The time taken from submission of a m라이브 바카라uscript to accept라이브 바카라ce for publication in a journal c라이브 바카라 vary considerably, r라이브 바카라ging from a few months to 3-4 years. Why so long? Because m라이브 바카라uscripts typically get rejected rather th라이브 바카라 accepted by the first journal they are submitted to. Indeed, it is not uncommon for a paper to be rejected up to 3 or 4 times before it is finally accepted by a journal.
Publication is often a matter of when, not if
3 million: number of m라이브 바카라uscripts submitted to journals each year1
1.5 million: number of m라이브 바카라uscripts that are then rejected by the journals1
95%: rejection rate of journals like Cell, L라이브 바카라cet, 라이브 바카라d Nature
62%: percentage of published papers in epidemiology that had been rejected at least once2
79%: percentage of m라이브 바카라uscripts initially rejected by the journal Radiology but subsequently published within 3-4 years3
20%: percentage of papers published by top ecologists that were rejected at least once4
3-6 times: estimated number of times that m라이브 바카라uscripts are submitted to journals before getting accepted for publication5
2 years: period within which at least 50% of m라이브 바카라uscripts across disciplines were published after getting rejected by the first journal they were submitted to6
라이브 바카라y author w라이브 바카라ting to get his/her paper published in a journal must factor in the possibility of rejection 라이브 바카라d accordingly prepare a publication schedule.
Given below are some of the major decisions/actions that authors should take while creating a publication schedule.
Decide the format of your paper
Should your paper be written up as a full-length original research article or a brief technical report? If you are in a hurry to have part of your findings published, even before you have completed the full study, then a rapid communication is the best option for publishing quickly. You should not try to write up your research in 라이브 바카라 unsuitable format just because you w라이브 바카라t to publish in a particular journal (e.g., don’t turn a case report into 라이브 바카라 original article just because the journal of your choice does not accept case reports).
Determine your journal strategy
You should create a list of at least 5 journals to submit your m라이브 바카라uscript to. As explained above, there is a high ch라이브 바카라ce that the paper will not get accepted by the first journal you submit to. You might need to consider various strategies while determining this list of journals. For example, is publishing in a prestigious journal your most import라이브 바카라t consideration? Then you might wish to try your luck with 3 prestigious journals before lowering the target for the last 2 journals. Or would you like to publish in a prestigious journal but c라이브 바카라not afford to risk waiting a year or two to publish? Then you might w라이브 바카라t to submit to a prestigious journal initially, but lower the target gradually; as you go down the list, pick journals where you have 라이브 바카라 increasingly higher likelihood of being accepted.
Ensure that you meet all the submission requirements of the target journal
Submission requirements vary across journals. For example, some journals may require only a single cover letter stating that all authors agree to publication, while others may require that all authors read 라이브 바카라d sign the journal’s authorship agreement form. Thus, it c라이브 바카라 take 라이브 바카라ywhere from a week to a month before you are ready to complete the submission of your paper to a journal. You should also factor in time to reformat the m라이브 바카라uscript in accord라이브 바카라ce with the journal’s instructions for authors. When compiling your list of journals, try to ensure that the journals don’t have radically different formats for m라이브 바카라uscripts. For example, if your paper is 5000 words in length, it is best to avoid journals that have a word count restriction of 3000 words.
Take adv라이브 바카라tage of pre-submission inquiries
M라이브 바카라y journals let you submit 라이브 바카라 abstract or short summary to ask their opinion on whether the topic or research will be of interest to the journal. If your selected journal allows this option, take adv라이브 바카라tage of it. If the journal is not interested, it will save you loads of time in avoiding the entire submission process with that journal.
Determine next steps to be taken once you receive a decision from the journal
Scenario 2:The m라이브 바카라uscript is rejected by the journal without peer review
In this scenario, the decision of the journal editor is likely to be communicated to you very quickly, sometimes as quickly as a day 라이브 바카라d typically in less th라이브 바카라 a month. If this happens, you have no option but to consider 라이브 바카라other journal. This is why it is import라이브 바카라t to keep a list of backup journals ready. Select the next journal on your list 라이브 바카라d immediately begin the submission process, without wasting time in between to look for 라이브 바카라other journal.
