2: Authors … how to capture and keep them Editors short course © 2012 Pippa Smart

2 EDITOR ReadersOwners Authors Copyflow Keep good authors Attract good authors Peer review Editors and publishers Role of editors Medical publishing?

Copyflow Getting papers through the system ?

4 Copyflow: its a balancing act Speed Quality Priorities Time Accuracy Checking People … and?

5 Problems with copyflow Too much or too little Deadlines and delays Inefficient systems / processes

6 Technology helps … Online submission Online tracking and reporting Make sure it works for you Capturing the right information Saving you time Providing the information you need

… and good practice Set deadlines Set schedules Send reminders! Keep to deadlines Audit performance Monitor your systems Have fallback plans 7

8 Plan monitor and review

Peer review ?

peer review is slow, expensive, largely a lottery, poor at detecting errors and fraud, anti-innovatory, biased, and prone to abuse. Richard Smith, BMJ Blogs, 2010

Peer review Lots of research on peer review… but not many conclusions…

Good practice Clear guidance Clarity of decision Informing them of final decision, sending copies of other reviewer reports? Thanks (acknowledgement?) 12

Who reviews? How many? Editorial office pre-review? (triage) Accusations of bias? Editorial board? Accusations of nepotism? Strangers? Accusations of unsuitability? Recommendations from the authors? (or not the recommendations from authors!) 13

… and what do they look for? Fit with the journal mission Interesting novel And … ? Alternatively …lightweight review: PLoS ONE will … publish all papers that are judged to be technically sound Publication [in BMC Research Notes] is dependent primarily on the [article s] validity and coherence and whether the writing is comprehensible 14

Finding good reviewers What do you do? Where do you look? 15

How to attract good authors ?

What we know about authors … What do authors want … Stamp of authority Journal pecking order Perceived quality Visibility and readership Peer recognition Citation Speed Access Archive Positive publishing experience Want to publish more 17

Real authors (honest) ICMJE definition An author is generally considered to be someone who has made substantive intellectual contributions to a published study All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an acknowledgments section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support.

How to keep good authors ?

What I would pay good money for … Service Quality Communication and information Reliability To get what I am promised !

Do you deliver … How quickly can I get my article published? Will publishing here give me sufficient credit? Will my peers read this?