Journal rejection is never easy to deal with but sometimes only being aware of ways through which you can get out of that dark hole does help one feel better. Every researcher twice or more had to face rejection of their manuscript and while feeling on edge still desired to know NOW WHAT?
Lets not waste anymore time and discuss what recovery plan you can take and all the challenges and opportunities waiting for you on the other side of this unpleasant rejection from the research paper reviewers.
1. First Review The Aims of Journal Again
Tired of hearing this? I can feel you but before making any changes on the journal and considering resubmission support services as majority of people suggest to you while you are still dealing with rejection. Take this unpleasant but necessary step, reading through the journal’s aims and scope again but reveal to you what you missed previously. They may be asking for major changes and suggesting things that you believe were not even part of your study goal to begin with, then you might need to see if they have a very different aim than you thought.
2. Don’t submit the same manuscript to different journal
Even if you desire to get done with the research paper, do not make the mistake in your state of discontent to submit your same unrevised manuscript to a different journal. It is unlikely that every feedback provided by the reviewers is wrong and biased. Submitting the same research paper may result in two things, first another rejection as experts might notice the similar mistakes or worse they might consider it as spamming of manuscript and it can put your credibility as a researcher at risk.
3. Read The Appeal policy
When a journal rejects your manuscript and you think it’s unfair not emotionally but with evidence and logic then surely you have the option to appeal. Read through the Appeal policy of that specific journal and see on what points they encourage the author to appeal. Remember many journals take longer to respond to appeals because they have the policy to provide importance to the new submissions of manuscripts first rather than appeals.
4. Deciding whether to appeal or not
While making the decision regarding whether you will appeal or not keep in mind that if you see any technical error and you have new data or findings that can make the reviewers take your appeal in consideration then go for it even if it take them time to respond to appeals still making major changes in your manuscript also requires you to take out time and put effort in changing your research paper. So you have to assess the pros and cons regarding each decision. In order to appeal you need to
- Write an appeal letter to the journal’s online editorial office.
- Describe why you disagree with the decision.
- Provide any new data or information.
- Mention any Technical errors if present.
- Keep the tone professional and not emotional.
5. Consider To Submit In Different Journal If
Whenever a researcher’s manuscript gets rejected the first thing they hear is “oh just submit to another journal” but let me clear why I want you to consider a few things before deciding to submit in another journal. First you have to again search and read whatever information you can find about the journal, going through at least some of the research published in that journal and assessing if your topic of study aligns with the aims of that research journal. This may turn out two ways either you find out that there is another journal that aligns with your research paper almost smoothly or well you start struggling with the process. So it’s better to analyze whether to make the changes and resubmit with the same journal or find a new journal to submit your manuscript.
6. Check The Manuscript For Editing
Researchers put a lot of effort in the manuscript they make and often while making new changes we forget minor details that can impact reviewers’ decisions related to the fate of our manuscript. Remember having no page numbers or disorganized page numbers and table of content can result in outright rejection in severe cases. Check each and everything before resubmission including links and references if you have added new insights into your revised manuscript make sure to check year and authors name before submission.
7. Use Limitation To Your Advantage
Now you may say what? Limitations are the weak areas of my research paper and how come it can be used to my advantage and that’s your recovery plan for me? But hear me out “You Can Not Include Every Single Variable To Your Study” only big claims will get you in trouble but making your limitations in a way that clearly explains the areas you did not address in your study provides scope for further research and as a researcher it provides transparency to your work showcasing that you are aware of strengths and weaknesses related to your manuscript.
8. Never Insult The Reviewers In Your Response
It is hurtful to get feedback that you believe is unjustified and biased. You might want to point it out and try to guess who is among one of the editors but reviewers have already cleared their stance. Your insults on their intelligence and credibility will only result in more trouble for you and it will not make them approve your research paper whatsoever so what’s the use? Keep your points logical in the Appeal letter or response email to be considered a serious researcher by the reviewers.
Conclusion
In this blog we discussed some of the initial steps that you can take in your recovery plan in order to deal with rejection and bounce back on your feet with confidence and new dedication to publish your work. Make sure to remain connected with your supervisor or colleagues during this process as you never know what minor detail provided by someone can help you to get accepted by a journal.
