Withdrawing a submitted article

[Veggie3]

Dear fora members,


A few months I submitted an article to a certain journal. Recently they informed me that it was sent to external readers. The thing is that (also recently) I heard from colleagues in my field this journal is not prestigious, and advised me to send it to another journal.

Can I withdraw my article at any given time during the process, or are there specific "exit junctures" when you may do so (e.g., after the receiving the readers' reports) without appearing unprofessional/flaky? Thanks.

[spork]

1. How knowledgeable are your colleagues about your field and the journals that relate to it?

2. What role do peer-reviewed publications play at this stage of your career? Do you need an article in a top-tier journal to get tenure? Are you in a PhD program and just need a peer-reviewed article to get noticed among the two hundred people who applied for same position you did?

3. You can submit to another journal when the reviewer comments come in.

[science.expat]

I've withdrawn a manuscript after unwarranted delays by a journal. But to simply change your mind because of concerns about the journal quality would rightfully piss off the editor and reviewers.

I strongly suggest you leave this paper where it is and learn from the experience.

[octoprof]

I strongly suggest you leave this paper where it is and learn from the experience.

4. In the future, research the journal(s) carefully before you submit.

[Hegemony]

Is it simply "not prestigious," or is it a predatory scam journal?  If the former, leave the article there.  If it is a predatory scam journal, then just inform them that you have withdrawn the article, nothing more needed.

[hungry_ghost]

All this advice is good, so good that I will summarize!

Don't withdraw an article because "someone said your journal isn't good enough for me," even if you never, ever actually say this. There is no good way to frame such a withdrawal.

Once you get reviewer comments, if your paper is accepted without requiring substantial change, then you'll have a publication, and it will be in this journal. If you will are given a chance to revise and resubmit, you may, of course, choose NOT to resubmit and send your paper elsewhere.

Finally, you should find out information about the quality of the journal and the appropriateness of publishing a particular paper there BEFORE you submit.

To all this I will add, your paper is in review, which means that the journal editors and the reviewers have seen your paper, and if you pull it and publish elsewhere, not just the editors but the reviewers (presumably your colleagues in the field) will see what you've done, and their time will have been wasted too.

[Veggie3]

Thank you all for your helpful input.

Let me start with the "duh!" factor (Octoprof/Hungry_ghost): I did my research about that journal well in advance and all seemed fine. At a recent conference, however, a member of that journal editorial board (!) told me that publishing there might not have the impact I'd like. Other colleagues (from my field) expressed a similar assessment. It's absolutely a legitimate journal, not a "scam" one.

Spork - I'm an Assistant Professor who is going up (early) for tenure in the fall at a large R-1 university. I don't think I will need any more publications for tenure (I published a book with a good university press, and I have 7 refereed journal article, plus that number of book chapters, about half of them are double-blind peer reviewed). But who knows? I'd rather publish my work in more prestigious journals, if possible.

Hungry_ghost - of course, I'd never frame it like that. I thought about something along the lines of, "I'm not satisfied with the article as it is, and would like to continue working on it". Then, a couple of months later, it'll be fine to submit to another journal. Does that sound like a feasible strategy? In any case, it seems I'll have to wait for the readers' reports before withdrawing the article.

[hungry_ghost]

At a recent conference, however, a member of that journal editorial board (!) told me that publishing there might not have the impact I'd like.

What a very odd thing to say. I'm sure you're now wishing you'd responded to the editorial board member and asked, "So what do you advise that should I do about it now?"
Alas, you can't hit rewind.

[Veggie3]

It was perhaps a somewhat odd thing to say. I'm positive that s/he encouraged me to publish my article elsewhere.

[Kron3007]

If this article (or where it is published) isn't critical for tenure, I would just publish it where it is.  Withdrawing from a journal because people have told you it isn't good enough seems silly, like some weird school yard peer pressure.  The quality of your article will be the same regardless of what journal it is in, and these days people will find it thanks to our friend Google. 

[Cheerful]

+1 Kron3007

Wait for the reviews.  This "not-good-enough" journal might reject your paper.  If revise and resubmit, you can choose not to resubmit.  Then you can submit elsewhere and wait even more time for the reviews, etc. and possible publication long after the paper was first written.

Unless this is an extraordinary paper, few people will read it, regardless of academic journal, like most academic journal articles.

[Hegemony]

Yeah, you don't have to optimize prestige to the tippy-top every single time.  That kind of advice is for people who will only publish a few articles in their lives but have to make them count.  You, who will keep publishing on a regular basis, have many chances to publish in the tippy-top journals.  If you look at the CVs of eminent scholars, they tend to publish in a variety of journals.  Not the terrible scam ones, but the medium-tier ones as well as the top-tier ones.  So you're in fine company.  Start working on the next article.

[Veggie3]

Thank you all, I appreciate your helpful comments/suggestions.

Cheerful - your closing sentence reminded me the columnist who used to address "my loyal six readers". Of course, in terms of popularity, academicians are usually far behind. So are the people who judge our work.


I guess that some of the hesitations have to do with tenure jitters, and the attempt to cram as many quality publications as possible. oh, the humanity.

[Cheerful]

Cheerful - your closing sentence reminded me the columnist who used to address "my loyal six readers". Of course, in terms of popularity, academicians are usually far behind. So are the people who judge our work.

I guess that some of the hesitations have to do with tenure jitters, and the attempt to cram as many quality publications as possible. oh, the humanity.

LOL!

Next time, ask around/do more investigating before submitting the paper so you won't have misgivings later.  Good luck, Veggie3, sounds like you have a great publication record and little to worry about on the tenure front!

[Veggie3]

Thank you Cheerful, for your kind words. The thing is by now I heard similar assessments about tenure from many people (including my department chair), and for some reason it makes me even more nervous. The fear of spiraling expectations, etc.