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[mookie123]

Hello All,

I am a postdoc and have had the great fortune of having a manuscript accepted for publication and now have a decision to make. A little background on the article:

The study in question was conducted in the fall of 2005 based on data from 2004-2005. The manuscript was written and submitted to Journal X in late Fall 2006 where it was given a revise and resubmit in Spring 2007. The manuscript was subsequently revised and resubmitted in fall 2007 and was just accepted. Journal X is an ISI indexed journal with a relatively decent impact factor for my field. In addition, it is indexed by SSCI, Medline, International Nursing Index, and CINAHL.

Here's where my question lies... The editor (who is the editor of another journal as well) has proposed that the article be published in the other journal that they edit; Journal Y. While Journal Y is probably better suited to the manuscript in question in terms of the topic (it is a topic specific journal), it is not ISI indexed and does not have an impact factor. In addition, it is only indexed by CINAHL and International Nursing Index. The reason behind the proposed venue change is twofold. 1) My article would be included in Journal Y as a part of a special focus issue directly related to the topic at hand. 2) There is a concern about the lapse in time between my original submission and possible publication dates. If I go with Journal Y, the article will come out this summer whereas Journal X has a backlog of articles and the first possible publication date is 12-14 months away.

Given the trade-offs between Journal X and Journal Y, what do you all think the best choice would be? Does the much sooner publication date of Journal Y outweigh the benefits of Journal X, or would it be better in the long run for my developing career to wait it out for Journal X?

Thanks in advance...

[sciencephd]

Hello All,

I am a postdoc and have had the great fortune of having a manuscript accepted for publication and now have a decision to make. A little background on the article:

The study in question was conducted in the fall of 2005 based on data from 2004-2005. The manuscript was written and submitted to Journal X in late Fall 2006 where it was given a revise and resubmit in Spring 2007. The manuscript was subsequently revised and resubmitted in fall 2007 and was just accepted. Journal X is an ISI indexed journal with a relatively decent impact factor for my field. In addition, it is indexed by SSCI, Medline, International Nursing Index, and CINAHL.

Here's where my question lies... The editor (who is the editor of another journal as well) has proposed that the article be published in the other journal that they edit; Journal Y. While Journal Y is probably better suited to the manuscript in question in terms of the topic (it is a topic specific journal), it is not ISI indexed and does not have an impact factor. In addition, it is only indexed by CINAHL and International Nursing Index. The reason behind the proposed venue change is twofold. 1) My article would be included in Journal Y as a part of a special focus issue directly related to the topic at hand. 2) There is a concern about the lapse in time between my original submission and possible publication dates. If I go with Journal Y, the article will come out this summer whereas Journal X has a backlog of articles and the first possible publication date is 12-14 months away.

Given the trade-offs between Journal X and Journal Y, what do you all think the best choice would be? Does the much sooner publication date of Journal Y outweigh the benefits of Journal X, or would it be better in the long run for my developing career to wait it out for Journal X?

Thanks in advance...

The cost/benefit question is one that only you can really answer. 

I call shenanigans, however, on the editor.  Clearly, he is "cannibalizing" the establsihed journal to get the new one started.  I've seen this alot, and don't like it.  The Nature series of journals was doing this, and more extreme bait and switch type tactics in the review process alot a while back, as they tried to get the many spinoffs "Nature ___ ___" started.   From your point of view, none of that really matters, but my choice would be with the established journal.

[engpostdoc]

My view (and note by my user name that I'm at a similar point in my career as you) is that I would absolutely positively not mess with an article that has been accepted unless you have a compelling reason to think the data is wrong !

1.  Your professional responsibility is to disseminate information in a quick and efficient manner from your research, which means getting it into reputable journals.

2.  No matter how "easy" they make it for you, moving journals is a fuss for you at some level, even if it's just the discussion board level.  Moving journals is a use of energy better spent on other things.

3.  You are at a point in your career where one journal paper more or less makes a difference in how you are seen.  In fact, if this is you have no other first-author papers, this is sort of your debut- why put it off ?

4.  You might be "scooped" by similar findings while waiting.

Unless the switch puts you into a top-flight journal, I can't imagine why you would take it....