Springer and Peerage of Science team up

New partnership promises to streamline the manuscript-to-published-article process

New York | Heidelberg, 29 October 2014

Springer has joined forces with Peerage of Science to help authors more easily submit their manuscripts for consideration in Springer journals. Both sides are looking at how they can make the process easier and less time consuming, reduce the time to publication, and eliminate the need for re-submissions. The end goal is to make the work of peer review a more enriching experience for both authors and for reviewers, and to further recognize the hard work of those who are entrusted with this duty.

Dr. Janne-Tuomas Seppänen, Founder and Managing Director for Peerage of Science remarked, "We are very excited about this new expansion, and happy that we can offer all authors a destination selection from which they can surely find suitable outlets for their research. And we are particularly happy to work together with Springer, which again is demonstrating its openness and interest in improving the publishing world for scientists."

The way it works is easy. A researcher submits his or her paper to Peerage of Science for consideration from its peer reviewers. After an author revises the manuscript and responds to comments based on the feedback he or she receives, reviewers judge whether the revisions and reply satisfactorily address the issues they raised. Once this process is complete, an author can then send the entire review history directly to Springer via Peerage of Science’s site.

While authors can choose from some select individual journals, they also have the added option of submitting to Springer’s transfer desk, which then works with them to select the most appropriate journal for any given article. Given the intimate familiarity of Springer’s editors with their publications, there should be very few – if any – rejections due to scope issues. Both sides see this as a win-win situation.

“Springer benefits from higher quality initial submissions and increased efficiency, and authors benefit from a reduced timeframe in getting their work published,” said Dr. Harry Blom, Vice President of Publishing Development at Springer. “Springer is always open to exploring these kinds of partnerships and making the publication process easier for our authors. This new endeavor with Peerage of Science holds great promise as a way of streamlining the review process, and we are all very excited to see where this goes.”

Other publishers working with Peerage of Science offer options with individual journals, but Springer is the first to partner with them across its entire portfolio, including the options to publish open access and in Springer’s mega-journal, SpringerPlus.

Pre-publication reviews will be included with submissions to avoid wasted reviewer efforts and reduce the burden on the reviewer community, and Editors-in-Chief will determine whether additional scrutiny is needed on a per-paper basis. But regardless of whether submissions are subject to further review or not, readers and authors can rest assured that published articles have met the same stringent standards that they have come to expect from Springer journals.

Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) is a leading global scientific, technical and medical publisher, providing researchers in academia, scientific institutions and corporate R&D departments with quality content via innovative information products and services. Springer is also a trusted local-language publisher in Europe – especially in Germany and the Netherlands – primarily for physicians and professionals working in healthcare and road safety education. Springer published roughly 2,200 English-language journals and more than 8,400 new books in 2013, and the group is home to the world’s largest STM eBook collection, as well as the most comprehensive portfolio of open access journals. In 2013, Springer Science+Business Media generated sales of approximately EUR 943 million. The group employs more than 8,000 individuals across the globe.