National and international seminars are a regular part of academic life in Indian colleges and universities. Many of these events lead to a publication: an edited book of selected chapters, a volume of conference proceedings, or a special issue of a journal. For participants, these publications are a useful way to share their work. For organisers, they are a lasting record of the event.
This article explains how these formats differ and what contributors and organisers should keep in mind.
Three common formats
1. Edited volume
An edited volume is a book with chapters written by different authors on a common theme, brought together by one or more editors. The editors select contributions, review them (often with help from subject experts), ask for revisions and write an introduction that connects the chapters. The book receives an ISBN.
Best for: carefully selected, fully developed papers on a focused theme.
2. Conference proceedings
Proceedings collect the papers presented at a conference or seminar. They may include full papers, extended abstracts or only abstracts. Proceedings can be published as a book with an ISBN or, in some cases, as a journal issue.
Best for: documenting the range of work presented at an event.
3. Special issue of a journal
A journal may publish selected seminar papers as a special issue. In this case, the papers should go through the journal’s normal peer review process and meet its usual standards.
Best for: full research papers on a theme that fits the journal’s scope.
Abstract book vs full papers
An abstract book contains short summaries of all presentations and is often distributed during the event itself. It is a helpful record, but it is not the same as publishing a full paper. If you want your complete research to be available, make sure you know whether the publication will include full papers.
For contributors: practical tips
- Follow the template. Organisers usually provide a format for chapters or papers. Using it from the start saves time.
- Revise after the event. Questions and comments from the audience can help you improve your paper before final submission.
- Respect deadlines. One late chapter can delay the entire volume.
- Keep it original. Do not submit a chapter that is already published elsewhere, and check similarity before submission.
- Check co-author consent. All co-authors should agree to the final version.
- List it correctly in your CV. Mention chapter title, book title, editors, publisher, year, pages and ISBN.
For organisers and editors
- Plan the publication before the event. Decide the format, review process, timeline and publisher in advance, and announce them in the call for papers.
- Set up a review process. Even for proceedings, a basic review by subject experts improves quality and credibility.
- Use a single style sheet. Give all authors the same instructions for headings, tables and references.
- Collect declarations. Get originality and consent declarations from each author.
- Write a proper introduction. Explain the theme of the seminar and how the chapters relate to it.
- Keep the contributor list accurate. Names and affiliations should be checked carefully, as errors are hard to correct after printing.
Bilingual and multilingual volumes
Seminars in Maharashtra often include papers in English, Marathi and Hindi. A multilingual volume is perfectly acceptable. Group papers by theme or by language, use Unicode fonts throughout, and consider providing English titles and abstracts for papers in other languages to make the volume accessible to a wider audience.
Why this matters
A well-produced edited volume or proceedings book extends the life of a seminar well beyond the two days of the event. It gives participants a citable publication and makes their research available to students and scholars who could not attend.
Imaginative Ink Publications works with colleges and university departments to publish seminar abstract books, proceedings and edited volumes. Details are available on our books website.
— Editorial Team, Imaginative Ink Publications