Proposing a Special Issue

Choosing your Special Issue topic

Are you ready to make an impact in your field of research? Start by choosing a topic that aligns with your research interests and is of increasing interest in your discipline. Ensure it fits within the journal’s scope, is broad enough to attract submissions, yet specific enough to create a cohesive collection of articles. Consider topics that have sparked interest at recent conferences, focus on areas where traditional disciplines intersect, or look to emerging societal challenges and recent advances.

Find key journals and open Special Issues

Review open Special Issues on your chosen journal's home page to ensure that your proposal is unique. You can also refer to the Call for Papers page on the journal homepage to understand the level of specificity needed for Special Issue topics. Assessing these will help your proposal stand out while avoiding overlap with active Special Issues.

Crafting a Special Issue proposal

Your proposal should include all the information necessary for evaluation. It serves as the foundation for the call for papers and should clearly communicate the Special Issue’s background and focus. Aim to keep your proposal concise and engaging, no more than 400 words, to capture the interest of qualified researchers and align with the journal’s goals.

With a clear, compelling proposal, you can inspire researchers to contribute and set the stage for impactful collaborations. Structure your proposal to highlight the core objectives of your Special Issue while showcasing its relevance:

1. Create a descriptive title (under ten words): Make it clear and specific, avoiding generic phrases like “recent advances in...” or “new insights into...” or phrasing the title as a question.
2. Summarize your topic in 1–2 short paragraphs to contextualize your focus within the wider subject area.
3. Explain the main challenges that the research in your topic is facing.
4. Define the scope and aims of the Special Issue. Mention the types of studies you hope to attract and what types of articles are suitable, such as original research or review articles. You can ‘encourage’ or ‘especially welcome’ submissions related to a specific concept.
   
5. Include 10–20 bullet-point topics to guide contributors toward areas of particular interest in which they wish to submit. Make each topic concise yet descriptive (no more than 250 characters) and clearly link them to the overarching scope of your proposed Special Issue.

Remember: Keep descriptions focused and the scope clear to drive high-quality submissions. You should ensure the text and topics are explicitly linked to the specific scope of the Special Issue. Broad descriptions that cover the entire scope of the journal won’t work for a Special Issue.

Building the right editorial team

Behind every successful Special Issue is a strong editorial team. Typically, 1–2 Lead Guest Editors, supported by 2–5 Guest Editors, guide Special Issues. Diversity in your team is vital. Include experts from different institutions and countries to reduce conflicts of interest and reach a wider audience.

Include the full names and affiliations of your suggested Guest Editors in your proposal, ensuring they have a solid publication record relevant to the proposed topic and enough time to commit to handling manuscripts. An individual can only act as a Guest Editor of up to two open Special Issues at one time. Please note that all nominations undergo a verification process. We may need to replace any nominations that don’t meet our criteria.

Assessing your Special Issue proposal

Once submitted, our editorial and publishing teams conduct initial checks to ensure the Special Issue proposal is properly detailed, structured, and focused on the target journal. They also assess the Guest Editor’s expertise, previous publishing ethics, and diversity.

We may collaborate with you to revise and improve your proposal. Carefully considering feedback may increase your chances of approval and contribute to the success of the Special Issue. Guest Editors should also carefully consider the feedback provided to help make each Special Issue as successful as possible.

Assessments typically take two to four weeks from submission of your proposal.

Approving your Special Issue proposal

The journal’s Editorial Board and Wiley’s Editorial team decide on the final approval. Wiley reserves the right not to proceed with any Special Issue at any time, for any reason, and at our sole discretion.

To maintain the quality and success of all Special Issues, our editorial and publishing teams will make sure that Special Issues on similar topics are not launched at the same time. If your proposal's topic overlaps significantly with an open Special Issue, we may delay the launch of your Special Issue until the open one has closed to submissions. This helps ensure both Special Issues receive the attention and engagement they deserve, maximizing their impact within the research community.

What's next?

Once your Special Issue proposal is approved, it is listed on the journal’s website, on the Open Special Issues page. You can begin promoting your Special Issue as soon as the Call for Papers is available online.