PROBLEMS FACED BY A MEDICAL JOURNAL EDITOR A FAREWELL EDITORIAL

Abstract

Voluntary editorship of a medical journal is apleasure and is very enjoyable if you just ‘sit’ on theboard. It is very stressful if you decide to activelywork. Managing Editor is an editor who is alwaysunder immense pressure. This ‘different breed’ editoris a bridge between the ‘elite’ members of the board,office staff, authors, reviewers, printers, subscribers,advertisers and well-wishers. All these eight integralpillars of a journal consult managing editor for alltheir worries, queries, problems and frustrations.Naturally it is the managing editor that is ‘blamed’for every bad thing, and is forgotten at the time of‘cheers’. But let me tell you, the only thing that keepsa managing editor ‘going’ is the satisfaction ofkeeping a living thing alive. For me my journal was aliving human being, a baby that I brought up andonce brought up it started bringing me up.I have worked for JAMC from 1997 to2006. In this period we managed to get the journalindexed in Index Medicus/Medline/Pubmed besidesmany other indexations. I have enjoyed working forJAMC in all these years and this journal has returnedback to me more than the effort that I have actuallyput into it. I am leaving the editorship to let newpersons come in to break monotony of 10 years. Iagree with a medical journalism dictum that ‘as thenew persons take over, new ideas flow in andprogress of a progressive journal becomes faster.’1Here I will take an opportunity to highlightproblems faced by a managing editor, keeping thepleasures for some other time. I have groupedproblems faced by me in order of gravity of problemand arranged groups in order of importance. I willbriefly discuss a few points that need explanationrefraining from details. I am sure this document willhelp many persons who are planning to becomeeditors or to bring out journals.