STEP 1. DEVELOPING YOUR PROPOSAL
The Codex Project welcomes proposals from academics and clinicians worldwide in the following categories:
- Basic Sciences
- Clinical Sciences
- Research Skills
- Clinical Practice
- Public Health
- Health Systems
- Career Development
Proposals more likely to succeed are those where the author is clear about their aims and their target audience. The Codex has been developed to fulfil a specific need - normally around a defined task. Titles more likely to be commissioned are those that state what the reader will be able to do after reading the Codex. Titles less likely to be commissioned are those that provide general or non-specific information, or are aimed at too wide an audience.
Codexes are normally in the region of 5000 to 10,000 words. They are therefore considerably longer than a journal article, but much shorter than a traditional textbook.
Proposals must be submitted online using the structured abstract form. The form itself incorporates guidance that will help you do justice to your submission. The form must be completed using the latest version of Adobe Reader.
A decision on the proposal will be issued by the editorial team within 10 working days. The decision will be ACCEPT (with or without revisions), RESUBMIT or REJECT.
When a proposal is accepted, an editor will make contact and endorse a structure, scope and contract for the Codex. Once agreed, the author will have 28 days to submit the first draft of their manuscript. Over the next 28 days the editorial process will continue which may require further redrafting or amendment. Once the final draft is agreed, the manuscript will be sent to our publishing editor for layout, ISBN registration and dissemination to the Kindle Store and iBookstore. The Codex will then be available for purchase.
Style Guidelines
A full set of style guidelines are provided upon the acceptance of an abstract.
The Codex format is flexible. We do all we can to support authors develop their content around the needs of their learners - rather than restricting authors to a standard format. That said, there is an expectation that Codexes are written as continuous prose and suitably laid out as chapters/sections. Because the format is electronic, additional features including hyperlinking and electronic glossary functions that are routinely used.
Multimedia
Codexes employ illustration where necessary and our internal team can assist authors with illustration. Where possible, illustrations should be provided in vector format. Our chosen software package is Adobe Creative Suite 6.0.
However there are some restrictions on the use of interactive illustrations and movies using the Amazon Kindle format. Apple iBooks and other formats provide some latitude which we will always try to assist with.
We are developing an audio section which will develop full audio book versions of premium titles. This work stream also presents opportunities for supporting materials to be developed - including screen-casting, podcasts and interviews.
90 Day Turnaround
To meet our 90 day turnaround time, authors must agree to respond quickly to editorial requests. To enable our editorial team to function efficiently, any authors failing to submit drafts to deadline, or taking more than 2 working days to respond to enquiries may be asked to re-submit their abstract and begin the process again.
Natural Sciences and Liberal Arts
We are actively developing a programme to support Codex development in the natural sciences and liberal arts. If you are interested in developing these programmes with us do get in touch via the contact link on the bottom of this page.