How to Start an Academic Journal: Complete 2026 Guide

How to Start an Academic Journal: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

Every established academic journal - from small specialist publications to the largest multidisciplinary titles - began the same way: as an idea from a group of researchers who saw a gap in the scholarly record. Learning how to start an academic journal means turning that idea into a functioning editorial operation, one that can attract quality submissions, run a credible peer-review process, and publish consistently over years, not just months.

It's a bigger undertaking than launching a blog or a website. You're building an institution - one with editorial standards, ethical obligations, and a reputation that takes time to earn. That said, the process is far more approachable when it's broken into distinct decisions: what to publish, who will run it, how it will be governed, and what infrastructure will support it.

This guide walks through that full journey, from selecting a research field to publishing your first issue and maintaining the journal over time. Along the way, we'll also look at where journal management platforms like ScholarJMS fit in - not as a shortcut around editorial work, but as infrastructure that reduces the administrative burden so editorial teams can focus on content quality.

What Is an Academic Journal?

An academic journal is a periodical publication dedicated to disseminating original scholarly work - research articles, reviews, case studies, and other contributions - within a defined field or set of fields. Its central function is research communication: giving researchers a formal, citable channel to share findings with peers who can evaluate, build on, and cite that work.

What sets academic journals apart from general publications is the review and governance structure behind them:

• Peer review: Submissions are evaluated by independent experts before publication, filtering for methodological soundness and originality.
• Editorial governance: A defined editorial board makes decisions about scope, quality, and ethics.
• Formal structure: Content is organized into volumes and issues, with consistent citation metadata.
• Institutional purpose: Journals exist to advance a field, not to generate general-audience engagement.

Quality and peer review are what give academic journals their authority. A journal without a credible review process is, at best, a repository - not a peer-reviewed publication that researchers can confidently cite and build upon.

How to Start an Academic Journal Step by Step

1. Select a Research Field

Your starting point is choosing the discipline - or subdiscipline - your journal will serve. This decision should be grounded in evidence, not just interest. Consider:

• Research demand: Is there a growing body of work in this area without a dedicated, well-regarded outlet?
• Existing journals: What's already being published, and where are the gaps - geographically, methodologically, or topically?
• Target researchers: Who would actually submit to and cite this journal? A field with too few active researchers may struggle to sustain submission volume.
• Emerging research areas: Fast-growing subfields (interdisciplinary methods, applied technologies within a discipline) often lack dedicated venues and can represent real opportunity.
• Potential journal scope: Sketch a rough scope early - this will get refined in the next step, but it shapes everything from editorial recruitment to website content.

2. Define the Journal's Scope

A precise scope statement is one of the most important documents your journal will produce. It tells authors whether their work belongs here, guides editorial decisions on borderline submissions, and signals to indexing services what the journal represents.

Your scope definition should address:

• Subjects accepted: The specific topics and subtopics within your chosen field.
• Research areas: Whether you accept theoretical work, applied studies, or both.
• Article types: Original research, systematic reviews, short communications, case reports, etc.
• Target authors: Academic researchers, industry practitioners, graduate students, or a mix.
• Target readers: Who will actually use and cite the content you publish.

A scope that's too broad invites submissions your editorial team can't properly evaluate. A scope that's too narrow may not generate enough quality submissions to sustain regular issues. Aim for a scope specific enough to build a coherent identity, but broad enough to sustain a reasonable submission pipeline.

3. Choose a Professional Journal Name

Your journal's name is a long-term brand decision. Once articles are published and indexed under that name, changing it creates citation and discoverability headaches.

Evaluate candidate names against these criteria:

• Clarity: Does the name immediately convey the subject area?
• Academic relevance: Does it follow conventions readers associate with credible journals?
• Uniqueness: Search existing journal directories to confirm no close match already exists.
• Professional branding: Avoid names that sound informal, sensational, or overly broad relative to your actual scope.
• Avoiding misleading names: Don't imply an institutional affiliation, geographic scope, or indexing status that doesn't exist.

