Publish or perish" is a mantra familiar to everyone touched by academic life. The degree to which professional viability depends on publishing may vary, but the kernel of truth in this expression often leads to the corollary that "more is better." An emphasis on the number of publications as an indicator of productivity in academic promotion is one factor driving the rise of the LPU (least publishable unit), a euphemism for the smallest quantum of information required to generate a peer-reviewed publication. The LPU is a known entity not just with editors and peer reviewers, but also with readers, who take note when publications with thinly sliced, highly similar content reach the pages of the journals. With the goal of continually improving the impact of our journals as well as the quality of the reading experience, the editors of the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery QCRS) and the Journal of Refractive Surgery (JRS) draw attention to the problem in this joint editorial and offer suggestions to authors to enhance the impact of their work, improve the likelihood of publication, and avoid the perils of duplicative submissions.
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