Publishing Your Book in the ASA-SIAM Series
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Publishing a book is a personal experience and should be an enjoyable one. Whether it is a record of your life's work or lecture notes from a course, it is important to you and therefore important to us. ASA and SIAM are committed to publishing high-quality books of interest to our members and the scientific community at affordable prices.
Because we publish a select number of books each year, we are able to work closely with authors and provide special services that may not be available from other publishers. Some of these services include designing a special layout for an unusual feature of your book, modifying TeX files, and providing electronic access to supplementary materials.
Each book published in the ASA-SIAM series is a special project. The guidelines and processes described in this booklet are general and are intended to give you an overall picture of the publication process. Many procedures will be modified to meet the special requirements of your book.
We hope that you will find this guide useful and that you will make suggestions for future improvements.
About the Series
Vision Statement
To promote, through written publications and electronic media, works characterized by the highest scientific quality and the most effective modes of communication in a broad spectrum of topics encompassing the fields of statistics and applied probability.
Mission Statement
- Actively seek to publish excellent works of interest to broad categories of professional statisticians, applied mathematicians, engineers, and scientists.
- Engage in continued assessment of the focus of the series and the potentially new and currently evolving needs of the constituencies served by the series.
- Solicit, through promotions at scientific meetings, ongoing advertising, and personal contact, authors who are experts in topics fitting the focus of the series and who can effectively communicate their expertise to the intended audience of the series.
- Editorially assist authors in developing effective modes of written, graphical, quantitative, and computational communication.
- Aggressively promote the series.
- Monitor production costs so that the series can be widely affordable.
Series Focus
The ASA-SIAM Series on Statistics and Applied Probability serves to provide works of general interest to statisticians, applied mathematicians, engineers, and scientists in a broad array of topical areas. Common to all works in the series is the central focus on applications of interest to members of either of the sponsoring societies. Of special interest are applications that lead to enhancing the practice of statistics. Works may advance knowledge to state-of-the-art levels, provide novel or updated methods to implement known techniques, or present comprehensive tutorials or survey on specific works that address applications in emerging disciplines which have the potential for developing new interest groups within the sponsoring societies. Highly theoretical works will likely not be consistent with the applied focus of the series but theoretical works leading to better or novel application of statistical methods will receive serious consideration for inclusion in the series.
SIAM Book Goals
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To make relevant research results accessible to a broad audience by publishing high-quality books that explain or apply the results to problem areas addressed in industry and scientific areas consistent with our membership. This includes the publication of books that promote the interdisciplinary interaction between mathematics, statistics, and other disciplines such as engineering, science, and computing, as well as the publication of works in disciplines where mathematical and statistical models are just beginning to develop.
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To reach beyond our core membership and encompass the interests of potential members such as engineers, statisticians, and scientists working in areas such as medicine, geophysics, and materials science.
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To provide for broad dissemination and exposition of new ideas. Books are an ideal venue for treating material that does not require the standard theorem--proof format of journals.
Why Publish in the ASA-SIAM Series on Statistics and Applied Probability?
There are many reasons why an author may want to publish a book. The following are a few reasons why you may want to publish with ASA and SIAM.
Worldwide Distribution and Aggressive Marketing
Because we publish books, journals, and newsletters and sponsor conferences, we have many opportunities to market our books to our combined membership of more than 28,000 members. In addition, we also market to book buyers, journal subscribers, and conference attendees. We also use outside publications and mailing lists and have cooperative arrangements for marketing our products to other societies around the world. See Chapter 7 for details.
Website
Each society maintains a website that includes the most up-to-date information about the books in the series. The web address for secure ordering is included in all promotions.
Pricing
The books are priced for individuals. Although we have standing orders from libraries, individuals in the mathematical, statistical computer science, scientific, and engineering communities are our most important asset and we want our publications to be affordable for them.
Shelf Life
The ASA-SIAM series is a service to our members and the books are available whenever they are needed. All books in the series will remain in print until replaced by an updated version.
Quality Control
Many publishers place the burden of proofreading on the author. Although we request that our authors proofread carefully, we also proofread all manuscripts except those for proceedings (which come to SIAM in camera-ready form). We have full-time copy editors in house who are familiar with mathematical and statistical notation.
Support of the Profession
When a book is purchased from a society, the revenue is used to foster new programs and products for society members.
Flexibility
Our staff works with authors and editors to accommodate special needs such as modified typesetting systems and unusual formatting.
Distribution
All books are shipped directly from either the ASA or SIAM office. This means that fulfillment of orders takes place within 48 hours of receipt. The orders do not have to be sent to another location to be filled.
Special Assistance
Because we publish a select number of books each year, each volume receives the special attention that is often not possible in a large corporation that publishes several hundred books each year. Our publications staff is always available to answer questions and provide specific guidelines.
Staff Experience
The ASA and SIAM publications staffs have extensive experience with all versions of TeX and will work with you to format your files. We can also provide codes for formatting non-TeX files.
Rapid Publication
Because we work with authors from an early stage, we often are able to publish books in a relatively short period of time.
Author Royalty
We offer authors a royalty that is competitive with other publishers, while guaranteeing a reasonable selling price for the book. In addition, authors receive complimentary copies for personal and promotional use.