4. Create the Editorial Team

Before you can evaluate a single submission, you need people in place to run the journal. Key roles include:

• Editor-in-Chief: Owns overall editorial direction and makes final calls on contested decisions.
• Managing Editor: Oversees day-to-day operations - tracking manuscripts, deadlines, and communications.
• Associate Editors: Handle specific subfields or article categories, sharing the editorial workload.
• Editorial Board: Provides collective subject-matter expertise and helps set policy.
• Peer Reviewers: A broad, qualified pool capable of evaluating submissions across your journal's scope without overloading any individual reviewer.

Editorial credibility is earned largely through the people behind the journal. A well-qualified, appropriately sized editorial team signals to prospective authors and readers that submissions will be evaluated seriously and fairly.

5. Establish Journal Policies

Documented policies protect both the journal's integrity and the people who interact with it. At a minimum, establish:

• Author guidelines: Formatting, structure, and submission requirements.
• Peer-review policy: Review model (single-blind, double-blind, open) and reviewer selection process.
• Publication ethics: Authorship criteria, duplicate-submission rules, and research integrity standards.
• Plagiarism policy: Screening methods and consequences for violations.
• Copyright policy: Rights retained by authors versus the journal, and licensing terms for reuse.
• Conflict of interest: Disclosure requirements for authors, reviewers, and editors alike.
• Retraction policy: Process for retracting articles found to have serious issues post-publication.
• Corrections policy: How minor errors are handled after publication.

Publishing these policies openly on your website isn't just good practice - it's often expected by authors and, later, by indexing services evaluating your journal.

6. Set Up the Peer-Review Process

A structured, predictable workflow is what separates a credible journal from an ad hoc one. A standard process looks like:

Submission → Editorial Screening → Reviewer Assignment → Peer Review → Revision → Final Decision

• Editorial screening filters out submissions that are out of scope or don't meet basic formatting/ethical standards before review begins.
• Reviewer assignment matches manuscripts to qualified experts, ideally with mechanisms to avoid conflicts of interest.
• Peer review collects structured, substantive feedback within a defined timeframe.
• Revision allows authors to address reviewer concerns, sometimes across multiple rounds.
• Final decision is made by the responsible editor based on reviewer recommendations.

Consistency here matters as much as rigor - authors need to trust that similar submissions are evaluated by similar standards, and that timelines are predictable.

7. Obtain an ISSN

An ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) is a unique identifier that formally distinguishes your journal as a periodical from other publications, including similarly named ones. Print and online versions of the same journal are typically issued separate ISSNs where both formats exist.

Because ISSN registration is handled by national ISSN centers with country-specific procedures and requirements, and these can change over time, consult your national ISSN center directly for accurate, current application guidance rather than relying on generalized instructions.

8. Build an Academic Journal Website

Your website is where credibility gets demonstrated in practice. At minimum, include:

• Journal Homepage: Overview and highlights
• About: Background and mission
• Aims and Scope: The statement from Step 2
• Editorial Board: Names, roles, and affiliations
• Author Guidelines: Submission and formatting requirements
• Submit Manuscript: Access to your submission system
• Peer Review Policy: How review works
• Publication Ethics: Your ethics policies
• Current Issue: Latest published content
• Archives: Past issues organized by volume/year
• Copyright: Licensing and reuse terms
• Contact Information: Editorial office details

9. Set Up Manuscript Submission

An online submission system replaces the chaos of email-based manuscript handling with a structured, trackable process. It typically supports:

• Author registration: Accounts for tracking submission history
• Manuscript submission: Structured upload with required metadata
• Editorial screening: Initial review for scope and formatting fit
• Reviewer assignment: Matching manuscripts to appropriate reviewers
• Revision management: Tracking manuscript versions through review rounds
• Editorial decisions: Recording and communicating accept/reject/revise outcomes
• Author communication: Centralized correspondence tied to each manuscript

As submission volume grows, this kind of system becomes less of a convenience and more of a necessity for maintaining consistent editorial standards.

