A successful editorial fellowship is more than numbers
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of this two-way fellowship model to
convey is the personal side; the fun, engaging interactions that broaden
horizons and improve the publishing landscape for everyone. This “human
side” of the fellowship has been powerful. It has seeded key
relationships that we will carry for the rest of our careers and has
fundamentally shifted how we collectively view scientific publishing,
including the roles of editors, publishers, societies, and ECRs in the
process. For the Fellows, we have seen first-hand that editors are not
antagonists for authors; if anything, they are the authors’ biggest
supporters. We Fellows have also gained valuable professional
“community” through interactions with our Wiley partners, editors at
other journals, authors, and society members. For editors and
publishers, the RCEF has provided an eye-opening view into the rich
potential for ECRs to influence publishing now since ECRs have a
keen sense of urgency surrounding key publishing issues (e.g., the
movement towards open, reproducible science). From the EIC perspective,
we can summarize our views simply: it has been a privilege and joy to
collaborate with editorial Fellows. They give us confidence that the
future of scientific publication is in terrific hands.