Factoring in the time required for an editor’s initial evaluation of a submission, invitation of peer reviewers, completion of peer review, and an editor’s evaluation of all feedback, you should expect a decision to take time. Some journals may be as prompt as 2-3 months; others may require 6-9 months. Remember that delays may occur if reviewers decline invitations, and sometimes reviews are simply submitted late. Further delays may occur during common periods for taking leave — such as summers and holidays — or periods in which reviewers have other commitments, such as the start of a semester.
Many online journal submission systems will show you what stage your paper is in, i.e., editorial review or peer review. However, if this information is not available, or if a paper does not seem to progress to another stage for a long time, it is acceptable to contact the editor and inquire about the status of your submission. Keep your message brief and polite. Understandably, you may be anxious to receive responses to your paper, but you’ll want to respect the reality that most editors and reviewers are undertaking journal submissions as unpaid labor on top of their regular responsibilities, and thus it is not always top priority in their task lists.
When the editor makes a decision, it will usually fall into one of several categories, although the exact terminology may vary by journal:
Decline/Reject
Your paper may be declined without peer review because it is outside the journal’s scope or does not meet requirements. Rejection may also occur after peer review if the feedback identifies too many weaknesses, particularly if these seem less likely to be resolved with a reasonable amount of revision. For example, unclear writing can generally be remedied by revision, but faulty methods in collecting data may be an insurmountable problem.
Revise and Resubmit (for further review)
If your manuscript needs significant rewriting or reorganizing, it may benefit from an additional round of peer review after revisions to ensure that identified problems have been resolved, new concerns have not been introduced, and that logical coherence is maintained. An editor may invite the same or new peer reviewers to read a revised version of a submission. Additionally, a paper is not limited to one round of revisions; if a paper demonstrates improvement during revision but does not yet meet the editor’s criteria for acceptance, you may be invited to participate in any number of revision cycles to continue strengthening the work. On the other hand, if your revised version fails to show the improvement desired, an editor may still choose to decline a paper after one or more rounds of revision. Additionally, you are not obligated to continue with the revise and resubmit process. In any round, you may decline the opportunity to make revisions and withdraw your paper from the journal’s consideration.
Revise and Resubmit (no further review)
Sometimes a paper needs revisions, but they are unlikely to significantly alter the overall structure. The editor can review these items themselves without further enlisting reviewers and delaying a final decision on the manuscript.
Accepted Pending [Major/Minor] Revisions
This decision indicates that successful completion of the listed revisions will make your paper acceptable for publication. Some editors may use this terminology as an alternative to Revise and Resubmit (no further review). Regardless of terminology, the revised paper must meet the editor’s approval before acceptance will be officially confirmed.
Accept
An editor has the option to accept a submission as it is without revisions. This tends to be very uncommon, so you should not be at all disheartened if this decision does not appear.
Table 2, editorial decisions for publication. Created by Erin Owens for LibParlor Online Learning, 2023.
What does “revision” entail? Most submissions, if not declined outright for scope or fundamental flaws, will be subject to some level of revision, but there is a broad spectrum of what “revise and resubmit” can really mean. The ultimate goal is to make a manuscript the best possible version of itself. This process may be as simple as tweaking the wording of a few sentences for clarity or inserting a few additional details about methodologyMethodologyThe theoretical framework that informs how a researcher approaches their work and what methods are used to collect data.. Revision may involve more work, i.e., asking you to expand on a missing aspect of your literature reviewLiterature ReviewThe process of summarizing, synthesizing and/or critiquing literature around a specific topic/idea. This work can help a researcher understand what has happened before and also how past research intersects and or diverges from other research. A literature review can be a full-length manuscript or a subsection within a larger research article.. Finally, in some cases, revision may mean reorganizing or significantly recasting large sections of the paper. Although criticism of our work may sting initially, we should strive not to take feedback personally but should instead focus on the fact that authors, editors, and reviewers alike share a common goal to publish high-quality work.
When will your published article appear? After your manuscript is finally accepted for publication, you may be asked to sign a publication contract which either transfers your copyright to the journal or grants them specific rights. In the weeks leading up to publication, you will often receive proofs or galleys, a formatted copy of your article as it will appear in publication. You may report any corrections that you identify, and then you will approve the formatted version for publication. In terms of when the published version will appear, however, you should again be prepared for variability in the timeline, depending on factors such as how many issues per year the journal publishes, how far in advance they schedule articles for an issue, and whether they publish online in advance of print. If the accepting editor does not give you an idea of when your article may be published, it is acceptable to ask.
Exercise
Complete the following exercise in your LPOL Workbook. This exercise will help you check for learning, engage with the material, and work through new ideas.
What if your paper is rejected? Dealing with rejection can be challenging, but it is a common part of the publishing experience, and as researchers, we must learn to face it and learn from it while also being compassionate with ourselves. Read the article below to learn a little more about normalizing failure in research:
Reflect on your past experiences and how they can prepare you to cope with rejection in research using the 5.1.5: Coping with Rejection worksheet in your LPOL Workbook.
