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Review status & workflow

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The wait

The wait. This can range from a few days up to a couple of months. A desk rejection by the editor is quite fast, usually a few days to a few of weeks, while the outcome of a full review process can take anywhere from one to six months (and given the current reviewer shortage, even longer). If your supervisors or co-authors have published in the journal before, they know how long it usually takes.

Tired of waiting? Some journals have a tracker in the submission system that shows the reviewing status (but they are not always clear). Depending on the journal, it’s also okay to ask the editor after ~3 months about the status of your paper.

Note

If you are not the corresponding author, make sure to check in with them, as some journals will only contact the corresponding author.

The decision

No matter how long the wait, there will be a moment when you find a decision from the editor in your inbox. The type of decision can differ per journal, editor, and even paper. These are the most common ones:

  1. Rejection
    • Desk rejection
      The editor decided that the manuscript in its current format wasn’t suitable for the journal, e.g. due to quality or due to scope. In the latter case, you might be invited to transfer to a sister journal, or revise the manuscript to better reflect the journal aims and scope.
    • Rejection after peer review
      The peer reviewers did not recommend the manuscript for publication. In this case, you’ll have to find a new journal. It’s wise to address the reviewers’ comments (if they are legit), because (1) they will improve your paper, and (2) you may get the same reviewers again with the next journal.
  2. Revisions
    • Revise and resubmit
      The manuscript in its current format isn’t ready for publication, but if you address the reviewer comments you are welcome to resubmit. Editors may use this option if they feel the required edits take too long for major revisions (although some journals use this strategy with less integrity: to reduce the time between submission and publication, an important metric for scientific journals). In any case, you’ll have to do a new submission, and acceptance is less certain than with if you receive accepted with revisions.
    • Accepted with major revisions
      The reviewers like your paper, but recommend some revisions. You usually get between 1 and 3 months for this, after which the paper is resubmitted and sent back to the reviewers. Note that some journals only allow 1 round of revisions.
    • Accepted with minor revisions
      Minor revisions are less substantial than major revisions. They are usually sent back to the reviewers, but your paper has a good chance of getting published.
  3. Accepted
    It rarely happens that a manuscript is accepted as is, but if it is, congrats! More commonly, the manuscript is accepted after one or more rounds of revisions.

Tip

Revision deadlines (typically 1-3 months) can often be extended. Just make sure to ask before you reach the deadline.

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