My new open access online journal and its start-up problems :)
Dear friends and colleagues,
this month I started my own peer-reviewed online open access journal, the Journal of Technological and Space Plasmas (JTSP), which will appear from now on monthly. I did this because I have the firm believe that science should be shared on an open access basis to all the public and it should be accessable for everyone over the internet.
So far, so good - unfortunately, it is very hard for a new journal to get a good start with good quality submissions due to an initial lack of impact factor. Hence I would like to invite colleagues from the field of plasma science and technology to make submissions to my new journal. As earning money is for me not the primarily goal, which I believe distinguishes me from most other journals, the open access fees for JTSP are quite modest and we have also rewards for dedicated referees (they will get 50 % off the publication fees if they do at least three reviews per year). Furthermore, there is no an additional 50 % off for first time authors in JTSP. The fees will cover everything concerning the publication and production of the papers. So, if you would like to support my science communication project, check out our website and online submission system under www.jtsp.eu
And, of course, tell your colleagues about it.
Thanks for your support
Johannes Gruenwald
editor-in-chief
Dear Dr Gruenwald,
Many years ago I witnessed the start up of an open access online journal by a colleague in my own field. The journal was successful (i.e. had many readers) despite having no great impact factor.
This was possible because the founder had many colleagues and students who joined in with the effort, and he was able to publish work from conferences that he and his colleagues had attended or organised.
There were no author charges, so everything depended on volunteer efforts.
Despite some years of successful activity, the founder, now retired, has not been able to find a successor to continue the journal. His success meant that the likely workload for any future managing editor would be large.
This story highlights the value of journals having the support of an existing institution or academic society.... but establishing an institution or society in order to manage a journal might be an even bigger job.
So perhaps, the best that can be hoped for is that a journal grows gradually, aiming for quality rather than quantity, and building a support base among the authors who have submitted and the readers who follow the journal.
I often think that any journal might benefit from asking all authors to accept responsibility of being potential reviewers/referees, if their own work has already been published by the journal.
Best wishes!
Thanks a lot for the good advice. I guess, patience is always needed in science.