Dealing with Reviews

Rejection hurts, but is it fatal?

Publication ProcessPublication ProcessCOMPLETION OF RESEARCHCOMPLETION OF RESEARCH

PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPTPREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT

SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTSUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPT

ASSIGNMENT AND REVIEWASSIGNMENT AND REVIEW

DECISIONDECISION

REJECTIONREJECTION REVISIONREVISION

RESUBMISSIONRESUBMISSION

RE-REVIEWRE-REVIEW

ACCEPTANCE REJECTIONACCEPTANCE REJECTION

PUBLICATION!PUBLICATION!

Editorial Decision

• Accepted with no revisions – this is very rare!

• Modify• Read critiques carefully• Revise manuscript to address concerns• Send in revisions

• Rejected• Read critiques carefully• Revise manuscript to address concerns• Resubmit to another journal

Response• Don’t look for bias and intent

• Begin with the presumption that the reviewers were unbiased

• They put substantial (unpaid) effort into understanding your work

After Receiving Your Reviews…

• Read and get mad; put reviews away for 24-48 hours

• Re-read reviews

• Try to understand what reviewers are saying

• Discuss reviews with collaborators

• Look for clues in editor’s cover letter

• Reviewer is ALWAYS right

CluesHere’s one you don’t want to receive!

“Dear Authors:

Thank you for your submission. We have included two rejection letters. One for this submission and one for your next submission.”

Response to Acceptance Letter

• Celebrate!

• Wait for the proofs

• Acceptance is much more common following revisions

Proofs• A preliminary copy of the printed article

• Read carefully

• Usually can not make drastic changes

• Answer all queries

• Usually requires quick, often 48-hour response from you!

Accepted with Revision: Revising Manuscript• Re-write sections of manuscript where confusing

• Give manuscript to someone else to read along with reviewer comments

• If you decide not to revise the manuscript, contact the editor and withdraw it

Response to Modify Letter

• Do additional experiments or data analysis if needed• Make appropriate revisions in manuscript• Point-by-point response to comments by the editor and by the reviewers

• Respond to the letter and the intent of the suggestions

• Explain any additional changes• Return revisions in a timely manner (>60%)

More on Responding

• Thank the reviewer and editor

• Consider which issues are critical

• Give way on minor inconsequential points

• Draft response to each point made

• Detail changes made to manuscript

• If you think reviewer is wrong, give reasons and politely disagree

The Revised Manuscript

• Follow journal (editor) instructions

• Return to proper location (usually the corresponding editor)

• Include a cover letter and manuscript identification information

Response to Reject Letter

• Evaluate reviews and identify the problem(s)

• Revise and resubmit to same journal

• Revise and resubmit elsewhere

• Do not lose hope or your temper

• Most journals >60%

More on Rejection

• Don’t take it personally. Look for the good points and build on them.

• Editor can help resolve conflicting reviews

• Rebut and resubmit, but don’t pretend to fix something if you haven’t!

• If sending to a different journal, is the previous rejection relevant?

• Be diplomatic

Why a Manuscript Gets Rejected

• Inappropriate for journal

• Research is merely confirmatory

• Study is an incremental advance only

• Study was poorly designed

• Conclusions made are not supported by data

• Manuscript was poorly written or organized

Contacting the Editor

• Don’t understand reviewers’ comments

• Inappropriate reviewer comments

• Question regarding additional experiments

• Withdrawing manuscript

Check List• Re-read the decision letter and reviews

• Have you answered all the questions?• Have you followed the instructions?

• Are your responses concise, clear, and effective?

• Do you need to eliminate any angry or inappropriate comments?

• Did you make any modifications that were not suggested?• Describe any major changes and explain why

Rejection• Accept

• Modify

• Reject

• Painful