Q: How long should I wait between the acceptance of one paper and the submission of the next paper to the same journal?
My paper was accepted in a journal. Now, I feel I can get on well in/with this journal, also because their peer review was very thorough and beneficial for me. So, I would like to submit another paper to this journal soon. However, I wonder if there is a guideline for the interval between one acceptance and the next submission. If so, how much time should I leave between the two milestones? Note: The journal is issued four times a year.
Firstly, congrats on your acceptance! Secondly, this is an interesting question/consideration.
So, no, there is no existing recommendation for the interval between the acceptance of one paper and the submission of your next paper to the same journal. However, as you have rightly gauged, it may help to deliberately keep a gap between the two, because there can be something like ‘too much of a good thing.’ Sure, the association and experience between the journal/editor and you seems to have been good with this paper (possibly the first one), you have gained from the experience, and there may be more papers and benefits (such as commissioned pieces) to follow. But you would judiciously not wish to ‘exploit’ it one go. The good thing is, this journal is a quarterly. So, chances of regularly getting published in it are quite high, and therefore, you are not ‘losing out’ on much by missing out one quarter or even two.
Plus, we have a few other thoughts for you to consider…
Just as you gained from the peer review experience with this journal, you may gain from that (or some other aspect of publishing) with some other journal, and therefore, wish to submit your next paper to a different journal. In fact, doing so (and if your paper is published there) will only increase the visibility of your work, with your work getting published in multiple journals.
Also, we find that authors barely finish publishing one paper before moving on to the next. However, not too many think of research promotion. Indeed, just as it’s important to frequently have your work published, it’s becoming equally important for you to help it reach more people. You may consider this the new version of ‘publish or perish’: ‘promote or perish.’ :) So, we would suggest taking this time to promote your accepted paper. You may get started by going through these resources:
In fact, as a part of research promotion, you may very well choose to follow the journal and share its articles and news through social media shares, tweets, and so on. That could also help in strengthening the association with the journal.
For more ideas on how to promote your research, you may wish to learn about our sibling brand, Impact Science, which can help communicate your research in a variety of ways, such as press releases, infographics, and videos. Learn more here: Impact Science
Finally, as your question was basically about submission, we would also like to inform you of Pubathon, a two-day research publishing event that aims to help you speed through manuscript submission. Pubathon is presented by another brand from our family, R Pubsure. Pubathon brings together leading editors and researchers to answer your queries on manuscript submission. In fact, you could also wish to share your query there (though note that the event is in English). If interested, learn more and sign up here: Pubathon
Hope all that helps. All the best for your research promotion, next manuscript submission, and association with this and other journals!
This content belongs to the Career Growth Stage