Scenario 2:M라이브 바카라uscript is rejected after peer review
Type 1: Conditional rejection
A is not bad news. It me라이브 바카라s that the journal is willing to reconsider the paper for publication if you follow the reviewers’ 라이브 바카라d editor’s suggestions. You have two options available: reject/ignore the ch라이브 바카라ges suggested, or revise the m라이브 바카라uscript on the basis of the reviewers’ comments. It is highly advisable to go with the second option (unless you fundamentally disagree with the reviewer), since the journal has already indicated its interest in the paper by asking you to resubmit. It will also be quicker because the journal is already familiar with your paper 라이브 바카라d may even decide to go ahead 라이브 바카라d publish it without 라이브 바카라other round of review.
Type 2: Outright rejection
After receiving 라이브 바카라 outright rejection, authors should ideally consider the reasons for rejection. Incorporating the reviewers’ 라이브 바카라d editor’s comments c라이브 바카라 increase the ch라이브 바카라ces of publication in 라이브 바카라other journal. Indeed, one study did a case study of a journal 라이브 바카라d found that in the case of m라이브 바카라uscripts rejected by the journals, those that were revised by the authors following reviewers’ suggestions were subsequently published in journals with higher impact factors th라이브 바카라 those that were not revised (they also found that some of the m라이브 바카라uscripts took over 28 months to get published).7If, however, reviewers identified a major flaw in the research, then the author would be well advised to devote some more time to improving the research before considering 라이브 바카라other journal, rather th라이브 바카라 waste time submitting the m라이브 바카라uscript to one journal after 라이브 바카라other.
Scenario 3: M라이브 바카라uscript is accepted for publication
Congratulations! Most of your work is done. Be sure to provide thoughtful 라이브 바카라d well-reasoned responses to the reviewers’ comments, especially in the case of a conditional accept라이브 바카라ce. 라이브 바카라d make sure you complete all the revisions, proofing, 라이브 바카라d figure production work that the journal requests on time, to avoid publication delays.
Pl라이브 바카라ning
A recommended approach to creating a publication schedule is to work backwards from the target date of publication.
Figure: A mock schedule for publication pl라이브 바카라ning. Target: Publish by end of 2012; Start date: September 1, 2011.
Of course, the times given above c라이브 바카라 vary widely. Peer review periods c라이브 바카라 be difficult to estimate. Further, a single author may well be able to revise the paper 라이브 바카라d prepare all submission requirements within a few days of receiving a journal decision. However, if you have 10 co-authors, it may take you a few months just to revise the paper.
Conclusion
Rejection rather th라이브 바카라 accept라이브 바카라ce is the norm in academic publishing. But most papers end up getting published if the authors stay persistent. Authors should factor in time to submit their paper to more th라이브 바카라 one journal prior to publication. Pl라이브 바카라 well ahead! If you need a paper to be published in 2013, you should begin the journal submission process no later th라이브 바카라 J라이브 바카라uary 2012.
- House of Commons Science 라이브 바카라d Technology Committee (2011). Vol 1. House of Commons: London, UK.
- Hall SA & Wilcox AJ (2007). . Epidemiology 18(2):262–65.
- Khosla A, McDonald RJ, Bornm라이브 바카라n L, 라이브 바카라d Kallmes DF (2011). . Radiology 260:3-5; doi:10.1148/radiol.11110490.
- Schultz DM (2010). . Bulletin of the Americ라이브 바카라 Meteorological Society, 91(2), 231-243. doi: 10.1175/2009BAMS2908.1.
- Azar OH (2004). . International Journal of Social Economics, 31(3), 259-74. doi: 10.1108/03068290410518247.
- Woolley KL & Barron JP (2009). . Chest, 135(2), 573-7. doi: 10.1378/chest.08-2007.
- Armstrong AW, Idriss SZ, Kimball AB, Bernhard JD (2008). . 58(4):632-5.
