Last year we celebrated Lipids achieving the milestone of reaching 50 volumes. Now we start a new era for Lipids, and with a new era comes a new idea offering a new opportunity for our authors. At our last editorial board meeting I introduced the idea of publishing rapid communications and consulted with the board for their thoughts on the topic. I certainly could have made this decision without input from the board. However, I chose to have their input because as one of my fine colleagues, Professor Petros, notes, “the power of any committee is the collective wisdom of the people around the table.” So I harnessed the collective wisdom of the Lipids editorial board as we spent quite some time discussing the advantages and disadvantages of having a rapid communications format added to our publishing options. Each associate editor and senior associate editor present had an opportunity to weigh in on this important topic and I listened to each and every word, but in the end it was my decision to make. To welcome in the new era, I am excited to announce the publication of the first Rapid Communication in this issue of Lipids, which is a great paper from a very well-respected group.

The important question is, why did I choose to bring up the possibility of publishing a Rapid Communication format and then make the decision to move forward with instituting this new type of publication at Lipids? A major area of my research is in lipid neurochemistry, and in the general field of neurochemistry, a number of journals offer a rapid communication format. In fact, I have used this format for publications in the past and found the quick turnaround time to be quite appealing. Although these rapid communications are smaller in scope, they offer a distinct and complete body of work that presents an exciting set of data that moves the field forward. Surveying the journals competing with Lipids, I did not see any journals having the option of submitting a rapid communication; hence, in the publishing world, I thought this would provide a competitive advantage for Lipids. In addition, I thought it was time for authors in the field of lipid biochemistry to have this publishing option and to have the ability to publish a fully peer-reviewed paper that has a rapid turnaround from first submission to final decision of under 50 days.

At the board meeting, a fair bit of discussion was directed at two major points. The first point was that this publishing option could be used by many authors to submit manuscripts that lack the quality and completeness that we should require. Hence, having a rapid communications option could open the flood gates to manuscripts that are not the “ideal” Rapid Communication. This of course would create a nightmare for me and the editorial board of Lipids. In contrast, the second point was that many authors from high-end laboratories would see this as an attractive option to publish discrete and complete, albeit, smaller publications, for which they need a rapid decision. This latter point was discussed at the meeting, and frankly, it was the point that carried the day, as some associate editors described situations in which authors needing to get a paper in press prior to a grant submission or prior to a grant progress report would benefit from this format. In the end, I felt that these authors would be using this option to present work of a high quality, and that these authors may comprise a segment of the field that we are currently not reaching. In the end, we hope that all authors see Lipids as an important and attractive option in their publication strategy.

So, now that we have Rapid Communications, what kind of work should be submitted to be considered for this option? First, the work should be of high quality and be a discrete body of work. Second, it must present results that are lacking in the field and, as such, are highly novel. Despite being a smaller body of work, publishing work that is truly novel is an important and attractive option for Lipids, and one that each Rapid Communication should provide.

What is the process and time line for this publishing option? As noted in the Instructions to Authors, there are only two positive decision options, either outright acceptance, which is truly rare, or a minor revision that is editorial in nature. Work that might require additional experiments should not be submitted as a Rapid Communication, as a request for additional data is the metric we use to distinguish between a minor and major revision. So for the author, there is a bit of risk in submitting a manuscript under this option, as a major revision is considered a rejection. In addition, all submissions as a Rapid Communication undergo the same rigorous peer-review as a regular article, although we work with reviewers to streamline the process. Hence, it is important for authors to appreciate that this publication option as not merely an editor-level review. Lastly, we strive to have a first-decision letter within 21 days for a manuscript submitted as a Rapid Communication and the expectation is that authors will have the manuscript returned in 14 days or less. Thus, at the time of submission, authors need to plan to be able to turnaround the revision in the 14-day period permitted.

I look forward to seeing how successful our new endeavor is in bringing new authors to Lipids and in providing all authors with an attractive, novel platform for the presentation of their work. As we open the new era at Lipids, I thank all of our authors who have supported the journal for many years by publishing their work with us. In addition, I thank all of our editorial advisory board members, associate editors, and senior associate editors who unselfishly provide their time and expertise to ensure that our peer review is both fair and rigorous.