how long? advice

[killeej]

Hello,

I'm mid-career in the Humanities, and would value some advice. I've a proposal with a well-respected university press since early January, waiting for readers' reports. Turnaround time is usually 3-4 months in my discipline, but with the pandemic I think we can add another couple of months.  8 months seems like a long time to me. One report has come in (positive), two months ago, and this was sent on to me with the promise that the second report should be in 'within a couple of weeks', but two months have passed and my requests for information to the commissioning editor have so far resulted in radio silence.

I've never encountered this behavior before, to be honest, and am baffled. I presume the second report has not yet come in, and I don't want to pester the editor, but this seems like a very long time to wait for a reader's report.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Morden]

Since it's been so long now, I don't think it's pestering. Ask the editor if they have any news; they might need to follow up with the second reviewer (though a press has very little leverage in most cases).

[Cheerful]

This is just a proposal review, not a full ms. review?  Eight months is too long, sorry.  Congrats on the positive report, great news.

If they are still waiting for the second review, offer to provide the editor with the names of a few alternative reviewers.  Is there another press you are considering or is it important to you to publish with this press?  If this is how that press operates at the proposal stage, how long will it take them to publish the book after you submit the full ms.?

Maybe the editor has some serious personal challenges and isn't emailing lately?  If not, the silence in response to your queries is rude.  Whomever that second reviewer is, unless facing a crisis, is also rude.

[killeej]

Thanks, for this.

Yes, a proposal, with a couple of substantial chapters, but nothing that should really take this length. I've produced reader's reports for 4 other proposals myself in the length of time this has taken so far. It makes no sense to me.

[Hegemony]

It may not "make sense," but it's clear that the second reviewer is a procrastinator, or has lost the document, or is overwhelmed, or probably all three. He/she probably says, "I'm almost done, I'll have it to you next week!", while not having started it and having no idea where it is. So the alternative is to start over with a new reviewer.  You could go ahead and suggest that to the editor if you want.  But as for being baffled that the reviewer is taking so long — this is the way of academics.

[Caracal]

It may not "make sense," but it's clear that the second reviewer is a procrastinator, or has lost the document, or is overwhelmed, or probably all three. He/she probably says, "I'm almost done, I'll have it to you next week!", while not having started it and having no idea where it is. So the alternative is to start over with a new reviewer.  You could go ahead and suggest that to the editor if you want.  But as for being baffled that the reviewer is taking so long — this is the way of academics.

And right now the person could be at home trying to teach online while supervising several kids in some sort of virtual school hell and writing the review keeps getting pushed to the back of their list because there's no flexibility with anything else. The editor probably has all kinds of things on their plate as well and isn't really eager to send an awkward note to the reviewer. None of these problems are of your own making, of course. Basically, you just need to nicely prod the editor, who can nicely prod the reviewer to either complete the review or beg off and let someone else do it.