Dear ISMPP Colleague,
Holiday time means many things, among them, making lists: shopping lists, gift lists, things-I-need-to-do-before-the-holidays lists, people-I’m-thankful-to-have-in-my-life lists… so why not a wish list for Medical Publication Professionals!?
With that in mind, The MAP Working Group has developed a ‘top 10’ list of magical gifts to bring joy to you all. We hope you enjoy them!
- A high-tech toy that gathers and stores author conflicts of interest and automatically generates the latest versions when needed. “Hey Apple, are you reading this? Here’s another app for you to try.”
- A “find my author” GPS reindeer bell that locates authors when you need them and makes sure they promptly respond to you, even when on a 2-week cruise without Internet access!
- A naughty list of journals that give authors only 48 hours to turnaround page proofs after completely rewriting the manuscript and introducing new data analysis queries.
- A magic teleconference scheduler that makes room in authors’ calendars to bring everyone together in one magical moment, with no delays or no-shows, and no interruptions from dogs, children, delivery people, malfunctioning dial-in details, or drops in reception.
- A remote control to automatically adjudicate and resolve conflicting author comments. Hey, if Adam Sandler can get that magical remote, why can’t we? (Hint: anyone seen the movie ‘Click’?)
- A “Magic 8-Ball” snow globe that anticipates journal reviewer comments before they are received, especially for those fast timeline, high-profile, “must-get-published-on-time” manuscripts.
- A new world calendar in which the entire world has the month of August off – not just European authors.
- Fairy dust to sprinkle across journal offices, so they no longer immediately, yet courteously, reject a manuscript after previously confirming their interest following a presubmission inquiry.
- Electronic-Elf Signature Technology delivered to all journals, to ensure that no journal requires hand-signed conflict of interest forms.
- An “easy” button in the publication management software that can be pressed to confirm appropriate recommendations for the target journal, including automatic messages to authors that say, “No doctor, NEJM is not the best choice for these data.”
We hope this wish list delivered a bit of whimsy and cheer, and provided a light-hearted kickoff to the holiday season. We look forward to your continued readership, comments, and support of The MAP newsletter in 2018.
Happy Holidays to All!
The MAP Working Group
Eric Wong, chair; Jonathan Druhan, Jason Gardner, Anna Geraci, Kristen McGrory, Paul Petruzzi, Lana Vegman