INANE Conference: Tuesday AM 8/5/25
- Leslie Nicoll, Editor-in-Chief (now Editor Emerita)
- Heather Carter-Templeton, Deputy Editor (now Editor-in-Chief)
- Lisa Marshall, Managing Editor
- Lauren Briede, Publisher
Abstract: What happens when a long-time Editor-in-Chief decides to retire? This session describes the process undertaken at CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing over the past several years. Each presenter describes their role and experience. The initial succession plan and how it was adapted is explained in response to expected and unexpected events.
Summary:
Leslie Nicoll:
- Decided she wanted to retire as EIC at CIN as AI started exploding onto the scene. She did not feel pushed out.
- In her experience, Wolters Kluwer felt like she was on an editorial merry-go-round with lots of personnel changes. However, the journal was doing well and she feels they were doing well as a journal.
- She chose not to involve the editorial board or the CIN+ editor in this transition plan
- Then something unexpected happen….. An illness experience that lasted 6-9 months and fortunately her deputy and managing editors stepped in and did a fantastic job!
Heather Carter-Templeton:
- “We only learned about how to become editors from other editors…” ~Nicholl & Chinn, 2020
- Heather’s Scholarship and Editorial Growth:
- 2011- NLN Writing Retreat
- 2016- Appointed ANI Connection Editor
- 2017- Mentoring Editor Award
- 2018- Published 1st Co-authored article
- 2023- Appointed Deputy Editor
- 2025- Appointed EIC
- Continued to develop subject expertise and skills in managing a journal section/department
- Built relationships with authors, reviewers and readers
- As Deputy Editor, she learned more about the EIC role and broadened her understanding of editorial oversight. It also enriched her problem solving skills during conflict resolution or uncertainty
- Three things that helped her readiness to be an EIC
- #1 Comprehensive understanding of journal workflows
- #2 Taught to maintain high ethical and quality standards
- #3 Developed skills for journal growth and impact
Lisa Marshall:
- Ask yourself these questions:
- #1 How long is the orientation period for the incoming EIC?
- #2 How does the outgoing EIC wish to wind down her/his role with manuscripts?
- #3 What training does the incoming EIC require?
- #4 What is the communications plan (eg. editorial board, authors)
- #5 Will the incoming or outgoing EIC be writing an editorial? When will it be published? Who has to read it first?
- #6 What are the key dates for when people are officially transitioning?
- #7 If you have a managing editor you may not have a lot of production contact, but if not, if it is you, then who are you going to interface with in production? What are the touch points you need to be aware of etc?
- #8 When are the author guidelines going to be updated to reflect the new editor?
- The Transition Plan needs to cover:
- External communications
- Internal communications
- Consider the transition an opportunity to take a fresh look at:
- Workflows and processes
- Editorial board composition
- Reviewer guidelines
- Manuscript and “people” classifications
“If you had to step away from your journal tomorrow, who would take over- and would they be ready?”
Lauren Briede:
- Why does succession planning matter?
- Preserves editorial vision
- Ensures continuity
- Builds trust
- Supports mentorship and growth
- Prepares for the unexpected
- Start the Conversation
- Talk with your co-editors, board, and publisher in the next 6 months
- Create a brief plan or timeline for these discussions
- Identify potential successors or a committee structure to evaluate them
- Keep the plan flexible but written down
- Consider a timeline of 18 months to onboard someone to learn the basics of being an EIC
Comment Period
- Comment 1: I have been involved in proprietary and society journals. Society journals can make things more complicated. The succession plan presented here might not be applicable to a succession plan.
- Comment 2: One way that closed systems are allowed to perpetuate is by having that process. We want to make sure that we are opening this process up and taking into consideration that there could be individuals outside of our network who could be very valuable to the role we are looking to fill in the future.
- Comment 3: If you want to be a co-editor, you might have to convince the publisher, but this model has many benefits. They might not know what they don’t know! The next generation looks at work life balance differently than we did. We need to be thoughtful and creative about how we mentor people so we still have excellent journals that continue.
- Comment 4: If you are the one coming in as the editor, you need to have tough conversations with the outgoing editor so you can promote your vision. Be visionary!
Your INANE 2025 reporter is Melissa Anne DuBois, BSN, RNC-OB, PhD Student.
Content for this post was obtained from the INANE 2025 website, the conference guidebook, internet searches, speaker submitted bios, and live reporting from each session. Any errors in content are purely accidental and not intended to offend. If you notice an error you would like corrected, please contact Melissa Anne at melissadubois2 at gmail dot com and she will be happy to make corrections.