An author's guide to submission, revision and rejection

Abstract

‘Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence, is the key to understanding our potential.’

Winston Churchill

The sting of rejection is nasty. However, when you get that letter (which you will), remember you will be in esteemed company. Many of us would like to publish in Science or Nature but what better revenge when they reject you than a Nobel Prize! This is exactly what happened to Hans Krebs, the biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in 1953 for discovering the citric acid cycle, commonly known as the Krebs cycle. Krebs submitted his findings to Nature but was faced with rejection. Never has Frank Sinatra’s famous quote been truer: ‘The best revenge is massive success.’

Nature has admitted to many other such faux pas in its publishing history and it is not unique in its misjudgements. Publishing is a game of risk-taking behaviour and strategy. Authors must convince editors and referees that their work is worthy of publishing. When journals do not publish this work, authors must remember the value of their manuscript and persist in finding it another home.

JYOTI SHAH

Commissioning Editor