Graph showing number of reviewers contacted for a single manuscript.
One of the stresses for editors that also is an indicator of reviewer burnout is the number of potential reviewers contacted to secure the desired number of reviewers (usually 2 or 3, depending on the AGU journal). The graph provides data for manuscripts sent for review in 2023 by AGU journals. As described in the editorial, 25% required 8 or more requests. Credit: Noah Diffenbaugh
Editors’ Highlights are summaries of recent papers by AGU’s journal editors.
Source: AGU Advances

Stresses felt by authors, reviewers and editors have increased with the number of papers being submitted to Earth and space science journals. 67 of AGU’s journal editors added their names to a new editorial (AGU Editorial Network, 2024) that explains how the rapidly changing publishing landscape is increasing pressures on authors, making it harder to find reviewers, and fostering an ecosystem of for-profit open access publishers where rigorous peer review may compete with potential profits.

Improving the situation requires all of us to pay less attention to publication metrics and more attention to the quality of the work. I especially want to emphasize the important role of journals published by non-profit societies like AGU, where the standards for peer review are high, and money from publications are used to benefit the membership rather than shareholders. Something authors should consider when thinking about where to submit their best work.

Comments on the editorial can be made on the ESS Open Archive post

Citation: AGU Editorial Network (2024). Challenges facing scientific publishing in the field of Earth & space sciences. AGU Advances, 5, e2024AV001334. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024AV001334

—Susan Trumbore, Editor-in-Chief, AGU Advances

Text © 2024. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
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