Since it was established in 1977, Optics Letters has sought to attract the very best scientific research. In addition, our journal puts particular emphasis on publishing work that can have an impact on the scientific community if published rapidly. Here, I would like to introduce a new submission requirement that aims to improve the efficiency of the peer review process so that we can continue to identify the most impactful new research in optics. Also, I would like to share some recent data highlighting the journal’s healthy submissions, citation rates, and rapid turnaround time.

Beginning in April 2016, each author who submits a paper through the Optics Letters online submission system will be required to include a novelty and impact statement. This short statement of no more than 200 words gives the author an opportunity to explain how the submitted article meets the journal’s criteria that the work must be novel and must have the potential for significant impact in its field. The statement is for the benefit of the editors and reviewers, who must take these criteria into consideration, and it will not be published if the article is accepted. Relevant references are required, but will not be counted toward the word limit.

It is true that a well-written article will address the novelty and impact of the work in its introduction and/or its abstract; however, this will be a chance for authors to focus on these points and to expand on how the research fits in with previously published work—both their own and that of others. I feel that reviewers and editors will be able to make their determinations more efficiently and accurately by having these statements available. Authors and reviewers who have questions about these changes may contact Optics Letters at olmss@osa.org.

I would also like to take this opportunity to share some of the metrics we use to assess the performance of Optics Letters. The journal depends on authors to send us their work, and submissions to Optics Letters have increased 18% over the past five years. Of course, we want work that is going to have an impact in the field, and one way to measure this is by how frequently articles are cited. The journal’s most recent Impact Factor improved slightly to 3.292, keeping it near the top of the optics category. In 2014, the most recent year for which data are available, articles published in Optics Letters were cited more than 55,000 times. The journal enjoys high visibility, with more than 1.2 million downloads in 2015.

Average time to publication, the total time it takes to move an article through the peer review process and to publish it, is an important consideration for authors when deciding where to submit an article. Optics Letters has continued to improve this metric, with an average time to publication of only 70 days in 2015, a reduction of approximately 10% compared with the previous year.

The editorial board and the staff at OSA are always working to make sure that Optics Letters is your first choice for submitting your optics research that can benefit from rapid publication. I encourage your feedback as we look to continually improve the journal.