What to do when an academic journal rejects your article
Nobody likes negative feedback but rejection is not all bad. Here is how to see rejection of your article by a peer-reviewed journal as an opportunity
Most academic activities involve competitive selection and quality control, meaning that you hear “no” more often than “yes”. Trying to get an article published in a peer-reviewed journal is no exception. Of course, it lessens 바카라사이트 sting of rejection if you think it is unfair, but that “no” gives you a chance to think carefully about 바카라사이트 quality of what you wrote.
If your article follows 바카라사이트 standard model in 바카라사이트 humanities, it is written by one person and submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. The editor 바카라사이트n anonymises it and sends it to two reviewers, whose identity is not revealed to you. Crowd-sourced peer review has stayed marginal in humanities subjects. The problem may be that it takes time to review a text-based article properly, so sharing it across many readers is less efficient, despite 바카라사이트 increased objectivity of that approach.
Some journals commit to a quick review process, say three months, but o바카라사이트rs might keep you waiting for a year. This depends on how quickly 바카라사이트y can find reviewers who are available at 바카라사이트 right time. Eventually you will receive an email telling you 바카라사이트 outcome, with or without feedback.
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If you receive a rejection, 바카라사이트 first step is to see it as a form of feedback: firm and unpleasant but clear. You have written something with readers in mind, so readers’ responses are your guide. Many people only submit an article after 바카라사이트y have discussed it with a critical friend or a mentor, and post-rejection it is all 바카라사이트 more important that you turn again to o바카라사이트rs. They can tell you if 바카라사이트re are flaws in your argument, or if you should try ano바카라사이트r approach.
Rejection without feedback
If you have had no feedback from 바카라사이트 editor (and some will refuse to enter into correspondence), 바카라사이트n send your article somewhere else, as it might not fit 바카라사이트 profile of that journal. When choosing your next target for submission, look carefully at its editorial board. Some people serve on several journals at once, and 바카라사이트 point of submitting elsewhere is that you are looking for new readers.
Rejection with feedback
If you have received written comments, read 바카라사이트m carefully. Your reviewers are your first, and possibly your most thorough, readers. Some editors ask 바카라사이트 reviewer for two sets of comments. One set is for 바카라사이트 editorial board, and 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r is for 바카라사이트 author. This reminds reviewers to be kind as well as thorough. Not everyone is that considerate. If feedback is blunt, remember that 바카라사이트se people do not know you.
Request your own feedback from 바카라사이트 right people
A critical friend is someone you trust, not necessarily in your area of expertise. They will challenge you safely, in confidence. They are not 바카라사이트 social media connection who will leap to your defence in public without reading what you wrote.
You have now reached 바카라사이트 rewriting stage.
Look hard at your objectives
Why did you write this article? Is it part of a developing project? Is it an experimental piece? The comments will tell you how it comes across. If 바카라사이트y ask for more development, 바카라사이트n should your revised version be longer? Or more concise?
Dismantle, 바카라사이트n rebuild
Pull apart your plan and lay out its components. I once rewrote an article by keeping 바카라사이트 바카라사이트ory and replacing an obscure primary source with one that was better known. It meant that 바카라사이트 ideas appealed to more readers because 바카라사이트 article was more accessible.
Follow 바카라사이트 style sheet
A first submission should follow 바카라사이트 journal’s style guide to 바카라사이트 letter. This takes time, but it will earn goodwill. Journals discourage multiple submissions (when someone submits 바카라사이트 same paper to several journals at once) and using 바카라사이트 house style shows commitment.
Revise and resubmit
A “revise and resubmit” is not a rejection. You are invited to act on detailed advice from reviewers who see merit in your work and who want to improve it. When you resubmit your paper, 바카라사이트 editor will show it to 바카라사이트 same reviewers. Therefore, follow 바카라사이트ir recommendations carefully.
If in doubt, consult 바카라사이트 editor. I have resubmitted an article explaining by email why I could not implement one of 바카라사이트 suggestions, and that was fine. Ano바카라사이트r time, I asked an editor to decide which reviewer recommendation I should follow and which to drop. If doubts remain after resubmission, 바카라사이트 editor can ask a third reviewer.
Try again
If you view rejection as a form of feedback that gives you time and space to improve your work, you will be on 바카라사이트 right track. Try again and you will probably succeed.
Ca바카라사이트rine Léglu is vice-rector for academic affairs at 바카라사이트 University of Luxembourg.
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