1 / 13

The editorial office in transition

Guidelines for smooth editorial office changes, from recruiting staff to financial planning to communication strategies. A comprehensive transition plan for seamless editorial operation continuity.

jventura
Download Presentation

The editorial office in transition

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The editorial office in transition Council of Science Editors 5 May 2003 Cara S. Kaufman

  2. Cara S. Kaufman, Partner Alma J. Wills, Partner Kaufman-Wills Group, LLC 24 Aintree Road Baltimore, MD 21286 410 821 8035 (ph) 410 821 1654 (fax) ckaufman@bellatlantic.net www.kaufmanwills.com Selected clients Am Acad Ped Am Assoc Immunol Am Coll Cardiol Am Coll Radiol Am Soc Clin Onc ASPET ASTRO Intl Anesth Res Soc NEJM Proj Hope/Hlth Affairs Alma: former President, Periodicals Division, Williams & Wilkins Cara: former Publisher, Am Heart Assoc Jrnls, The Lancet www.kaufmanwills.com

  3. Overview • Recruiting editor, editorial office staff • Office location • Establishing a transition timeline • Financial planning • Q&A

  4. Editor recruitment • Plan for transition with current Editor • Communicate time line clearly • Account for any sensitive issues • Establish search committee • Network; letters to reviewers, authors • Request editorial plan from candidates • Interview and hire • Review job expectations, incentive package • Review conflict of interest and financial disclosure • Communicate directly with other candidates • Outgoing Editor, Pub Cte Chair, Pres or Exec Dir to write editorial announcing new editor • Handout: sample editor agreement

  5. Editorial staff recruitment • Communicate openly with current staff • Share timeline • Set up “stay” incentive bonus • Begin search • Society HR, professional recruiter • Involve new Editor, outgoing staff in search and hiring • Determine staffing levels: number; qualifications • Interview and hire • Pre-qualify by phone, personal interview, second interview with finalists, references! • Handout: sample job descriptions for managing editor, editorial assistant; interview questions, candidate evaluation form

  6. Office location:Editor? Society? Publisher? • Editor • Pros • Eases communication with face-to-face meetings • Less dependency on email/ms mgmt system • Cons • Potential difficulty in finding qualified individuals • Space becoming more of a premium at universities and medical centers

  7. Office location:Editor? Society? Publisher? • Society • Pros • Permanent office location • Communication eased with Web-based manuscript mgmt system • Minimal if any editor transition costs • Cons • Potential of editor relying on other in-house staff (eg, secretaries)—inefficiencies • Lack of fit, possible isolation within society offices?

  8. Office location:Editor? Society? Publisher? • Commercial publisher (if one) • Pros • Permanent office location • Trained staff, with built-in back-ups • Communication eased with Web-based manuscript mgmt system • Minimal if any editor transition costs • Cons • Potential of editor relying on other in-house staff (eg, secretaries)—inefficiencies • Perceived lack of separation of editorial and business operations; possible loss of independence, procedural control

  9. Outgoing office Edl contract; lease extended Editorial re new editor/system Info to authors changed Forward new manuscripts Log in last manuscripts Send last manuscripts for review/stop accepting Compile final issue Make, log in decisions Forward ms backlog Final office cleanup Editor contract, office lease expires; “stay” bonuses paid Incoming office Edl contract signed Managing editor hired Space leased Addl office staff hired Ms mgmt system procured; data conversion as needed Meeting/s with outgoing staff; training on system Begin receiving new manuscripts and sending for peer-review Receive ms backlog Writes intro editorial Compiles first issue Establish transition timeline

  10. Transition triumphs! • Attend to staff sensitivity and training • Thank staff; ensure staff enjoy sufficient incentives to stay until and be available beyond transition • Early meetings, frequent communication between outgoing/incoming editors and staff • Pre-determine no. of backlogged mss • Intervene to reduce to acceptable levels • Reject more manuscripts • Publish more pages (budgetcostly) • Or if manuscript flow insufficient, plan to grow • New editor recruiting papers; soliciting reviews • New editor: call for manuscripts

  11. Financial planning • Budget transition costs for outgoing office • Lease extensions, pay-outs • Stay bonuses • Budget start-up costs for incoming office • Recruiting • Training, travel • Office lease • Furniture, equipment, and supplies • Web-based manuscript management system • Data conversion • Training

  12. Financial planning • Prepare annual* budget for new office • Handout: editorial office budget template • Don’t be caught off guard • Expect 50%-100% additional cost of current editorial office to run concurrent offices • 6-12 month transition/overlap of offices *Ongoing, not including start-up costs

  13. Q&A Dear CSE attendees: Thank you very much! My apologies for not being able to be with you today. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any follow-up questions that you might have. I hope that you enjoy the conference. Best wishes, Cara 410 821 8035 ckaufman@bellatlantic.net www.kaufmanwills.com

More Related