Read on Twitter
Seen a lot of criticism of journal editors in my Twitter feed for (gasp!) sending out invitations to review articles over the holidays. You all do realise that most editors are volunteers, and we edit a journal in our 'spare' time around teaching, admin, and research, right? 1/-
I don't know about other editors, but if I send you an invitation to review, I'm not trying to ruin your holidays or trying to derail your own writing. I'm trying to get another author a constructive review, and you are probably getting that invite because I respect you. 2/-
If you're getting an invitation on New Year's Day (as some people are about to get), it's because I'm working today trying to support the authors who submitted to my journal. If you can't do it, just say, 'no,' & I'll keep looking, probably with a nice thank you note because 3/-
... the worst thing that potential reviewers can do to screw over authors (not me -- it's not my article) is either say nothing & just drag out the process, or say 'yes' and don't do it.
I just don't get all the hate for editors. People realise that we make no money, and... 4/-
I just don't get all the hate for editors. People realise that we make no money, and... 4/-
... increasingly, we don't even get any work-related credit. My impression is that it's going to get harder and harder to even get editors as our home universities are trying to grind more work out of us & don't consider editing valuable. 5/-
And yes, I would love to pay reviewers an honorarium for their labour. But I don't get paid either, and I'm doing a minimum of one day a week, usually more, to make sure this journal comes out. 6/-
I'm not asking for praise or gratitude, but just, seriously, why the hate? If you get an invitation to review over the Christmas holidays, there's an editor somewhere working. You can wait to respond, but we're trying to keep things functioning. 7/7
