1. 1Dec 3, 2009Gitanjali

2. The only way to avoid rejection is to never submit a manuscript. 2 Dec 3, 2009 Gitanjali

3. Rejection is part of being a writer the same way that falling is part of being a hurdler…. 3 Dec 3, 2009 Gitanjali 1. Hall SA, Wilcox AJ (2007) The fate of epidemiologic manuscripts: a study of papers submitted to Epidemiology. Epidemiology 18:262–265. 62% of published papers have been rejected at least once 1.

4. Many famous people have had their work rejected*  Prof. R. Williams – discovered one of the B vitamins – J Clinical investigation rejected the paper.  Raymond P Ahlquist – paper on adrenoceptors published in Am J Physiol was rejected by J Pharmacol Exper Ther  Rosalind Yallow - J Clinical investigation rejected the paper.  Nature rejected Hans Krebs letter describing the citric acid cycle Dec 3, 2009Gitanjali4 *Campanario JM. Consolation for the Scientist: Sometimes it is Hard to Publish Papers that are Later Highly- Cited. Soc Studies Sci 1993;23:342- 62 We are not alone

5. Rejection letters serve two purposes: It proves you have actually written up your work May provide good constructive criticism – use to write up a better manuscript Dec 3, 2009Gitanjali5

6. Types of Rejection Dec 3, 2009Gitanjali6 Slush pile rejection – editor has not even read the manuscript Criticism rejection Near miss rejection

7. Dec 3, 2009Gitanjali7 “It hasn’t been published yet. Bloody idiots wouldn’t recognize a great book if it jumped up and bit them”

8. How common is manuscript rejection? Very common – 69% of papers would have been rejected at least once. Top journals have high rejection rate Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali8 Wooley CHEST 2009; 135:573-7

9. What is rejected and what is salvageable? Lack of new knowledge, major methodological flaws - most common reason for rejection Some errors in research methodology like data analysis, language flaws - can be salvaged to some extent. Errors in manuscript organization, including methods, results, figures, tables, graphs, and references, are correctable. Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali9

10. The Top 10 Reasons Why Manuscripts Are Not Published* 10. Picking the wrong journal 9. Submitting a manuscript in a format that does not match what the journal publishes 8. Not following the manuscript preparation instructions 7. Poor writing 6. Getting carried away in the discussion Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali10 *Pierson DJ. The top 10 reasons why manuscripts are not accepted for publication. Resp Care 2004;49:1246-52.

11. The Top 10 Reasons Why Manuscripts Are Not Published…contd… 5. Suboptimal reporting of the results 4. Inadequate description of the methods 3. Poor study design 2. Failure to revise and resubmit following peer review 1. Failure to write and submit a full manuscript after presenting the abstract at meetings Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali11

13. Top ten reasons for rejection of manuscripts in Indian Pediatrics Reason for rejectionPercentage 1. Absence of a message54.5 2. Poor originality43.5 3. Poor methodology28.2 4. Not relevant to journal25.4 5. Over-interpretation of results25.4 6. Inappropriate writing style/grammar24.2 7. Inaccurate/inconsistent data17.0 8. Poor statistical analysis9.8 9. Insufficient data8.0 10. Unsatisfactory illustrations/tables5.2 Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali13 N=347, Indian Pediatrics, 2006 (rejection 50%) 23%

14. Is rejection fatal? Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali14

15. Flow diagram illustrating the choices authors can make after receiving a manuscript rejection letter from the editor of their first- choice journal. (Wooley KL et al. Handling manuscript rejection. Chest 2009;135:573-7). Rejection letter received Determine type of rejection Conditional rejection Outright rejection Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali15 Give up No chance of publication success

16. Conditional rejection Incorporate reviewer and editorial comments Resubmit well prepared manuscript to same journal Better than reasonable chance of publication success Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali16 Flowchart of choices authors can make after receiving a rejection letter from the first journal Give up No chance of publication success

17. Flow diagram illustrating the choices authors can make after receiving a manuscript rejection letter from the editor of their first- choice journal. (Wooley KL et al. Handling manuscript rejection. Chest 2009;135:573-7). Rejection letter received Determine type of rejection Conditional rejection Outright rejection Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali17 Give up No chance of publication success

18. Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali18 Give up Outright rejection Identify reason for rejection Not suitable for journal Fatal Flaw Inappropriate to pursue publication No chance of publication success Reasonable chance of publication success Submit to a more appropriate and probably a lower impact journal Incorporate reviewers & editorial comments. Better than reasonable chance of publication success. No chance of publication success

19. Coping  Be positive  Persevere  Keep writing Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali19

20. Dealing with rejection We all have different ways of dealing with rejection slips, but I find going to bed for five days with eight kilos of choc chip works for me!

21. Preventing grant proposals from being rejected  Choose the funding agency to suit your topic  Check whether it is the thrust area  Get a recent application format  Read the instructions carefully and follow them  Keep to limits Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali21

22. Preventing manuscripts from being rejected – some tips  Choose the journal carefully – scope, visibility, importance of the work done  Get the most recent instructions to authors – read them  Follow the instructions  Ask a colleague to critically assess your paper Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali22

23.  Respond completely  Respond politely  Respond with evidence  Respond promptly Dec 3, 2009Gitanjali23 Three golden rules of replying to referees’ comments* *Williams HC. How to reply to referees’ comments when submitting manuscripts for publication. J Am Acad Dermatol 2004;51:79-83

24. Be honest about…  Re-analysing data  Additional data collection  References  Conflicts of interest  “Foreign” collaborators Trust, like glass, is fragile…

25. Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali25 How to predict which papers will be rejected?

26. Dec 14, 2009Gitanjali26