10. Publish Your First Issue

Once manuscripts have cleared peer review, assembling your first issue involves:

• Article selection: Choosing accepted manuscripts that reflect your journal's scope
• Peer-review completion: Confirming all included articles have finished the review cycle
• Editing: Copyediting for language, clarity, and consistency
• Formatting: Applying a consistent layout and citation style
• Issue creation: Structuring content into a numbered volume/issue
• Article publication: Making the issue available online
• Online archive: Ensuring the issue is properly archived for ongoing access

11. Add DOI and Article Metadata

A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) gives each article a persistent identifier that remains valid even if hosting or URLs change. Alongside DOI assignment, accurate article metadata matters just as much:

• Author information: Names, affiliations, and identifiers
• Abstract: A clear summary of the work
• Keywords: Terms that support discoverability
• References: Properly formatted citation data

Structured, accurate metadata improves how easily an article can be found, cited, and linked across scholarly databases. It's worth noting that DOI assignment and clean metadata support discoverability - they do not guarantee indexing in any specific database or improve search rankings on their own.

12. Maintain the Journal Consistently

Launching your first issue is a milestone, not a finish line. Long-term credibility depends on:

• Regular publication: Sticking to a sustainable, predictable schedule
• Editorial quality: Maintaining rigorous review standards over time
• Reviewer management: Keeping your reviewer pool active and appropriately sized
• Ethical standards: Enforcing your policies consistently, not just on paper
• Website maintenance: Keeping content, archives, and policies current
• Accurate metadata: Maintaining consistency across all published articles
• Transparent policies: Updating and communicating policy changes clearly

How ScholarJMS Can Help You Start and Manage an Academic Journal

Much of the operational work described above - website upkeep, submission handling, review coordination, issue assembly - is exactly what journal management software is designed to support. ScholarJMS is a journal management and publishing platform built to help editorial teams run these processes from a single system.

Specific areas where a platform like ScholarJMS can support your journal include:

• Journal website management: Maintaining core pages such as scope, editorial board, and archives
• Manuscript submissions: Giving authors a structured portal for submitting and tracking manuscripts
• Editorial workflows: Routing manuscripts through screening, review, and decision stages
• Peer-review management: Coordinating reviewer invitations and feedback collection
• Reviewer coordination: Maintaining a reviewer database organized by expertise
• Author communication: Keeping correspondence linked to specific manuscripts
• Article management: Tracking manuscripts from submission through production
• Issue management: Organizing content into volumes and issues
• Journal archives: Maintaining an accessible, organized publication history
• Publishing workflows: Supporting the process from acceptance to final publication

For founders working through how to start an academic journal without a large in-house technical team, this kind of centralized infrastructure can meaningfully reduce setup and ongoing operational effort. Explore ScholarJMS to simplify your academic journal publishing workflow: https://www.scholarjms.com/

How Much Does It Cost to Start an Academic Journal?

There's no single answer here - costs vary widely depending on your choices across several areas:

• Website development: Building custom infrastructure versus using an existing platform
• Journal management software: Licensing or subscription costs for submission and editorial tools
• Editorial operations: Time and, in some cases, compensation for editorial staff
• DOI services: Registration fees through a DOI registration agency
• Design: Visual identity, logo, and website design
• Hosting: Server and domain costs for your journal website
• Copyediting: Professional editing services for accepted manuscripts
• Typesetting: Formatting manuscripts into publication-ready layouts
• Marketing: Outreach to attract submissions and readership
• Administrative requirements: ISSN registration, legal, and organizational overhead

Because these factors vary significantly by journal size, discipline, and publishing model (open access versus subscription, for example), it's not possible to state a single accurate cost figure - budget planning should be done against your specific choices in each of these areas.

