Researchin NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1988 VOLUME 1, NUMBER 6 @Copyright 1988 by the American Chemical Society
Editorial One Year Old Chemical Research in Toxicology is officially one year old. Like any new parent, the Editors are proud of their child and would like to tell you why. CRT published a broad range of papers describing the use of chemical methodologies to investigate toxicological phenomena. Considering the relatively short lead time before publication of the first issue and the natural reluctance of authors to publish in a new journal, we are very pleased by its performance. Most of the comments we are getting about the Journal are very good, especially regarding quality of publications and turnaround time. The American Chemical Society made it clear to us in the beginning that the emphasis of CRT should be on quality. They continue to send us that message and we believe them. Our current acceptance rate is approximately 60%, which is similar to that of other premier ACS journals. We don’t see that changing much. In addition, ACS has been willing to pay the phone bills. We routinely call all potential referees before we send them a manuscript. Authors don’t want their manuscripts sitting on a reviewer’s desk for three months; phone calls prevent that. Our average time from receipt to first decision is five and a half weeks. We don’t see that changing much either. A new journal is critically dependent on many individuals. We are indebted to all the authors who took a chance on a neophyte journal for publication of the fruits of their labor. Journals continue to spring up as rapidly as weeds in a garden, which creates considerable competition for manuscripts. Strong journals will thrive because they are nourished by a good supply of high-quality manuscripts. We hope we have given potential authors a reason to consider CRT when deciding where to submit. Next, we want to acknowledge the anonymous efforts of the many individuals who reviewed for us. They not only agreed to our phone requests to review manuscripts but also returned them to us quickly. This enables us to offer potential authors a typeset journal with one of the shortest turnaround times in the scientific community. Rapid turnaround will remain our second highest priority (after quality), so we will continue to rely heavily on the cooperation and hard work of our referees. Third, we want to acknowledge our Editorial Advisory Board for their efforts on our behalf. They not only contributed their own manuscripts and refereed some but also lobbied their colleagues to do the same. The Advisory Board also helped the Journal define its focus. To the extent we have found a niche, it is through their efforts. Finally, we must acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our Editorial Assistant, Celeste Kipke, and Mary Scanlan and her staff at Chemical Abstracts Service. Celeste is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Journal, and our rapid turnaround time is directly related to her efforts. Mary and her staff do the typesetting and formatting and are exceptionally cooperative and responsive. The appearance of the Journal and its timely publication derive from them. We look forward to considerable growth in our second year of operation. Chemical Research in Toxicology is listed in Chemical Abstracts and Current Contents and is being considered by several other abstracting services. This ensures universal dis0 1988 American Chemical Society 0893-228~/88/2701-0313$01.50/0
314 Chem. Res. Toxicol., Vol. 1, No. 6,1988
Marnett and Hollenberg
semination of the Journal’s contents, which should remove an impediment to manuscript submission. The Editorial Advisory Board has been joined by Peter Farmer, Ryuichi Kato, Thomas Krugh, Daniel Mansuy, Gerald Miwa, Sten Orrenius, Gregory Petsko, Donald Reed, and Takashi Sugimura. They will help maintain the Journal’s high standards and broaden its base. The ACS has offered a reduced subscription price to help get the Journal in the hands of non-ACS members who should be reading it. This can only help strengthen its readership. Most important, Chemical Research in Toxicology is now a journal with a track record. People can examine that record and decide if this is a journal they want to contribute to. All of us associated with C R T are confident they will. Lawrence J. Marnett Editor Paul F. Hollenberg Associate Editor
