From: Sandy Thatcher <[log in to unmask]> Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:10:00 -0600 Does PeerJ deliver the "highest standards" in copyediting? Not likely at the price it is charging authors to be published.... I fear that part of the claimed economies by some OA publishers come at the expense of cutting back on, or eliminating, traditional services like copyediting. Is that progress? Sandy Thatcher > From: Peter Binfield <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:08:13 -0800 > > Press Release, Feb 12th 2013 > > PeerJ Publishes Its First Articles > > Journal Publisher Heralds in a New Era of Innovation and Affordability in > Academic Publishing > > PeerJ (https://peerj.com), a new academic journal publisher, founded on the > principles of affordability, innovation, and Open Access, published its > first articles today. > > PeerJ, launched by Jason Hoyt (formerly at Mendeley and Stanford University) > and Peter Binfield (formerly at PLOS ONE), has been shaped from the premise > that 'if society can set a goal to sequence a human genome for just $99 then > why shouldn't academics be given the opportunity to openly publish their > research for a similar amount?'. By publishing its first 30 peer-reviewed > articles today, PeerJ moves one step closer to realizing that vision. > > "We are doing things that no other publisher is doing," said Hoyt, > Co-Founder and CEO of PeerJ. "It has been reported that the global academic > community pays as much as $9.5B per year for access to academic journals. We > believe that these costs could be reduced by as much as 75% using new > business models such as that employed by PeerJ, and utilizing open > distribution licenses such as the Creative Commons license. The result will > be a net benefit to the global research effort and a welcome increase in the > efficiency and effectiveness of academic publication." > > PeerJ aims to establish a new model for the publication of all well > reported, scientifically sound research in the Biological and Medical > Sciences. To achieve that, the organization has built an economical and > efficient peer review and publication system and assembled an Editorial > Board of 800 esteemed academics, including an Advisory Board of 20 (five of > whom are Nobel Laureates). A rigorous peer review process is operated, and > the journal strives to deliver the highest standards in everything it does. > > Uta Francke, an author on one of the launch day articles; PeerJ Advisory > Board member; Professor of Genetics and Pediatrics, Emeritus, Stanford > University School of Medicine; and Past President of both the 'American > Society of Human Genetics' and the 'International Federation of Human > Genetics Societies' said that she was "excited about the launch of PeerJ, > which represents much more than just another Open Access publishing venture. > The innovative membership model, including a commitment to review the work > of one's peers, will ensure an interactive relationship of equals - authors, > editors and reviewers - all striving for high quality research reports > published in a totally transparent fashion after rigorous constructive peer > review." > > Tim O'Reilly, the founder of O'Reilly Media and a thought leader in the Open > Source movement, sits on the Governing Board of PeerJ Inc. and brings a > wealth of knowledge, and passion, for the promotion of open, unfettered > communication in academia. Tim had this to say about PeerJ: "It's easy to > forget that technological revolutions also demand business model > revolutions. Open access is transformative for science publishing, not only > because it spreads knowledge more efficiently, but because it slashes the > cost of producing and consuming that knowledge." > > Authors wishing to experience the future of publishing can now submit their > articles at: https://peerj.com/ > > # # # > > Essential Features of PeerJ: > > * PeerJ is a rapid, peer reviewed, 'Open Access' scholarly journal, using a > Creative Commons license which means that all articles are entirely free to > read, distribute, and reuse provided authors are properly attributed. > > * Publication decisions are made only on scientific validity (not on > perceived impact). > > * PeerJ uses a 'Membership Model' whereby authors become lifetime members, > giving them the ability to freely publish their articles thereafter. As a > result, publication costs for authors are significantly lower than similar > publications. > > * PeerJ has 800 Academic Editors, including 20 Advisory Board members (of > which 5 are Nobel Laureates). Full list at: > https://peerj.com/academic-boards/subjects/ and Advisors at: > https://peerj.com/academic-boards/advisors/ > > * PeerJ encourages 'open' Peer Review (meaning that reviewers are encouraged > to provide their names; authors are empowered to reproduce their peer review > history alongside their published article). > > * By utilizing short, iterative development cycles, users will see the rapid > development of new features and innovative functionality, dramatically > improving the academic publication and reading experience. > > * Learn more about PeerJ here: https://peerj.com/about/how-it-works/ > > * Note: PeerJ PrePrints (the second component of the PeerJ publishing > system) will debut in the coming months. > * Reference for the quoted market size: > http://www.stm-assoc.org/2012_12_11_STM_Report_2012.pdf > * Links: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thePeerJ ; Twitter: @ThePeerJ ; > Google+: http://peerj.com/+ ; Blog: http://blog.peerj.com/ ; Member sign up: > https://peerj.com/signup/ > > Prior Press Releases and Media Resources (including logos) can be found at: > https://peerj.com/about/press/ > > _______________________