as possible in the layout of the text.
- The text should be word-processed without any automatic formatting other than italics or bold (no underlining).
- Titles should be clearly identified
- Long quotations (> 3 lines) should be clearly indicated with a line skipped before and after (or should be indented).
- Short quotations should be indicated by inverted commas within the text.
- Do not set tabs or extra spaces.
- Please use paragraph markers.
- Do not format tables.
- Please separate image files from the text; images should be numbered and the corresponding number inserted where needed in the text.
Academic Assessment/ Peer review
All proposals will be assessed by the editor(s) of the series and will be peer- reviewed by two readers from outside the University of Franche-Comté. The two anonymous reports, which should be submitted to PUFC within two to three months, will be read by the editorial committee of the collection concerned.
On the basis of these reports, PUFC will inform author(s) of the decision reached: proposal accepted with minor revisions / accepted with major revisions / rejected outright.
Once the text has been corrected by the author(s) in line with the readers’ suggestions, it must then be approved by the series editor before being forwarded to the relevant department of PUFC for formatting and pagination.
Presentation of typescript and first proofs
The author’s work should be submitted as a word-processed document in text format (unless other arrangements have been agreed with the PUFC staff).
The author should pay attention to the quality of the reproduction of images, tables or graphs they want to include. The source file should also be sent separately for all the images in the book.
- For images, a TIFF file (or failing that, a JPEG file) with a resolution of 300 to 600 DPI according to the image format (300 DPI for an image 15cm wide), and full details as to the origin of the images (copyright holder; author; date; copyright etc.);
- An .xls file for each graph;
- .ai or .psd fils for maps, sketches or any documents created on Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop.
Once the final corrected proofs have been approved, the author should not contact the person who dealt with formatting unless they require a particular piece of information.
The author then receives the proofs (generally a hard copy), which they are asked to correct legibly. Corrections should only concern matters of form and not of content (unless agreed otherwise). These corrections will then be keyed in by the person in charge of DTP.
Respecting copyright
It goes without saying that copyright must be respected in the case of all previously published texts.
In the case of reproductions, illustrations, photographs, etc., or any extract from a work published by another publisher, the author must inform PUFC and be able to provide PUFC with:
- Either the rights of reproduction, if they hold them;
- Or a copy of the reproductions concerned with precise details as to their origin and the copyright holder so that PUFC can request the necessary permissions and be informed of the potential cost.
Be careful not to confuse the author’s copyright for the work in which the images appears and the copyright belonging to the creator of the image; nor should you confuse permission to quote and publication rights for printed and online works.
FINANCING
Research centres can make a contribution to the publishing costs either by funding a work (wholly or partly) and / or by providing subventions negotiated by the author. The level of contribution required can be assessed on the basis of an estimate provided to PUFC by a printer on the basis of the information given by the author (number of pages; format; colour reproductions, etc.). The level of financial support will should take into account fees that may have to be paid for the reproduction of documents, extracts, images, etc.
Services provided by PUFC
The layout of the book is done by PUFC in consultation with the author, in accordance either with the format agreed with the author or with the format of the series in which the work will appear.
The printer is chosen by PUFC according to the regulations of the University Accounts Department. Diffusion and distribution of PUFC books are mostly provided by FMSH-Diffusion. The PUFC staff responsible for diffusion will identify, together with the author, the best strategies to improve the book’s diffusion (targeted mailings within the academic community and to press departments, sending out copies for reviewing, organising events, interviews, etc).
Timeframes for publication
For a book requiring a moderate amount of work, the production process (from the start of formatting to final printing) takes around three months. However, the publication schedule is often very busy and this may slow down the publication of the book.
The printer sends a first draft of the proofs to PUFC, to be approved by the editor of the relevant series. If need be, the printer can be asked to improve the quality of the proofs. Once the final corrected proofs have been approved, printing of the book begins.
Legal framework
The registration of copyright protecting the author’s intellectual property is carried out by PUFC. An author contract is concluded between the publisher and the author (with the necessary modifications in the case of a collective work). Authors will normally receive a certain number of free copies of their book (as specified in the contract) in lieu of royalty payments.
