I wrote an email to the journal's editor requesting a fourth review. The editor agreed. Let's see where this goes.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
The Manuscript That Just Won't Die
I have a zombie paper. This is the paper that should have been published many months ago, but since then, has accrued numerous rejections.
Needless to say, the last couple weeks have been horrible. Someone in my family was at the ER, that same night my grandmother passed, and I've been accumulating manuscript rejections like its nobody's business.
As for this manuscript, the science behind it is awesome. We've demonstrated something that people could only demonstrate under highly specialized conditions. Now, we can do it more broadly, and that allows there to be some sort of application. The manuscript was first submitted to a high IF journal, it went out to review, and was rejected. The reviews were all-in-all reasonable, but one review came from someone outside my field who didn't quite "get it". I sent the manuscript to a slightly less high IF journal and it was rejected without review. Third, I sent the the manuscript to a slightly less high IF journal than the one before hand, it went out to review, and was rejected this morning. Two reviews were outside the field and didn't "get it" and one reviewer was in the field and "got it."
Perhaps it is the angle on which I am selling this work, but it is not getting the reviews it deserves. When I present this work at conferences, lots of people get excited. It's formed the basis for a few collaborations and lots of exciting ongoing work. I cannot publish subsequent manuscripts until this zombie paper gets out, and a back log is resulting.
I am considering just writing the most recent editor and asking for another reviewer to see if that gets any more traction. I am also dreading the moment at which I will have to tell my student for the third time that his paper has been rejected.
Needless to say, the last couple weeks have been horrible. Someone in my family was at the ER, that same night my grandmother passed, and I've been accumulating manuscript rejections like its nobody's business.
As for this manuscript, the science behind it is awesome. We've demonstrated something that people could only demonstrate under highly specialized conditions. Now, we can do it more broadly, and that allows there to be some sort of application. The manuscript was first submitted to a high IF journal, it went out to review, and was rejected. The reviews were all-in-all reasonable, but one review came from someone outside my field who didn't quite "get it". I sent the manuscript to a slightly less high IF journal and it was rejected without review. Third, I sent the the manuscript to a slightly less high IF journal than the one before hand, it went out to review, and was rejected this morning. Two reviews were outside the field and didn't "get it" and one reviewer was in the field and "got it."
Perhaps it is the angle on which I am selling this work, but it is not getting the reviews it deserves. When I present this work at conferences, lots of people get excited. It's formed the basis for a few collaborations and lots of exciting ongoing work. I cannot publish subsequent manuscripts until this zombie paper gets out, and a back log is resulting.
I am considering just writing the most recent editor and asking for another reviewer to see if that gets any more traction. I am also dreading the moment at which I will have to tell my student for the third time that his paper has been rejected.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Sleep and Work
This week has been rough because I've had a cold. Ever since starting Enbrel, getting a cold is like sitting under a ton of bricks. The duration is the same as pre-Enbrel, but the severity is far worse. Wednesday, I practically fell asleep while teaching. While sick, I am completely incapable of doing anything but sleeping. I can't even watch TV in bed without falling asleep! I calculate that I spent about 40% of my 9 AM to 5 PM work time in bed this week.
Spending all this time in bed had me wondering how much work time I lose to RA when I am not sick with a cold or flu. On average, it's about 10%. Usually by Friday, I am so worn out from just living that I take a long afternoon nap. But losing 10% of my 9-5 work time does not make me less productive. Instead, I find myself working at night after the kids have gone to bed to stay on top of things. It's not so bad, since I generally like working on manuscripts and writing proposals. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this overwhelming fatigue comes at any time, and my flexible work schedule lets me manage my career. If I were in industry, I couldn't say the same.
I still have piercing pain in my shoulder from holding the baby, so I've decided to start exercising again and to take supplements (fish oil, calcium, probiotics). I'm hoping to throw everything at it and see what sticks.
Spending all this time in bed had me wondering how much work time I lose to RA when I am not sick with a cold or flu. On average, it's about 10%. Usually by Friday, I am so worn out from just living that I take a long afternoon nap. But losing 10% of my 9-5 work time does not make me less productive. Instead, I find myself working at night after the kids have gone to bed to stay on top of things. It's not so bad, since I generally like working on manuscripts and writing proposals. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this overwhelming fatigue comes at any time, and my flexible work schedule lets me manage my career. If I were in industry, I couldn't say the same.
I still have piercing pain in my shoulder from holding the baby, so I've decided to start exercising again and to take supplements (fish oil, calcium, probiotics). I'm hoping to throw everything at it and see what sticks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)