Working Together: Practical Advice for New and Ongoing Publishing Partnerships

MODERATOR: Denise Kuo JMIR Publications SPEAKERS: Adam Etkin Origin Editorial LLC Heather Goodell American Heart Association George Woodward Oxford University Press REPORTER: Ruth Isaacson Genetics Society of America Building the Relationship In the first half of this session, Heather Goodell of the American Heart Association and George Woodward of Oxford University Press presented tips for building and maintaining a successful relationship between the publisher and society or journal. Both speakers emphasized the need to reframe the traditional view of a publisher and society/journal relationship (Figure). The most successful relationships often occur when both parties approach this relationship as a partnership and spend the time upfront working to understand the perspective of the other. When entering a new partnership, the first question Woodward asks is “How do you measure success?” His goal is to gain perspective about what is important to the society or journal so that both parties can develop a contract with clear decision points and responsibilities. Goodell and Woodward recommend that both parties embrace some vagueness when building the contract. For example, the contract might define that the publisher is responsible for providing funding for a submission system; however, it should not name the specific submission system. This allows the journal to switch submission systems as needed without renegotiating or amending the contract. The society or journal should also carefully assess its needs and areas of weakness. For example, if they require reports from the publisher outside of the standard reporting windows, they should include this in the […]