I submitted a manuscript today, not very optimistically.
After I finished my PhD I was raring to go. I whipped my early research project into manuscript form at the beginning of my postdoc, and sent it off with high hopes. I got encouraging reviews that asked me to resubmit in a different format for the same reviewers, and so it was a rude shock when the revision was rejected. My advisor said, "That is a sign of a mismanaged review," but it didn't really make me feel any better. It still kind of smarts, actually.
A little more cautiously, I got the major findings from my dissertation into manuscript form and started working on the secondary paper. I had opinionated co-authors for this one and the edits were painful, but I sent it off to be considered for a special issue of a European journal that seemed like a great fit. Six months later (six! months!) I heard back: one positive review, one not-so-positive review, and an associate editor who wanted me to use a completely inappropriate statistical approach. My co-authors and I agreed that we should withdraw it, incorporate some of the feedback, and resubmit to a US-based journal with stats-savvy editors and more reasonable turnaround times.
Over the summer I sent my early research project to a big-name journal, knowing that it rejected >90% of submissions. I got one really useful review -- and a rejection.
Gosh, I am a little embarrassed to post this. Rejected! Withdrawn! Rejected!
Today I sent off my revised dissertation manuscript. I am braced for the worst. I am going to aim low with my early research project, revising it lightly and sending it off to a journal with a much higher acceptance rate. Then I'll dust off that secondary dissertation paper, trying to figure out exactly where I left things 15 months ago, when my first semester of teaching derailed my writing efforts.
I could use a little optimism, but I don't seem to have any on tap just now.
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