The Society for Marine Mammalogy has created a Marine Mammal Science pilot program to cover the cost of editing for the quality of English for authors for which English is not their primary language (ESL – English as a second language). For an author who meets this condition, and whose paper is likely to become acceptable for publication, as determined by the Editor-in-Chief, he/she will be notified of the opportunity to request that their paper be edited for the quality of English and clarity. If requested and approved, once the paper is at the stage of minor revision, the Editor-in-Chief will have an editor proofread the paper for English and clarity within 6 days, and provide a file within 6 days of receiving the paper. In editing the paper, if any editing inadvertently changes the meaning of something, the author can correct the edit and let the EIC know. The cost for this editing will be covered by the Society for Marine Mammalogy and will be managed by the EIC. This pilot program has been funded for up to $20,000 for an initial year.

It is possible that papers for which the English is sufficiently poor to understand content upon initial submission might be returned to the author for improvement to a level where content is sufficiently clear for reviewers to follow. Reviewers will be instructed to ignore the quality of English in their review as long as it does not impede their ability to understand the substance of the paper. If you have any questions about the program, contact the Editor-in-Chief.