The Team Behind a Journal’s Success

Besides the Editor-in-Chief (EiC), several other members of the journal editorial team play crucial roles in sustaining the growth of a new academic journal and attracting a higher number of manuscript submissions that align with its mission and scope.

Here are the key individuals and groups within the journal editorial team, other than the EiC, and how they contribute:

Editorial Board Members (EBMs) The Editorial Board, which includes EBMs, is fundamental to establishing a successful journal and is essential for its operations and development. Building a solid Editorial Board is a crucial step for new journals. EBMs are recognised individuals with specialized scientific expertise, an extensive understanding of their field, and connections to their communities. Scholars are more likely to trust a journal when they see distinguished experts on its Editorial Board. Maximizing the full potential of the journal's EBMs is key to avoiding competition with larger journals and developing the journal if it is not indexed by important databases.

EBMs can contribute to journal growth and attracting submissions in several specific ways:

Pre-screening and making decisions on submissions related to their research interests.
Providing input or feedback regarding journal policies.
Attending Board Meetings to suggest journal development strategies.
Setting up or supervising Special Issues. Organizing Special Issues on topics related to their research interests helps attract focused submissions. One good Special Issue can be better than ten bad ones.
Helping to attract suitable expert authors.
Inviting early-career scholars to join the Early Career Editorial Board.
Helping to invite feature papers, often offering discounts for high-quality submissions from distinguished scholars and recognized experts. Inviting high-quality papers, especially on hot or highly cited topics, is important for journals aiming for indexing in major databases like SCIE/SSCI.
Promoting the journal among their peers or at conferences. They can also help identify appropriate conferences for Editors to attend.
Reviewing manuscripts or helping to identify suitable reviewers.
Providing assistance with appeal cases and ethical disputes.
Recommending hot research topics for Special Issues and Guest Editor candidates.
Submitting feature papers themselves, which can be comprehensive reviews or full research papers.
Recommending new Editorial Board members.

Journal staff should encourage EBMs to participate and acknowledge those who do. Keeping EBMs active by involving them in manuscript decisions and ethics cases is recommended. Regular communication and engagement strategies are important.

Section Editors-in-Chief (SEiCs) SEiCs are part of the full Editorial Board and are responsible for specific sections within a journal. Their contributions often mirror those of the EiC but focused on their section's scope.

Supervising Special Issues within their section.
Maintaining oversight of the editorial process and final decisions for manuscripts within their section, working with the EiC.
Providing guidance to Editorial Board Members and editorial staff within their section.
Assisting in identifying a new candidate for their Section's continued development and engagement with a wider academic audience.
As 'chief editors', special attention should be given to vetting them for questionable affiliations

Associate Editors (AEs) Associate Editors are also part of the Editorial Board. They can be promoted from EBMs based on scholarly criteria and activity.

Contributing to journal strategy.
Supporting the editorial team.
Managing manuscripts.
Helping recruit new board members.
Can be relied upon when EiCs are unavailable.
Can be involved in handling peer review appeals, especially if the original editor is unavailable.

Advisory Board Members (ABMs) The Advisory Board provides support to the EiC and the editorial office. While not always involved in the day-to-day operations like EBMs, they contribute to the journal's standing and development.

Helping guide the journal's scientific development.
Helping recruit prominent scholars from their field.
Attending Board Meetings to suggest journal development strategies.
Providing assistance with appeal cases and ethical disputes.
Can be relied upon when EiCs or Associate Editors are unavailable.
Can be asked about conferences they are attending to facilitate journal promotion.
Can recommend new Editorial Board members.
Can be kept active by involving them in manuscript decisions and ethics cases.

Editorial Office Staff (e.g., Publisher, Journal Manager, Managing Editor) A well-managed infrastructure, supported by the editorial office staff, is essential to a journal’s success. The editorial office works with the EiC to determine processes for handling submissions.

Providing financial support and related business decisions that ensure the efficient running of the journal.
Managing and communicating with the Editorial Board.
Encouraging Editorial Board Members to participate and acknowledging those who do.
Facilitating regular communication opportunities with the Editorial Board and other journal stakeholders.
Organizing Annual Board Meetings.
Making recommendations to improve journal performance in coordination with the academic editors.
Ensuring the journal remains competitive and relevant by monitoring publishing and field trends.
Handling onboarding and providing necessary materials to new editors.
Monitoring editor activity and implementing strategies for engagement or removal.
Managing Special Issues, including supporting Guest Editors and helping to invite papers.
Conducting regular marketing activities such as producing Issue Covers, Newsletters, and managing Awards.
Focusing marketing efforts on activities recommended by the academic editors, like Travel Grants, Best Paper Awards, and Joint Special Issues.
Maintaining the journal's social media platforms.
Handling inquiries and implementing policies related to publication ethics, such as authorship, research ethics, and conflicts of interest, which builds author trust. They must assure that resources like COPE guidelines and flowcharts are available for resolving ethics issues.
Ensuring peer review is undertaken in a timely fashion, monitoring the process regularly. Efficiency prevents delays for authors.
Managing submission systems to ensure authors provide required information.
Handling complaints and appeals against editorial decisions or journal processes.
Ensuring the journal's website is well-maintained and uses secure protocols, clearly displaying the journal's aims, scope, and policies. Information about journal ownership and management should be clear.

In summary, while the EiC provides leadership and sets the scientific direction, the success of a new journal in attracting relevant submissions relies heavily on the collective efforts and engagement of the entire editorial team, from the expert academic editors on the board who champion the journal and attract submissions, to the essential support provided by the editorial office staff in managing processes, maintaining ethical standards, and implementing marketing strategies.