How to Start a Journal

Iran has gained a significant position for itself in the scientific world these days. The increasing number of academic journals and articles provided by Iranian scholars show that scientific activities are put in high priority in universities and research centers. New academic journals are to born and young and energetic scientists sign up to be a part of this new path which hopefully will lead them to a brighter future.

Farname Inc. hopes that can help the scholars recognize the steps of this great path clearly and help them gain the results they are looking for.

First there are some points that must be noticed:

-         What is the aim of the journal?

-         Are there any similar journals in the scope we have in mind? Why do we need a new journal in this scope?

-         What will the management be like?

-         Who will be the editorial board?

-         Who will be the reviewers?

-          What would be the review process?

-         Who will control the human and financial resources of the journal?

-         Who will handle the copy editing?

-         What would the policy of the journal will be? Would it be an online journal or a printed one or both?

-         What will the content strategy be?

-         What will the policy of journal be towards the authors?

A strong will help you through this path

If you are thinking about starting a new journal, you should know that it is not going to be easy. But this will give you the opportunity to improve your knowledge and the chance to help others improve theirs. If you work for a university or a research center, you’d better talk to them and see if they want to invest in your journal. Having the name of a scholarly center as publisher will help your journal find its position sooner.

Choose a proper Title

The title of the journal will give the audience the first idea about the journal. Therefore you have to choose a title that shows the specific scope that you have in mind. Do not forget that it should not be limiting.

Finalize the scope of the journal

It’s better if you don’t compete with other journals directly. But limiting you field of work can hurt your journal. Choose the scope that you can be sure about securing its resources. So you should choose a scope according to your resources. Specializing in one or two scopes may help you manage the journal and tasks in a better way.

Gather a great and strong editorial board

This is a key point to your success. You need passionate and responsible people. The editorial board can consist of experienced people along with young ambitious graduates who are willing to spend time and energy for your journal. Big names can give your journal some extra credit.

Be honest about the strong and weak points of your journal. You should be open to criticism, willing to accept your problems and ready for troubleshooting.

Be creative

Don’t be indifferent to new ideas. Not only you should accept them but also you must look for them. Try to work with creative people. To do this you can attend at conferences, where you can find both ideas and the people who come up with them.

A journal with high quality will be host of high content articles. A great and active editorial board, a clear review process, a well-defined policy, utilized publishing process might do the trick.

The first issue is always the most important one. So do your best. Be sure about the review, editing and page design. A little mistake may present a not good picture of what you can do. This is definitely not a picture you want others to have in mind from you.