All inquiries should be directed to peerreview@guitarfoundation.org

Soundboard Scholarly Submission Guidelines
(download .pdf copy here)

1. Prospective authors are invited to contact the Soundboard-Scholar Editor, who will make a preliminary review of the proposed work (hereafter, Work).   If the Work is determined to fit the series, it will be assigned to a member(s) of the Soundboard-Scholar Peer Review Committee or other individual(s) with both editorial skills and subject knowledge of the area addressed by the Work. Normally a member of the Soundboard-Scholar Peer Review Committee, or other assigned reader will assist the Author, if approved, in finalizing the Work for final submission and peer review. This process is to afford opportunities and to assist Master’s and Doctoral candidates.

2. The formatting of the Work should be in conformity with the established Style Sheet for the series, MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. 3rd ed. New York: MLA, 2008. Print.

Its conventions are summarized in various online .pdf documents provided by helpful academic librarians. Here is a 4-page exemplar from the Bowling Green State University Library:www.bgsu.edu/downloads/lib/file54647.pdf

3. The Soundboard-Scholar Editor, upon receipt of the Work as finalized by the Author and the Acquisitions Editor, will normally remove the author’s name and pass the Work on to a minimum of two peer reviewers for a blind review. Blind review may be waived in cases where the Authors are relatively early in their careers and would have had no contact with the peer reviewers.  This waiver could apply, for example, to students whose revised Master’s and Doctoral theses might be under review for publication in the series.

4. The referees will read the Work, evaluating its methodology, credibility, and originality.  They will report their findings back to the Soundboard-Scholar Editor. Their responses will be submitted as written comments under one of three headings:

a) Acceptable to publish.

b) Acceptable to publish, provided that the following clarifications or revisions are made.

c) Not acceptable for the following reasons.

5. The Soundboard-Scholar Editor will relay the results of the peer review to the Author and Acquisitions Editor without disclosing the names of the reviewers. If appropriate, the Acquisitions Editor will work with the Author to address any needed revisions.

6. Resubmission of the Work.

a) If the "clarifications or revisions” (4.b.) are relatively minor, the Acquisitions Editor will work with the Author to see that they are incorporated into the final draft of the Work. The latter will be sent to the Soundboard-Scholar Editor with an accompanying letter from the Author explaining how the referees’ concerns were addressed.

b) If the necessary "clarifications or revisions” are substantial, the Soundboard-Scholar Editor will consult with the Acquisitions Editor to discuss whether, in fairness to all, another blind review would be prudent after the requested revisions are made.   If so, normally the same referees who first reviewed the Work would be asked to review the revised Work.

7. Upon successful completion of the peer review process, the Soundboard-Scholar Editor will arrange with the Executive Editor for publication of the title in the GFA Soundboard-Scholar.

GFA Soundboard-Scholar Peer Review Committee currently consists of: Walter Clark, Peter Danner, Anthony Glise, Thomas Heck, William Krause and Robert Trent (GFA Soundboard-Scholar Editor).