Introduction
Launching your own academic journal is an exciting, ambitious project that can establish your credibility as a thought leader and help shape the scholarly conversation in your chosen field. Whether you are an experienced researcher looking to promote new ideas or a team seeking to support underrepresented disciplines, starting a journal requires careful planning, well-chosen tools, and a commitment to ethical practices.
In this article, we'll explain exactly what's required to successfully start and manage your own journal. From assembling your editorial team to using platforms like OJSCloud for hosting and Scholar9 for transparent peer review, you'll learn every crucial step for creating a journal that stands out in the academic publishing landscape.
1. Define the Scope and Mission of Your Journal
Before you do anything else, clearly define the scope, aims, and target readership of your journal. Consider the academic discipline or interdisciplinary niche you want to focus on. Will you accept only empirical research papers? Or will you also publish reviews, case studies, short communications, and letters? Answering these questions up front will help you craft a focused, mission-driven journal that appeals to readers and authors alike.
Your scope and aims should be publicly visible, ideally on your journal website, so that potential contributors understand what kinds of work fit your journal. This is the foundation upon which all other decisions will be built.
2. Assemble an Editorial Team and Reviewers
Once you know your journal's purpose, you need a strong editorial team. Every reputable journal has an Editor-in-Chief supported by associate editors and a diverse, experienced editorial board. When assembling this team:
- Seek senior scholars in your discipline who can lend credibility.
- Aim for diversity in terms of geographic region, academic background, and expertise.
- Bring on enthusiastic peer reviewers who can offer rigorous, constructive feedback.
A transparent and thorough peer-review process is one of the most important features of a successful journal, and that process begins with recruiting the right people to carry it out.
3. Develop Editorial Policies and Guidelines
Next, draft your policies. These policies ensure that everyone involved—authors, reviewers, readers—understands what to expect. Important areas to cover include:
Author Guidelines: Submission format, article types accepted, and the peer-review process.
Ethical Standards: Plagiarism policies, conflict-of-interest statements, and requirements for data sharing or research ethics approvals.
Review Guidelines: Timeline expectations, confidentiality clauses, and the criteria reviewers should use.
Your policies help establish your reputation. They also make your editorial processes transparent and fair.
4. Decide on Frequency and Content Types
You'll need to plan the publication frequency—will you produce quarterly, biannual, or annual issues? Decide what types of articles you will accept, such as original research, reviews, commentaries, or short communications. Many new journals start with one issue per year and gradually grow as they receive more submissions and gain recognition.
5. Set up Technical Infrastructure with OJSCloud
A key part of starting a journal is choosing a publishing platform. Open Journal Systems (OJS) is one of the most trusted and widely used tools in the scholarly publishing world. However, setting up and maintaining OJS can be technically challenging, especially if you lack a dedicated IT team.
That's where OJSCloud can help. OJSCloud is a one-stop solution for hosting your journal using OJS. They take care of all the technical setup that includes:
List of OJSCloud Services for Journal Website
By choosing OJSCloud, you can focus your energy on editorial tasks, such as selecting reviewers and making acceptance decisions, while leaving the technical heavy lifting to experienced professionals from OJSCloud. Please note that OJSCloud will work as your technical buddy who takes care of your website.
6. Adopt a Transparent Peer Review System with Scholar9
The integrity of your review process is a cornerstone of your journal's reputation. That's where Scholar9's Transparent Peer Review System can give you a significant competitive edge. Traditional peer review is often opaque; authors rarely see the reviewers' comments publicly, and readers don't have access to the peer-review reports.
By contrast, transparent peer review, as supported by Scholar9, allows journals to:
- Publish reviewers' reports alongside the final article.
- Offer the option for reviewers to sign their reviews.
- Clearly communicate how decisions were made.
This transparency can boost trust and credibility, making your journal more attractive to authors who appreciate openness. Scholar9 simplifies implementation by offering built-in tools for review report visibility, reviewer recognition, and all the workflows you need to run transparent peer review seamlessly.
