how to create a publication schedule and why

How to create a publication schedule and why

Helping you get published

The time taken from submission of a manuscript to acceptance for

publication in a journal can vary considerably, ranging from a few

months to 3-4 years. Why so long? Because manuscripts typically

get rejected rather than 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.


journal.

Publication is often a matter of when, not if

3 million: number of manuscripts submitted to journals each year1

1.5 million: number of manuscripts that are then rejected by the journals1

95%: rejection rate of journals like Cell, Lancet, and Nature

62%: percentage of published papers in epidemiology that had been rejected at least once2

79%: percentage of manuscripts initially rejected by the journal Radiology but subsequently


79%: percentage of manuscripts 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 manuscripts are submitted to journals before

getting accepted for publication5

2 years: period within which at least 50% of manuscripts across disciplines were published

after getting rejected by the first journal they were submitted to6

Any author wanting to get his/her paper published in a journal

must factor in the possibility of rejection and accordingly prepare

a publication schedule.

Given below are some of the major decisions/actions that

authors should take while creating a publication schedule.


1. Decide the format of your paper

2. Determine your journal strategy

3. Ensure that you meet all the submission requirements of the

target journal

4. Take advantage of pre-submission inquires

1. 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


option for publishing quickly. You should not try to write up your

research in an unsuitable format just because you want to

publish in a particular journal (e.g., don’t turn a case report into

an original article just because the journal of your choice does

not accept case reports).

2. Determine your journal strategy

You should create a list of at least 5 journals to submit your

manuscript to. As explained above, there is a high chance 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 important consideration? Then


prestigious journal your most important 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 cannot afford to risk

waiting a year or two to publish? Then you might want to

submit to a prestigious journal initially, but lower the target

gradually; as you go down the list, pick journals where you have

an increasingly higher likelihood of being accepted.

3. 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 and sign the journal’s authorship

agreement form. Thus, it can take anywhere from a week to a


agreement form. Thus, it can take anywhere 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 manuscript in accordance 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 manuscripts. 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.

4. Take advantage of pre-submission inquires

Many journals let you submit an 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 advantage of it. If the journal is not interested, it

will save you loads of time in avoiding the entire submission


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 1: The manuscript 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 and typically in less than a month. If this

happens, you have no option but to consider another journal. This is why it is happens, you have no option but to consider another journal. This is why it is

important to keep a list of backup journals ready. Select the next journal on your list

and immediately begin the submission process, without wasting time in between to

look for another journal.



Scenario 2: Manuscript is rejected after peer review

Type 1: Conditional rejection

A conditional rejection is not bad news. It means that the journal is willing to

reconsider the paper for publication if you follow the reviewers’ and editor’s reconsider the paper for publication if you follow the reviewers’ and editor’s

suggestions. You have two options available: reject/ignore the changes suggested, or

revise the manuscript 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 and may even decide to go ahead and publish it without another round

of review.



Type 2: Outright rejection

After receiving an outright rejection, authors should ideally consider the reasons for

rejection. Incorporating the reviewers’ and editor’s comments can increase the

chances of publication in another journal. Indeed, one study did a case study of a

journal and found that in the case of manuscripts rejected by the journals, those journal and found that in the case of manuscripts rejected by the journals, those

that were revised by the authors following reviewers’ suggestions were

subsequently published in journals with higher impact factors than those that were

not revised (they also found that some of the manuscripts took over 28 months to

get published).7 If, 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 another journal, rather than waste time submitting the

manuscript to one journal after another.



Scenario 3: Manuscript is accepted for publication

Congratulations! Most of your work is done. Be sure to provide thoughtful and well-

reasoned responses to the reviewers’ comments, especially in the case of a conditional

acceptance. And make sure you complete all the revisions, proofing, and figure acceptance. And make sure you complete all the revisions, proofing, and figure

production work that the journal requests on time, to avoid publication delays.


Planning

A recommended approach to creating a publication schedule is to work backwards from

the target date of publication.

Figure: A mock schedule for publication planning. Target: Publish by end of 2012; Start

date: September 1, 2011.


Journal 1(Very

prestigious

journal with low

chance of

publication)

Journal 2(Very

prestigious

journal with low

chance of

publication)

Journal

3(Prestigious

journal with

moderate chance

of publication)

Journal

4(Respected

journal with

moderate chance

of publication

and guarantee to

send decision in

2 months)

Journal 5(Safe

journal with high

chance of

publication)

Time to prepare

manuscript

4 weeks 2 weeks 0 weeks 0 weeks 0 weeks

Time to prepare 2 weeks 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 weekTime to prepare

submission

requirements

2 weeks 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week

Time taken for

peer review


Total time 18 weeks 15 weeks 13 weeks 9 weeks 13 weeks

Total

cumulative time


Date Dec 29, 2011 Apr 12, 2012 Jul 12, 2011 Sept 13, 2011 Dec 13, 2011

Of course, the times given above can vary widely. Peer review

periods can be difficult to estimate. Further, a single author

may well be able to revise the paper and 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 than acceptance 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 than one journal prior to publication. Plan

well ahead! If you need a paper to be published in 2013, you

should begin the journal submission process no later than


should begin the journal submission process no later than

January 2012.


Bibliography

1. House of Commons Science and Technology Committee (2011). Peer review in scientific publications Vol

1. House of Commons: London, UK.

2. Hall SA & Wilcox AJ (2007). The fate of epidemiologic manuscripts: A study of papers submitted to

Epidemiology. Epidemiology 18(2):262–65.

3. Khosla A, McDonald RJ, Bornmann L, and Kallmes DF (2011). Getting to yes: The fate of neuroradiology

manuscripts rejected by Radiology over a 2-year period. Radiology 260:3-5;

doi:10.1148/radiol.11110490.

4. Schultz DM (2010). Rejection rates for journals publishing in the atmospheric sciences. Bulletin of the 4. Schultz DM (2010). Rejection rates for journals publishing in the atmospheric sciences. Bulletin of the

American Meteorological Society, 91(2), 231-243. doi: 10.1175/2009BAMS2908.1.

5. Azar OH (2004). Rejections and the importance of first response times. International Journal of Social

Economics, 31(3), 259-74. doi: 10.1108/03068290410518247.

6. Woolley KL & Barron JP (2009). Handling manuscript rejection: Insights from evidence and experience.

Chest, 135(2), 573-7. doi: 10.1378/chest.08-2007.

7. Armstrong AW, Idriss SZ, Kimball AB, Bernhard JD (2008). Fate of manuscripts declined by the Journal of

the American Academy of Dermatology. 58(4):632-5.

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