a publishing question
A purely hypothetical scenario (but of course!): Let’s say one delivers a paper at a conference one sunny July. The response is gratifying, particularly for a PhD candidate, particularly because one audience member solicits the paper for a forthcoming special issue of a Rather Nice Journal. The publication has been running behind for various reasons, but they're going to wrap it up soon and would like to consider adding your paper as a latecomer — pending approval, which is reasonable. The catch: can you revise and submit within a month?
“Why, yes!” you say, being hungry for pubs, and so you do. You get a pleasant note of acknowledgment and thanks back, promising a yay or nay shortly. October comes but the response doesn’t, and so you inquire of your advisors re the proper procedure for these things and eventually drop a brief, friendly email inquiring as to the status. No response. In January, you send another one, hoping you maintained a laid-back tone, but you also mention that this is your market year and so if they won’t be needing it, you’d like to submit it elsewhere. No response.
Let’s say that it’s now been 10 hypothetical months since your submission. The special issue is not out, so far as you can tell. In a special twist, you discover that the journal is generally running behind because of financial problems.
What would you do? Assume that your piece has been rejected without comment? Assume that the lack of rejection means that it's still in play? Would you politely withdraw and submit it elsewhere as soon as possible, or would you wait until a full calendar year has passed?
Comments
I'd send them one more email, cite the two previous inquiries that have gone unanswered, and politely set a deadline, which would go something like this: if I don't hear back from you in 2 weeks, I will assume that my submission has been rejected, I withdraw permission for you to publish it, and I will send it elsewhere. (But more politely than that)
No sense waiting around for something that may never happen. And given the speed with which they asked for revision, their own delay (and silence) is borderline unacceptable, imho.
good luck with it...
cgb
Posted by: collin | May 9, 2008 1:44 PM
Wow. I could have written this post myself. Conference paper with editor in audience; editor solicits article; writer sends article.
Writer hears nothing back.
Then, my story goes like this:
Writer emails editor to say: Please let me know whether you want it or not so I can submit paper elsewhere if you don't.
Editor says NO! Please we want it. Promise we're publishing it!
Writer waits another year.
Still nothing.
??WTF??
Posted by: madeline | May 9, 2008 2:03 PM
Yup. Send one more email, set a deadline, and tell them that you'll be sending it elsewhere. It's one thing to have a journal take 9 months just to get back to you (that's common in my subfield); it's entirely another for them to simply ignore you.
Posted by: Scott | May 9, 2008 4:23 PM
As I have been the recieving end of the nothing-back-from the-editor zone ....
I agree with the above....if I don't hear from you within x amount of time.....I withdraw my submission.
Amen.
Posted by: gina | May 9, 2008 11:09 PM
you haven't signed the copyright release yet or anything like that? i would submit to another journal. write and explain briefly and politely, and keep the email.
Posted by: joshua | May 11, 2008 3:17 PM
Yes, ditto Collin. You need to shop it around if they aren't going to use it. Besides, you're under no contractual obligation given that you haven't recieved any response!
Posted by: Spirophita | May 13, 2008 11:02 AM
Whatever happened with this situation? I hope it has worked out well for you.
Posted by: Clancy | July 10, 2008 11:46 AM
What I did was, I procrastinated for nearly another two months while on the road, and then sent a sprightly email just this past Monday. Following everyone's advice, I politely (I hope!) said that if I didn't hear back in two weeks, I'd consider it mine again. And thanks for the encouragement last summer, thanks for all the fish, etc. So in 10 days, it should be mine again, unless something surprising happens.
Posted by: Krista | July 10, 2008 12:04 PM