We’ve released a completely revamped 2nd edition of Academic Journal Management Best Practices: Tales From the Trenches with new editorial workflow optimization tips and case studies, as well as a new section on journal strategic planning. Get your copy here!

What steps can journal teams take to make their peer review processes more efficient and improve team productivity? That’s the question we asked when we released the first edition of Academic Journal Management Best Practices: Tales from the Trenches in 2015. Since then, the journal landscape has continued to evolve at a rapid pace.

Today, in addition to peer review workflow optimization, journal managers and editors have more considerations than ever before — from new metadata and indexing requirements to digital publishing standards to open access mandates, and the list goes on. Given the increasingly multifaceted nature of journal management and changing peer review and publishing norms, we thought it was time to make some updates to the Academic Journal Management Best Practices: Tales from the Trenches eBook. That’s why we’ve released a new and improved second edition.

Like the first edition, this eBook brings together top insights from experts managing academic journals in STEM, the humanities, and social sciences, encompassing the latest peer review optimization best practices as well as new sections on publication growth and strategic planning. We gratefully acknowledge the following journal experts who helped to make this eBook possible:

  • Susan Altman, Managing Editor of Global Environmental Politics
  • Dana Compton, Editorial Director for the American Society of Civil Engineers
  • Henry Fradella, Associate Director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University and former Editor-in-Chief of Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society
  • Anita Harris, Managing Editor of SubStance: A Review of Theory and Literary Criticism
  • Jennifer Mahar, Executive Peer Review Manager at Origin Editorial
  • Jesper Sørensen Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Editor-in-Chief of Sociological Science

eBook overview

What can you expect from this new edition of Academic Journal Management Best Practices: Tales From the Trenches? This eBook covers core aspects of journal management, starting at the tactical level with insights to help you optimize your peer review workflows and increase your submissions volume. Then moving up to ways to approach strategic journal planning and development at the individual title and publishing program level. Learn how to:

  • Refine your peer review processes and speed up time to manuscript decision
  • Improve editorial team training and alignment
  • Grow your journal reputation and attract more quality submissions
  • Make actionable strategic plans to further your broader publication goals

We’ve also included new case studies and “quick tips” boxes throughout the eBook with links to further journal resources in specific areas, including peer review and publishing analytics tracking best practices and use cases.

A common thread, expressed by all the journal managers and editors who contributed to this guide, was that time and resource constraints remain the biggest challenges for publications teams. With that in mind, we asked all contributors to share steps they’re taking to operate more efficiently and approach journal workflow and publishing program development challenges and opportunities in an agile way. This eBook is designed to help you navigate the demands of modern-day publishing.

Ready to get started?

There’s no time like the present to take steps towards improving your journal workflows and furthering the goals of your publishing program. We hope this guide will provide you with valuable suggestions to get started and spark new ideas that you can bring to your team as well! You can download the full eBook here.

We hope you enjoy this free resource and invite you to share it with your colleagues. We’d also love to hear what you think about it! Let us know on Twitter by tweeting at @scholasticahq!