Hi ECOLOG, Has anyone used an independent review service, where for a fee you can send your manuscript to get independently reviewed and then referred to up to four journals?
I recently came across this, and it seems the selling point is getting around the lengthy process of having to go through peer review each time you resubmit to a new journal. It looks like it is being used by some good journals: *Ecology Letters* will also consider referrals from independent review services such as Axios Review <http://axiosreview.org/>. An independent review service like Axios Review allows authors to choose *Ecology Letters* as one of several “target journals”. The paper will receive anonymous external peer review overseen by Axios and its editorial board. Please note that the service is paid for by the author. An Editor at Axios Review then decides whether the paper is of sufficient novelty and importance to merit a referral to *Ecology Letters*. If so, the paper and the reviews are passed to *Ecology Letters* for editorial evaluation. Like all manuscripts received by *Ecology Letters* the manuscript is subject to journal’s full evaluation procedures. However the process should be able to be speeded up by having existing reviews in-hand and offers the ability for the reviews to be used by other journals should *Ecology Letters* be unable to publish the manuscript. If we agree that the paper is a worthwhile submission, we will ask the authors to revise their paper and submit via ScholarOne Manuscripts <http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ele>, including a detailed 'response to reviewers' as a supplemental file. If the paper is not appropriate for *Ecology Letters*, it can instead be referred to the other target journals. This process helps authors find a journal that is interested in their manuscript, while simultaneously reducing the workload for both reviewers and journals. More details can be found at Axios Review <http://axiosreview.org/>. If you have used something like this, could you speak to the experience? Thanks, Briana -- Briana Abrahms Dept. of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California - Berkeley 130 Mulford Hall #3114 Berkeley, CA 94720 www.brianaabrahms.com www.conservationconnections.blogspot.com
