Special issues are an essential component in the life of learned journals. Special issues are, in essence, a scholarly anthology of essays on a thematic topic. They are not far different from an edited book. Special issues of journals should thus should not be seen as counting less than an edited book in circumstances of faculty assessment, tenure and promotion. The scholars who give of their time, energy, and wisdom to assemble special issues of journals should receive appropriate recognition from peers and institutions alike.
Special issues expand the scope of the journal beyond its usual range, into focused themes and genres. They crystallize research on a new or emerging methodological approach in the field. They spotlight a newly salient biographical figure or textual archive. They are springboards for scholars of a new generation with fresh approaches to make a more concerted impression on their specialization. They reflect on broad themes and thus are useful to disciplines beyond the journal's usual audience. By departing from the usual framework offered by the journal, the special issue renews its history and mission and occasions fresh reflections on the direction, thereby giving ballast to the future success of the journal.
Very often, scholars not formally affiliated with the journal are invited to coordinate submissions, or scholars may come to the editor with suggestions on a special issue topic. These Guest Editors circulate a call for papers, contact leading and promising scholars in the field for possible submissions, select from among the submissions generated to reap a proposed set of articles, and pass those articles on to the journal's Editor or Editorial Board.
Importantly, the Guest Editor does not 'replace' the existing Editor or Editorial Board for that issue. The Editor or Editorial Board has the final accountability for the ultimate product. If the Guest Editor does not follow a formal referee process, with the articles vetted by outside readers, the Editor or Editorial Board may put the articles through this process if such is the normal practice of the journal. The Editor also retains an overall fiduciary responsibility for the journal's cover art, typography, layout, printing, distribution, and the standards of its contents.
Pieces may be solicited from specific scholars for the special issue. However, solicitation of such pieces is not a guarantee of acceptance. The solicited submission must go through the normal refereeing process if such is the journal's normal practice. The solicitation is a sign of respect and an expression of hope that this author's piece can make its way into the issue as finally published. But this is not an assured outcome.
There can be a variety of approaches in how the final content of the special issue is determined. Often, only the Editor or Editorial Board has the final power to accept or reject an essay, no matter how enthusiastically it may have been welcomed by the Guest Editor. In other circumstances, Guest Editors may have substantive input on acceptance or rejection of an article. In other words, the relationship between Editor and Guest Editor can range along a spectrum from close collaboration between Editor and Guest Editor to the Guest Editor having a great deal of autonomy in soliciting, reviewing, and selecting the manuscripts. The to-and-fro between an Editor and a Guest Editor can thus be rich, multiple, and can catalyze the intellectual atmosphere surrounding the journal. However, the ground rules for who has what responsibility in the process should be decided well in advance.
In addition, the referee process, already subject to delays in processing, assessment, and revision, can be further delayed by the Editor's consultations with the Guest Editor and invited authors. People involved in special issues should be aware of time-related factors and are advised to be sure to prepare far in advance for deadlines and other contingencies.
The mission of the Guest Editor therefore is primarily scholarly. The Guest Editor does not, for instance, do line editing or sub-editing. In other words, the Editor is still heavily involved as would occur in a normal issue, the difference being that the Guest Editor has sculpted the shape of the issue. The cross-fertilization of this process is one of the primary benefits that the academic conversation can reap from the production of special issues.
This cross-fertilization has more potential than ever to affect intellectual life in the digital era. The special issue now has a logistical advantage over an edited book in that, because of the lower production costs and easier electronic distribution of journals, the content can be distributed more quickly and on more multiple platforms than edited books. Thus the traditional hierarchy of book collection over journal special issue may be upended by the potential of the special issue to reach a wider audience more rapidly and to make waves within the intellectual field as much as possible. This, in turn, calls for greater institutional credit to be given to the editors, editorial boards, Guest Editors, and contributors involved in making a special issue come out right.