Although the largest number of submissions to PNAS are through the Direct Submission route, there continues to linger a general perception that to publish a paper in PNAS, an author requires sponsorship of an NAS member. In July 2010, the member Communicated route was eliminated, but to ensure and promote submission of exceptional papers that either were interdisciplinary and hence needed special attention, or were unique and perhaps ahead of their time, authors were able to use the Prearranged Editor (PE) process for Direct Submissions. The PE process was intended to be used on rare occasions but, since we formalized the PE process, more than 11,000 papers have been submitted by authors with a PE designation. Although we are certain that some of these papers truly needed special attention, the vast majority likely did not, and therefore we are discontinuing the PE process as of October 1, 2014. We will continue to honor the current PE submissions.
Many NAS members have told us that they were extremely selective when approached by an author with a PE request. These members typically provided detailed comments about prospective submissions, and we are grateful for their careful attention and high standards. Many authors, however, were confused by the PE process and unclear whether it was required along with a standard submission. Not all authors had received agreement from the PE to handle their work before submission, and not all PEs agreed to handle the work after submission. We hope that eliminating the PE process will streamline manuscript submission and provide a level playing field for all papers.
As always, authors and editors are encouraged to send groundbreaking and interdisciplinary papers to PNAS. Authors are welcome to send to the journal names of Academy members most familiar and suitable to review their work. Starting in October, a simplified submission process will be available: Authors may submit directly to the journal without having to make any prior contact with an Academy member. Authors simply need to log into the submission system (www.pnascentral.org) and upload a single PDF file for their paper, review the list of Editorial Board members and NAS members who serve as editors and choose relevant names. A new keyword search feature makes it easy to find relevant NAS members, or authors can search by discipline or by name.
We ask for author recommendations to help direct papers to the appropriate subject experts. There are more than 2,400 Academy members to choose from and the PNAS Editorial Board of almost 200 members represents each section within the Academy. If authors have concerns about finding an appropriate editor, they should include a cover letter with their submission, describing the work. The Editorial Office staff will be sure to give cross-disciplinary or groundbreaking papers personal attention by a knowledgeable expert. The final decision for acceptance or rejection of a manuscript is made by a scientist with expertise in the field and all decisions are reviewed by an NAS member.
The PNAS Editorial Board declines 54% of all Direct Submissions at the initial screening, and the overall acceptance rate is only 17%. With the bar set so high, we strive to provide a prompt evaluation for authors. Most initial decisions are made within 2 weeks. For papers that receive a full review, the first decision is received within an average of 40 days. So while the news might not always be positive, we are working to ensure authors get a decision on their work promptly.
Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences
