All books published in this book series undergo a thorough, two-step peer-review process. Book proposals are first reviewed by an external reviewer and the process is expected to take approximately from six to eight weeks. With full manuscripts, the process will include two external expert reviewers. The manuscript review process can take from ten to fourteen weeks depending on the schedules of the reviewers.
Pro et Contra’s referee process is double anonymous. Each referee will receive an anonymized manuscript for review and the identities of the reviewers will not be revealed for the author(s). Exceptions may be made by prior mutual agreement.
The referee is expected to provide a written statement on the manuscript’s suitability for publication. The referee statements will be forwarded to the manuscript author(s) together with the possible advice of the series’ academic advisory board. The board is responsible for the final publishing decisions.
Step one: proposal review
Pro et Contra book series’ editorial team and academic advisory board will assess all book proposals that are submitted to the series. After discussion with the author(s), the editorial team and board will make a decision whether the proposal can be accepted for a peer review, whether revisions to the proposal are requested prior the review process, or whether the proposal will be rejected.
If accepted for peer review process, the proposal is sent to an independent external expert for a profound evaluation. The review process is double anonymous but some exceptions may be made by mutual prior agreement. Based on the peer-review report of the proposal, whether negative or positive, the board will make the final decision. If the decision is positive, a preliminary publishing contract with the author(s) is signed.
Step two: full manuscript reviews
The manuscript peer review process is double anonymous unless otherwise agreed. All manuscripts are reviewed by at least two external reviewers. The expert reviewers are asked to comment on the strength of the proposal, its method and analysis of research material and whether the conclusions drawn are supported by the sources used; whether the content is well structured and written; and if the manuscript has adequate referencing and up-to-date information on the subject.
The editorial team will gather the reviewer feedback and, after consulting with the academic advisory board if needed, will ask the author(s) for required revisions. If revisions are asked for, these must be completed before the manuscript is accepted for publication. Should major revisions be asked for, the re-submitted manuscript may be sent for another round of review process. The board will make the final decision about the publication based on the received peer-review reports.