Dealing with Rejection

Q: My article got rejected after the journal editor changed. What should I do?

Detailed Question -

My article was submitted to a journal last year and has undergone three rounds of reviews. For the first round, I recieved a major revision and for the next two rounds, I received minor revisions.

Around the end of last year, the journal changed its chief editor who was responsible for my article. Then I received a reject letter from the new editor. After contacting him, I was told that he thought it was a new submission and didn't know it had gone through peer review. He also assured me that it would be fine if the article got minor revision. I contacted him two weeks ago to inquire whether there was any update, but received no reply. What would you suggest I do next? I feel quite anxious about this. Thank you.

Asked by Jian Xiao on 19 Jan, 2017

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You have mentioned that the new editor said it would be "fine" if it was a minor revision. What exactly do you mean by that? Did the editor say that it would be considered as a revised submission? If he did not clearly mention this, you should clarify with him. Since you had written the last email two weeks ago, I think it is fine to write once again. Perhaps you could begin by apologizing for bothering him, and then go on to express your anxiety over the fate of the manuscript, and seek more clarity. Keep writing to him every 2-3 weeks till you get a response. Since he has responded the first time, I'm sure he will eventually respond to your other emails as well.

In the worst case, if you do not receive a response even after writing several emails, you can send an email to the editor saying that you are considering the rejection decision as final since you have not received any further communication from the journal. You can then submit your paper to another journal. however, make sure you inform the editor of the second journal about this situation at the time of submission, attaching the rejection letter as supporting evidence.