The submission process- Rejection

The sting of a rejection doesn’t get less painful or frustrating for anyone trying to publish a paper. Whilst we can remind ourselves that rejection is a common part of the publishing practice (some journals accept only 10% of manuscripts submit), and that it can happens to everyone - this doesn’t seem to provide any much solace when faced with a rejection.

Dealing with rejection

1. Talk to or call someone and have a good rant about the rejection, your Mum, your buddy, an appropriate colleague, your dog… We all know the best way to bring a situation back under control is to vent that overpressure!
2. Do not, however, react too emotionally: never email the Editor immediately after receiving a rejection!
3. Now be logical. Review the comments made in association with the rejection and learn from them.
• Do you agree with the comments? Do others agree with the comments? How can you improve the next time round? Are there comments or areas of dispute highlighted by multiple reviewers? You will need to ensure you respond to these critiques in the re-writing and re-submission of your manuscript to a new Journal – after all, it is useful feedback! Furthermore, you could potentially have the same referee as they are not Journal specific persons! They won’t be very impressed if you haven’t responded to their suggestions.
4. If you haven’t received any specific commends or feedback, it can be an idea to send a polite email the Editor, highlighting that you accept their decision, but would appreciate some constructive critique for further improvement of the manuscript.
5. Use the rejection as a motivation for the next time! Return to your original list of Journal preferences. Move down the list to the next Journal. Download it’s Guide for authors!
6. Revise your manuscript in accordance with these new guidelines, ensuring you improve on the areas of critique highlighted from the previous round, and get ready to submit at your next preference! Use previous comments and criticisms to strengthen your paper. No need to delay, so(i)lder on! Ensure you keep your co-authors involved in the process.

A case of multiple rejections

• Sometimes it is worth taking a step back and asking yourself: is the continuation of developing this paper worth the foreseeable outcome? Consider if it the paper will be stronger further down the line of research, perhaps it is not strong enough as a stand-alone, but can be incorporated at some point else?
• If you and your co-authors decide it is no longer pursuing publication, do not fret it has not been a useless exercise, for example - condensing your work into figures and concise text is very useful for your thesis!

• Hold on to the material, it might be useful at a later date.

Good Luck!