Are Decision Letters of Journal Editors Helpful?
Are editors giving prompt, judicious, and helpful advice on your submissions? After authors do painstaking work in research and drafting their manuscripts, and submitting the articles with critical outcomes such as tenure or promotion hanging in the balance, they would expect a conscientious response from editors, right? But many authors are increasingly disappointed with the shoddy decision letters they are receiving. Especially when an article is rejected, authors deserve a good explanation. The editor’s comments are even more important when the reviewers give a split decision and authors are wondering how to proceed. However, it seems that editors are sending very perfunctory letters that just announce the decision with no comments on how to proceed. In fact, they seem to be sending form letters that are sent to all authors, with the review comments simply attached.
I have been in the field for more than thirty years. I have had many rejections, sometimes with very good feedback and guidance. There were also times when our papers (with my co-authors) were rejected for no clear reason at all. We have also come across some very unprofessional conduct. Once, I hadn’t heard anything from the journal for almost a year and upon my inquiry this was the response I received: “Our editor is travelling all the time and I, as the person in charge have been on maternal leave. Sorry about that”. This was from a very good journal in the field. I was so disappointed. There was also a time when we had a rejection from a very well-known journal in the field with no explanation whatsoever. I am happy to say that all of these papers found very good homes eventually as we had never given up. The unprofessional manner they were rejected was never forgotten though.
We all know how challenging it is to produce a good piece of academic writing, especially in a foreign language. Many international academics working in the field have hardly had any training in academic writing. The real challenge starts when you submit your work to an international journal and await the review process with eagerness and hope. You assume that the negotiation with the journal will be constructive and educational.
I like to hear from other authors who have received shoddy response from editors. And I hope editors are listening: please take our submissions seriously and offer us helpful comments in understanding your decision!
Nurdan GÜRBÜZ
METU, FLE
Ankara, Turkey
asc16
February 18, 2022 at 3:25 pm (3 years ago)Nurdan, I agree with you that decision letters are becoming pro forma. When I started in the profession, I remember receiving long and involved letters from editors—summarizing the opinions of the reviewers, suggesting how we should take up conflicting suggestions, or where to send the ms if that journal wasn’t ideal for that piece.
As a former editor myself, I like to offer some defense for editors! I think journals are now inundated with submissions. The American “publish or perish” sickness has spread globally and journals are receiving submissions from everywhere. Besides, editors and reviewers often work without compensation in these positions, often juggling institutional responsibilities such as teaching and advising. (We offer our unpaid labor so that publishers might make a profit!) So, editors don’t seem to get the time to reflect on the review comments and offer constructive suggestions to authors. When I started publishing from Sri Lanka, often it was the views of the editors and reviewers that I had as my only feedback to undertake my revisions. When publishing is becoming more globalized, I can see how international authors are now missing this useful form of feedback.
Pro forma decision letters are real. When I edited a major journal some time back, the previous editors handed me some templates, which they said they would send authors by simply inserting the submission titles and author names. These letters had the following labels:
Accept with revisions;
Revise and resubmit;
Reject—resubmission leave open;
Reject—don’t leave resubmission open;
Reject—not following journal guidelines;
Reject—submit to another journal;
Reject—no hope!
Yes, there were more templates for rejection than for acceptance. And their labels sounded depressing!
–Suresh
Nurdan
February 20, 2022 at 2:05 pm (3 years ago)Hi Suresh,
Thank you for sharing an editor’s point of view. As the song goes “We always need to hear both sides of the story”. I understand the work load and the huge number of people sending in their submissions to journals. However, I also know that editors/ reviewers differ in the way they approach the matter.
I have seen colleagues (as editors/reviewers) not touching the journal submissions for several months but also those getting back to people as soon as they can. When I refuse to overtake such responsibilities myself, I know that I won’t be able to make time for it. If I agree, however, I leave everything else to complete them on time. There are many academics who say yes to everything and are not able to do things promptly. We are all very busy. Those who are too busy should not be part of this process. I also think the journals with too many submissions can perhaps work with more people to solve the problem.
Nurdan
Ryuko
February 21, 2022 at 4:19 am (3 years ago)And it’s not just about lack of time. It’s sometimes about a deliberate attempt to reject a certain manuscript or even an entire special issue. Sometimes, a decision is already made for whatever reasons and then a rationale is created. So the best thing is to find a better editor/home.
Nurdan
February 23, 2022 at 4:55 am (3 years ago)Hi Ryuko,
I agree; a good piece of work would always find a happy home. We should keep trying : “Per aspera ad astra” !