The lived experiences of a journal editor

Abstract Editing an academic journal in applied linguistics (AL) or English language teaching (ELT) is a complex process that involves much decision-making. Most editors are full-time academics with competing priorities, and therefore more resources are needed, particularly for aspiring and emerging editors, on editorial decision-making and editors’ challenges and experiences. In 2021, I took on the role of editing the English Australia Journal , entailing a steep learning curve. To help me process and better understand issues that I encountered along the way, I began to keep a diary, which, at the end of my four-year tenure, comprised 117 entries with each one containing 70–115 words. Underpinned by a theoretical framework comprising autoethnography and life capital, the aim of this study is to analyse the diary data thematically to gain insights into my lived experiences as a journal editor. Findings show that I encountered five challenges (submissions, workload, review process, forthcoming journal issue, personal struggles) with nine mitigating factors (sense of purpose + meaning, editorial team, pipeline of manuscripts, flexible schedule, manuscript solicitation, reviewer recruitment, dealing with weaker submissions, communication, improvements to copy-editing process) helping me deal with these challenges. The paper concludes with a discussion about ‘uncontrollable’ and ‘controllable’ challenges, as well as the existence of a reciprocal relationship between challenges, mitigating factors, and life capital. This relationship highlights the importance of AL and/or ELT journal editors’ agency in drawing on their life capital to navigate editorial responsibilities, while challenges and mitigating factors also contribute to the extension of one’s own life capital.