Common Challenges When Starting an Academic Journal

• Finding qualified editors: Solution - recruit through professional networks and existing conference communities where subject expertise is already visible.
• Attracting quality manuscripts: Solution - actively invite submissions from known researchers in your niche during the early issues.
• Building a reviewer network: Solution - start with your editorial board's direct contacts and expand gradually as submission volume grows.
• Managing peer review: Solution - use a structured workflow and system to track deadlines and avoid reviewer fatigue.
• Maintaining publication schedules: Solution - set a conservative initial frequency (e.g., biannual) and increase only as submission volume supports it.
• Establishing ethical policies: Solution - adapt established frameworks like COPE guidelines rather than drafting policies from scratch.
• Managing article metadata: Solution - use a system that captures structured metadata at submission rather than reconstructing it later.
• Building journal credibility: Solution - prioritize editorial quality and consistency over publication volume in early issues.
• Maintaining a professional website: Solution - use a platform that keeps core journal pages structured and current with minimal manual upkeep.

Mistakes to Avoid When Launching an Academic Journal

• Extremely broad scope that makes editorial evaluation and positioning difficult
• Weak editorial board lacking genuine subject-matter authority
• Poor peer-review procedures that are inconsistent or opaque
• Missing publication policies that leave ethical and procedural gaps
• Inconsistent publishing that undermines reader and author trust
• Poor website structure that hides essential information from authors
• Unclear author guidelines that lead to formatting and scope confusion
• Unrealistic indexing claims that mislead prospective authors
• Poor article quality from prioritizing volume over rigor
• Lack of transparency around policies, decisions, or editorial processes

Checklist for Starting an Academic Journal

•  Journal topic identified
•  Journal name selected
•  Aims and scope defined
•  Editorial board recruited
•  Reviewer network established
•  Author guidelines drafted
•  Publication ethics policy documented
•  Peer-review process defined
•  ISSN application submitted
•  Journal website built
•  Submission system set up
•  Article template created
•  First issue assembled
•  DOI strategy in place
•  Publication schedule set

FAQ Section

How do I start an academic journal?

Start by selecting a research field and defining a specific scope, then build an editorial board, establish policies, register an ISSN, set up a website and submission system, and publish your first issue on a sustainable schedule.

What do I need to start a scholarly journal?

You need a defined scope, a qualified editorial board, a reviewer network, documented policies, a journal website, a manuscript submission system, and typically an ISSN, along with a plan for DOI assignment.

Can anyone start an academic journal?

Technically, anyone can attempt to start a journal, but building genuine academic credibility requires a qualified editorial board, rigorous peer review, and consistent adherence to publication ethics - credibility is earned over time, not granted at launch.

How do I create an academic journal website?

An academic journal website should include pages for About, Aims and Scope, Editorial Board, Author Guidelines, Submission access, Current Issue, Archives, and your published policies. Journal management platforms can help set up and maintain these pages.

Does an academic journal need an ISSN?

An ISSN is generally expected for formal recognition as a periodical and is often required for library cataloging and indexing consideration. Registration procedures vary by country, so check with your national ISSN center.

How does peer review work in an academic journal?

Peer review typically follows submission, editorial screening, reviewer assignment, review, revision, and final decision. The specific review model (single-blind, double-blind, or open) should be documented in your journal's peer-review policy.

What software can I use to manage an academic journal?

Journal management software centralizes submissions, peer review, editorial workflow, and issue publishing. Platforms like ScholarJMS are built specifically to support these operations for academic journals.

How can ScholarJMS help with academic journal management?

ScholarJMS supports journal website management, manuscript submissions, editorial workflows, peer-review coordination, reviewer management, and issue publishing from a centralized platform.

Conclusion

Starting an academic journal is a substantial undertaking, but it becomes manageable when broken into its core components: a clearly defined scope, a qualified and engaged editorial team, transparent and well-documented policies, a reliable peer-review process, and the technical infrastructure to support consistent publishing. None of these elements works in isolation - a strong scope attracts the right editors, and strong editorial leadership sustains rigorous review, which in turn builds the credibility your journal needs to grow.

Platforms like ScholarJMS can help simplify the operational side of this journey - from manuscript submissions to editorial workflow and issue publishing - so your editorial team can focus more on the substance of what you publish. Explore ScholarJMS to simplify your academic journal publishing workflow: https://www.scholarjms.com/