EDITORIAL
Editorial
On 1 January 2007, I took over as Editor-in-Chief of Europace. Richard Sutton, the Founding Editor, left the journal in very good shape, moving ahead on all fronts. The journal is published monthly, the submission of manuscripts is at an all time high, and the impact factor is better than ever. The journal, and its new editor, congratulates and thanks Richard for his clear vision and careful stewardship. The journal will continue to acknowledge on the masthead his role as its founding editor.
Inevitably, a new editor will bring change and new opportunities. The journal will widen its base in order to attract more basic science, more translational research, and much more about drug-based therapies and clinical trials. The journal sections will include: basic science, translational research, clinical investigations, technical issues, European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) Reports, education pages, clinical cases, editorials, correspondence, images, and supplements.
Europace is the official journal of the relatively newly formed EHRA and of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Working Group on Cardiac Electrophysiology. The journal will provide an important vehicle for these groups and their members to publish high quality manuscripts. The pages that will be specifically available to the EHRA (and also to the working group) will carry notifications of its elections and board meetings, its credentialing and accreditations, its congresses and sponsorships, and its fellowships and scholarships. But for the most part scientific statements and taskforce reports will fill the pages. The futures of EHRA, the working group, and the Europace Journal are closely linked; the journal will serve the association and the working group, and I expect them to support the journal.
The new sections to the journal, each with their own editor, will allow assistant editors to play a formative role in re-shaping and building the journal. Those who accept these roles will be introduced over the next few months. We shall start slowly in the basic science arenas with monthly reviews written with clinical scientists in mind. Translational science, closely linked to emerging basic science themes, will be eagerly sought and supported by the journal. The journal is already well established in the fields of clinical investigations and technical issues. We will introduce educational pages, tied to the ESC and our subspecialty syllabuses, which will later carry CME/CPD credits. The journal will no longer accept long case histories but will take shorter case reports supported by several references, a good picture or an informative table. Lastly, we will, like most modern journals, accept classical, contemporary, or remarkable, but always high quality images accompanied by very few words.
Europace has increased the publication of separate volumes of supplements within the main pages of the journal. Naturally this is good for the financial health of the journal, but supplement manuscripts must always comply with all other aspects of the journal's publication policy. To this end, the journal will have its own supplement's editor whose role will be to work with the editor appointed by the supplement sponsor in agreement with the journal's editor. Of course, all papers will be peer reviewed.
The review process for the journal will remain very challenging to authors and editors alike. The journal aims to give a maximum submission to first decision time of no more than 4 weeks. Multiple reviewers will be invited and the best responses will be returned to the authors with a decision from the editors. When the manuscript and the reviews are all excellent the paper may be published together with one or more with the reviews as an accompanying editorial to give context, broaden appeal, and add criticism. In any event, the names of those that have reviewed a manuscript that is found acceptable for publication will be published together with the paper. Papers will be e-published as soon as accepted by the editor. Successful authors will routinely be invited to join the review board of the journal.
Speaking of all these reminds me to advise you to read carefully the new ‘Instructions to Authors’, since many changes have been made. You may now submit names and contact details of potential reviewers and must submit a condensed abstract and figure in case your paper is featured on the journal cover or our first contents page. You must nominate the section under which you would like to see your paper published. Since the size and details for specific publications have and will continue to change please spend time ensuring that you comply with the instructions.
Basic, diagnostic and therapeutic cardiac electrophysiology, antiarrhythmic medical and interventional strategies, cardiac stimulation and defibrillation, and genetic arrhythmology are all expanding at high speed. Our journal is poised to assist and stimulate these developments. Although there are many competitor journals none other is based in Europe, but is a major contributor to the most important advances in these medical sciences. This journal must play a full part in the prompt publication of important results and the longer term effort of informing and educating our physician, scientist, and researcher readership.
The ordinary reader will not know, but its editors and those who referee for the journal know very well that many a manuscript that has been rejected by Europace now appears in competitor journals. This is true accolade for a journal which is thriving and which will succeed. I know that the journal and its editors can rely on your support.
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