Guide to special Issues

A special issue serves several purposes: it provides a well-defined location for papers that relate to a common theme; it can serve as a catalyst for an emerging field by providing that highly-visible forum for the topic; and it encourages authors to submit high-quality work by providing them with a focused review process and publication schedule. TECS is committed to providing adequate space to regular submissions to the transactions, but TECS is also happy to provide room for special issues of interest to the embedded systems community.
A special issue may be instigated by the TECS editorial staff or may be proposed by potential guest editor(s). The special issue associate editor works with the TECS editorial staff to refine the special issue's call for papers and set a timetable for submission and review. The call for papers is then publicized through a variety of mechanisms: notices in TECS and other publications, Web sites, flyers at conferences etc.
Authors submit their special issue contributions to the TECS Web site. Authors must be sure to use the Web site's mechanism to mark the contribution as a special issue submission; as a safety measure, authors should also put the special issue name on the first page of the submission.
Submissions to the special issue must be accepted on the first round of review; the special issue associate editor may request minor changes to the paper before publication. Since journal articles typically go through two rounds of review before publication, the special issue process offers quick archival publication for papers that meet the highest standards.

To Guest Editors
If you are interested in organizing a special issue, the best way to start is to send the editor-in-chief a brief summary of the special issue:

The call for papers should clearly define the special issue's topic or theme. The special issue's title should be chosen to clearly and succinctly convey the theme. The body of the call could include a historical motivation for the topic. The call should definitely summarize in a paragraph or so the major defining characteristics of the theme. It might include a non-exhaustive list of paper topics that would fit into the theme.

The timetable takes into account the complete review and production process. Here is a typical timetable:

- Submission deadline:	two months after announcement originally appears.
- Review results:	three months after submission deadline.
- Final copy deadline:	two months after review results.
- Publication:	three to six months after the final copy deadline.

Guest editors are not allowed to extend the deadline for the special issue. Any late submissions will be treated as general submissions to TECS.

The list of potential contributors simply helps the editor-in-chief understand the nature of the special issue proposal and is not binding on the guest editor or the potential contributors.

The publication date depends on TECS' total publication flow and is not a guaranteed date.

The special issue associate editor functions as an associate editor for the duration of the special issue. He or she assigns reviewers to the special issue, ensures that a sufficient number of reviews is received for all submissions, evaluates the reviews, and recommends to the editor-in-chief the disposition of each submission. Only papers that can be accepted based on the first round of review are eligible for the special issue (though the guest editor may request some changes that will be checked by the guest editor but not by the reviewers). The guest editor may suggest that some papers be considered as regular papers by going through a second round of reviews that will be managed by the guest editor. Some papers may be rejected without a suggestion for revision and resubmission.

The special issue will not go into production until two things happen: the associate editor provides recommendations for all submissions to the special issue; and final versions of all the accepted papers have been received by ACM's publication office. The associate editor is responsible for ensuring that both of these criteria are fulfilled. The TECS editorial board believes that authors deserve prompt and high-quality reviews; this principle is as important for special issues as it is for regular submissions.

To Contributors
You submit your contribution to the TECS Web site. Just sumbit the paper as a normal paper, but mention in the "Author's Cover Letter"-field the name of the special issue. You should also put the name of the special issue on the cover page. If you have forgotten to mention, that your paper is for a Special Issue, your paper will be treated as a regular paper/issue.

Otherwise your paper cannot be downloaded by the reviewers from manuscriptcentral and therefore your paper cannot be reviewed.
Only papers that are accepted on the first round of review will be published in the special issue; this should encourage you to submit your best work to the special isuse. Some papers may be suggested for further review and consideration as a regular issue paper.
Don't even think about asking for an extension of the deadline. The special issue associate editor is not authorized to grant extensions and the editor-in-chief will not grant extensions. All submissions compete on a level playing field only when they must meet the same timetable.
Special issues are reviewed and published on a fast schedule. It is important that you reply promptly to any requests and that, if selected, you prepare the final version of the paper quickly.
The publication date depends on TECS' total publication flow and is not a guaranteed date.

To Reviewers
Reviewers are a critical part of the special issue process (as they are of the entire transactions process). Reviewers don't get enough thanks for what they do, so we would first like to say thank you for your hard work.

Special issue papers are accepted based on one round of review rather than the two rounds that is typical for transactions. As a result, these papers must be of the highest quality. You can request minor changes that could be checked by the guest editor before publication. If a paper is interesting but not quite ready for publication, you can suggest that it go through a second round of review for consideration as a regular paper.