Page 120 - How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 8th Edition 8th Edition

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PEANUTS reprinted by permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
in the subject area of the manuscript and can thus serve as a third reviewer; the editor is especially likely to do this if
the detailed commentary of one reviewer is considerably more impressive than that of the other. The second approach
is obviously time-consuming and is used commonly by weak editors; however, any editor must use this approach if
the manuscript concerns a subject with which he or she is not familiar.
The review process being completed, and the editor having made a decision, on whatever basis, the author is now
notified of the editor's decision. And it is the editor's decision. Editorial Board members and ad hoc reviewers can
only recommend; the final decision is and must be the editor's. This is especially true for those journals (the majority)
that use anonymous reviewers. The editor, assuming that he or she is of good character, will not hide behind
anonymous reviewers. The decisions will

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be presented to the authors as though they were the editor's own, and indeed they are.

The editor's decision will be one of three general types, commonly expressed in one word as "accept," "reject," or
"modify." Normally, one of these three decisions will be reached within 4 to 6 weeks after submission of the
manuscript. If you are not advised of the editor's decision within 8 weeks, or provided with any explanation for the
delay, do not be afraid to call or write the editor. You have the right to expect a decision, or at least a report, within a
reasonable period of time; also, your inquiry may bring to light a problem. Obviously, the editor's decision could have
been made but the missive bearing that decision could have been lost or delayed in the mail. If the delay was caused
within the editor's office (usually by lack of response from one of the reviewers), your inquiry is likely to trigger an
effort to resolve the problem, whatever it is.

Besides which, you should never be afraid to talk to editors. With rare exceptions, editors are awfully nice people.

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