Q: What does a quick change from ‘Under consideration’ to ‘Decision made’ back to ‘Under consideration’ mean for Nature?
Hello. I submitted a manuscript to a Nature journal six days ago. It stated 'Under consideration' until today, when it changed to 'Decision made,' and then back to 'Under consideration.' What could this mean?
Such quick changes may mean a glitch, but given that it’s a Nature journal, that’s unlikely. :-)
So, it probably means that the associate editor (AE), who handles the manuscript through the review and publication process, had a look at your manuscript and made a decision on it, most probably for rejection. However, when they communicated their decision to the Editor-in-Chief (EiC), who makes the final decision, it was decided to reconsider your manuscript. This is known as a rescinding.
The EiC may have seen merits in your paper after all (or a fit, if that was the issue). Alternatively, they may be considering that you submit to another journal within Nature, where there may be a better match.
Hopefully, the exact situation will become clear with the next status update. Until then, you may find it worthwhile to go through the following resources about journal statuses:
- Can we write a courteous mail asking about the status change from 'Decision Made' to 'Under Consideration'?
- What does it mean if the status is 'under consideration' for two weeks?
- Keep calm and wait: A guide to understanding journal statuses [Handbook]
All the best for whatever’s next! :-)