7. Obtain an ISSN
Every credible journal requires an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) to establish its authenticity and visibility. Fortunately, applying for an ISSN is a straightforward process, typically handled through your country's national library. However, if you're unsure about how to proceed, the experts at OJSCloud can help to get ISSN for your journal.
With experience in successfully securing over 45 ISSNs in the past year, they understand the entire process, from designing journal websites to meet ISSN criteria to addressing feedback or change requests from the ISSN authority. If you'd prefer to avoid the complexities of the ISSN application process, the OJSCloud team offers expert ISSN consultancy services.
8. Register for Crossref DOI with Sponsored Partner
Having an ISSN for your journal opens the door to obtaining a Crossref DOI account for assigning DOIs to your published articles. DOI (Digital Object Identifiers) are a critical feature for any journal, as authors increasingly expect their published articles to include DOI. In today's digital publishing era, DOIs serve as permanent, traceable links to research content, enabling proper citation and global accessibility.
For authors: DOIs increase the visibility and credibility of their work by allowing it to be cited and indexed across scholarly platforms.
For journals: DOIs significantly enhance discoverability through Crossref metadata indexing, ultimately contributing to greater online attention and a potential rise in the impact factor.
The most widely used platform for getting DOI account for your journal is Crossref. To obtain a Crossref DOI Prefix for your journal(s), you can work with an official Crossref Sponsored Partner such as Sequence Research & Development Private Limited, which offers Crossref DOI services at highly affordable rates.
They manage the entire process end-to-end, from the Crossref application to integrating the Crossref Metadata Plugin within the OJS admin panel of your journal website. This setup allows you to easily assign DOIs to published articles directly from your OJS dashboard.
Click here>> to get the Crossref DOI service for your journal
9. Aim for Indexing in Major Databases
Once you have published a few high-quality issues and followed best practices, you can apply for indexing in major databases:
- Google Scholar is often a first easy win and provides global exposure.
- DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) is a good target for open-access journals with strong editorial practices.
- In the long run, you may aim for prestigious indexes like Scopus and Web of Science.
Indexing improves discoverability and credibility, bringing your journal to a wider audience.
10. Develop a Financial Sustainability Plan
Launching a journal often involves financial planning. Will you make your journal open access? Will you charge Article Processing Charges (APCs)? Or will you follow a subscription model? Consider the costs of hosting, editorial work, DOI registration, marketing, and more. You may also want to explore grants, sponsorships, or institutional support. Setting up a transparent and sustainable financial model is important for your journal's long-term success.
11. Promote and Market Your Journal
Creating a well-run journal is only part of the challenge; you also need to reach your target audience. Develop a marketing plan that includes:
- A professional, accessible journal website (hosted on OJSCloud, for example).
- Announcements on academic social networks like ResearchGate or LinkedIn.
- Calls for papers through mailing lists and scholarly forums.
- Outreach to academic conferences or scholarly societies in your discipline.
Remember that transparent peer review can be a strong selling point. Make sure to highlight this on your website and in your promotional materials—authors appreciate knowing that their reviews will be published alongside their papers, and readers appreciate the extra layer of integrity.
Conclusion: Streamline with Trusted Tools and Transparent Practices
Starting a journal is a serious commitment, but with the right tools and careful planning, you can successfully launch and manage a respected academic publication. Platforms like OJSCloud take the stress out of setting up and running your journal so that you can focus on editorial excellence. And Scholar9's Transparent Peer Review System will help you build credibility and attract high-quality submissions by demonstrating that you value integrity, openness, and rigorous evaluation.
By defining your scope, assembling a strong editorial team, setting clear policies, and leveraging the right technology, you will give your new journal the best chance to grow into a respected and influential part of the scholarly publishing landscape.
Ready to Get Started?
If you're ready to take the next step, reach out to OJSCloud and Scholar9 for personalized guidance. They can help you get started with a fully managed journal-hosting solution and transparent peer review workflows that help your journal stand out from the crowd.
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