Upon completing my dissertation, the next step was publishing my research. I knew I could get at least three publications out of my dissertation research, but I did not want to submit them all at the same time. I wanted to wait and see what feedback I received on my first submission before deciding how to divide up the rest of my work and where to submit the different articles. In retrospect, this was the right decision.
Phase 1: Cautious Optimism
The first time I submitted a journal article based on my dissertation research, I was not expecting a rejection. After all, during my defense, I had received significant praise from my advisor and committee members regarding the quality of the research. One of my professors even encouraged me to consider turning my research into a book.
Before submitting my first article to a journal, I had also done my homework:
- I had looked at various journal publications relevant to my field of study
- I had read the purpose statements of those journals
- I had made sure my research matched the purpose of the journal where I had decided to submit my first article
- I had read several articles in the target journal to ensure my submission matched the format of those articles
- I had carefully read the author submission guidelines
Upon submission, after waiting for six months for a decision from the editors, I was notified that my article had been rejected.
Phase 2: Sheer Panic
Fearing the worst, I panicked and thought I would never get published. Also, one of the reviewers’ comments seemed so mean that I could not get myself back into “writing mode” for a month!
Phase 3: Post-Mortem
I mean “post-mortem” not on what was “wrong” with my article or research, but what was wrong with my reaction.
I realized that I had fallen into a sort of academic “funk” where the thought of writing or revising gave me a vague feeling of nausea mixed with a slight sense of repulsion.
I knew I had to snap out of this. How could I be a writing teacher of all of a sudden, like many of my students, I “hated” writing?
I had to do some self-analysis in an effort to understand why I had lost my motivation to write. I realized that it was the seemingly harsh criticism I had received; it had undermined my confidence in my skills both as a researcher and as a writer.
As a writing teacher, I took a moment to empathize with my students and made extra effort, when commenting on their papers, to be both nice and constructive in my feedback.
Phase 4: Don’t Let the Reviewers’ Comments Take Permanent Residence in Your Head!
I decided that I was not going to let someone who sounded like a “grumpy old man” and proverbial critic get to me.
I reached out to colleagues and friends for support. One of my friends said that quite often, reviewers most eager to be critical are graduate students anxious to prove their knowledge through excessive criticism of others’ work.
Another colleague said “no one [as in no recent doctoral student] gets published on first submission.”
Another colleague said “it’s normal, just revise based on the comments you agree with and submit to another journal.”
Learn, Revise, and Resubmit
Once I had understood that rejection was a normal part of the peer-review process and calmly and carefully read over the reviewers’ comments, I actually gained a new appreciation for the peer-review process not only as a way to support quality research, but also as a learning tool. I realized that many of the reviewers’ comments were quite constructive and could help improve my skills both as a writer and researcher.
Since I was new to the peer review process, I had interpreted the rejection as evidence of lack of competence, but even a friend of mine, who was publishing articles with his experienced adviser, said that they too had received several rejections and that his adviser simply told him to revise and resubmit their work to another publication.
By talking to my friends, by taking the time to understand my emotional reactions, I got back in touch to the persistent part of myself that does not easily give up. Angela Lee Ducksworth, in her TedTalk about how passion and perseverance can be more important than “intelligence” when it comes to success, calls this ability to get up, dust off, and walk on after a painful “fall” grit.
When you embark on your quest to be published in peer-reviewed journals, remember that success lies not in avoiding rejection, but in hard work, perseverance, and persistence–in other words, grit.
Success and publications in peer-reviewed journals depend not just on quality research and strong writing skills, but also on grit, so don’t give up, and ask for help and advice when you need it!
What were your experiences when going through the peer review process? What advice do you have for others? Please share your comments below.
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