How should you proceed after your submission is declined? You should usually consider revising your paper according to any peer or editor feedback received and then submitting the revised paper to another journal. If the feedback indicated a mismatch with the journal’s aim and scope, take this into consideration when selecting another journal. You may wish to talk to colleagues or peers for suggestions of alternate journals or further recommendations for strengthening the paper. In most cases, don’t give up on your manuscript just because of rejection!
Wahl, Erin Renee, and Dr. Rene O. Guillaume. “Navigating Rejection: Strategies for Resilience and Growth in Academic Writing and Publishing.” The Librarian Parlor. June 16, 2023. https://libparlor.com/2023/06/16/navigating-rejection/.
Receiving Editorial Decisions
Factoring in the time required for an editor’s initial evaluation of a submission, invitation of peer reviewers, completion of peer review, and an editor’s evaluation of all feedback, you should expect a decision to take time. Some journals may be as prompt as 2-3 months; others may require 6-9 months. Remember that delays may occur if reviewers decline invitations, and sometimes reviews are simply submitted late. Further delays may occur during common periods for taking leave — such as summers and holidays — or periods in which reviewers have other commitments, such as the start of a semester.
Many online journal submission systems will show you what stage your paper is in, i.e., editorial review or peer review. However, if this information is not available, or if a paper does not seem to progress to another stage for a long time, it is acceptable to contact the editor and inquire about the status of your submission. Keep your message brief and polite. Understandably, you may be anxious to receive responses to your paper, but you’ll want to respect the reality that most editors and reviewers are undertaking journal submissions as unpaid labor on top of their regular responsibilities, and thus it is not always top priority in their task lists.
When the editor makes a decision, it will usually fall into one of several categories, although the exact terminology may vary by journal:
What does “revision” entail? Most submissions, if not declined outright for scope or fundamental flaws, will be subject to some level of revision, but there is a broad spectrum of what “revise and resubmit” can really mean. The ultimate goal is to make a manuscript the best possible version of itself. This process may be as simple as tweaking the wording of a few sentences for clarity or inserting a few additional details about methodologyMethodology The theoretical framework that informs how a researcher approaches their work and what methods are used to collect data.. Revision may involve more work, i.e., asking you to expand on a missing aspect of your literature reviewLiterature Review The process of summarizing, synthesizing and/or critiquing literature around a specific topic/idea. This work can help a researcher understand what has happened before and also how past research intersects and or diverges from other research. A literature review can be a full-length manuscript or a subsection within a larger research article.. Finally, in some cases, revision may mean reorganizing or significantly recasting large sections of the paper. Although criticism of our work may sting initially, we should strive not to take feedback personally but should instead focus on the fact that authors, editors, and reviewers alike share a common goal to publish high-quality work.
When will your published article appear? After your manuscript is finally accepted for publication, you may be asked to sign a publication contract which either transfers your copyright to the journal or grants them specific rights. In the weeks leading up to publication, you will often receive proofs or galleys, a formatted copy of your article as it will appear in publication. You may report any corrections that you identify, and then you will approve the formatted version for publication. In terms of when the published version will appear, however, you should again be prepared for variability in the timeline, depending on factors such as how many issues per year the journal publishes, how far in advance they schedule articles for an issue, and whether they publish online in advance of print. If the accepting editor does not give you an idea of when your article may be published, it is acceptable to ask.
Exercise
Complete the following exercise in your LPOL Workbook. This exercise will help you check for learning, engage with the material, and work through new ideas.
What if your paper is rejected? Dealing with rejection can be challenging, but it is a common part of the publishing experience, and as researchers, we must learn to face it and learn from it while also being compassionate with ourselves. Read the article below to learn a little more about normalizing failure in research:
“Failure Can Feel Hot and Shameful, But We Must Normalise It”
Reflect on your past experiences and how they can prepare you to cope with rejection in research using the 5.1.5: Coping with Rejection worksheet in your LPOL Workbook.
How should you proceed after your submission is declined? You should usually consider revising your paper according to any peer or editor feedback received and then submitting the revised paper to another journal. If the feedback indicated a mismatch with the journal’s aim and scope, take this into consideration when selecting another journal. You may wish to talk to colleagues or peers for suggestions of alternate journals or further recommendations for strengthening the paper. In most cases, don’t give up on your manuscript just because of rejection!
Topic 5 References
Ali, Javed. “Manuscript Rejection: Causes and Remedies.” Journal of Young Pharmacists 2, no. 1 (2010): 3-6. https://doi.org/10.4103%2F0975-1483.62205.
Belcher, Wendy Laura. “When a Journal Says No.” Inside Higher Ed. April 27, 2009. https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2009/04/27/when-journal-says-no.
“How to Handle Article Rejection.” Emerald Publishing. N.d. https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/how-handle-article-rejection#tips.
Moore, Justin B. “What Does a Manuscript Rejection Really Mean? (Probably Not What You Think).” JPHMP Direct. February 18, 2021. https://jphmpdirect.com/2021/02/18/what-does-a-manuscript-rejection-really-mean/.
Wahl, Erin Renee, and Dr. Rene O. Guillaume. “Navigating Rejection: Strategies for Resilience and Growth in Academic Writing and Publishing.” The Librarian Parlor. June 16, 2023. https://libparlor.com/2023/06/16/navigating-rejection/.