After extensive searching on the Internet, I failed to find a venue for Hispanists to share with colleagues their myriad of experiences with publishing, particularly the handling of the review and publication processes by refereed journals. My motive is not to encourage irrational venting sessions for rejected authors, but to prompt an intelligent and useful exchange that might assist scholars with choosing prospective journals that exemplify professionalim and integrity; journals that conduct the entire review process expeditiously and provide authors with useful feedback for improving their manuscripts. Many true horror stories have been shared at academic conferences and within language and literature departments across the country, and these should indeed be shared here to help each other avoid potential pitfalls. Besides assisting our fellow scholars, if this blog also succeeds at ultimately improving the management of certain refereed journals, then many in the profession will benefit.
This was my first journal publication in grad school. They accepted a short article from me (around 8 pages). If I remember correctly, the feedback was prompt-ish (4 months or so) and the proofs were great.
This journal seems to me an excellent place to send a short article (3000 word max.) on either Peninsular or Latin American themes. The time they took to respond was reasonable, around a half year, and their comments upon provisional acceptance were brief but constructive. Overall a pleasant, straightforward experience.
Great experience, VERY quick turnaround. I submitted a piece and received a confirmation of receipt letter within a week. The formal acceptance letter arrived the following week with a request for minor formatting corrections. Although the acceptance made the whole transaction pretty much perfect, I have to note how satisfying it was to get a typed letter on letterhead rather than an email. I know I'm an earth-killing snail-mail-lover, but still, it's nice to get a response in the same mode that we're expected to submit.
Excellent experience overall - I submitted my article online and it was formally accepted about 2 months later. They do expect contributors to subscribe for one year ($40), and after making the requested format changes (margins, notes, title format, etc), you must mail a CD and printed copies of your paper to them. This seemed odd, since the initial submissions were all done online... but overall not a big deal. i definitely recommend this journal for short articles
I had a very positive experience here. The assistant editors are very quick to respond to questions via email and are very efficient at keeping you apprised of the process. My conditional acceptance arrived in approximately 4 months (including the winter holiday) and was accepted after the minor revisions were made in about a month. The publication will come out about a year after the original submission.
My submission was rejected with not much feedback after seven months. I thought this was too long to wait, but maybe it's more common than I realize. I wish I'd received more constructive feedback to help me rework the piece. Now I've lost a lot of time, and my tenure clock did not stop ticking.
I had a very positive experience. The process was fast. And I received constructive feedback that improved the article. The editorial assistant maintained great communication. Overall, a fantastic experience.
The journal has just changed editorship (though it is still housed in the same department). The new editor has extended the length of submissions to 6000 words and the journal is slated to include several special issues in the coming years.
The old 3000-word limit was seldom observed in RN anyway, so the new limit seems to just reflect what was already happening in practice. Hopefully it will not lose its uniqueness as a venue for short academic pieces.
I can second the quick turnaround, for which I'm grateful. The comments were marginally helpful, even if it seemed that the reader missed the point of the argument.
I had to rescind a submission after waiting almost a year with no reply from reviewer. When I finally inquired, the assistants were polite and apologetic, and told me that changes taking place on the editorial board were affecting the turnaround times for articles. I appreciated the candor, but still, disappointing.
Can those who have submitted to RN in the recent past speak to the time elapsed from initial acknowledgement of receipt of submission to the reply with commentaries/feedback? The website FAQ for RN and Hispanofila reports recommending 1-1.5 months to their readers, but this seems ambiguous, particularly in light of some of the more recent comments posted above. I am just wondering when it might be appropriate to contact the editor regarding the status of my submission so as to avoid the situation of the post from May 28, 2014.
I had an overall quite pleasant experience. The editors sent me an acknowledgment of receipt within two weeks of submission. The review process took about two months and had a positive outcome. The feedback from the reviewers was helpful and showed a careful reading. This helped me improve the final and slightly revised version of the article. Email communication was extremely efficient and very professional. I would definitely recommend submitting something to Romance Notes.
This was my first journal publication in grad school. They accepted a short article from me (around 8 pages). If I remember correctly, the feedback was prompt-ish (4 months or so) and the proofs were great.
ReplyDeleteThis journal seems to me an excellent place to send a short article (3000 word max.) on either Peninsular or Latin American themes. The time they took to respond was reasonable, around a half year, and their comments upon provisional acceptance were brief but constructive. Overall a pleasant, straightforward experience.
ReplyDeleteI agree with previous anonymous comment. My last experience with them was very positive.
ReplyDelete"Notes" is a bit of a misnomer, since most articles there are 8-12 pages, but I suppose "Romance Short Articles" would not have the same hook.
Great experience, VERY quick turnaround. I submitted a piece and received a confirmation of receipt letter within a week. The formal acceptance letter arrived the following week with a request for minor formatting corrections. Although the acceptance made the whole transaction pretty much perfect, I have to note how satisfying it was to get a typed letter on letterhead rather than an email. I know I'm an earth-killing snail-mail-lover, but still, it's nice to get a response in the same mode that we're expected to submit.
ReplyDeleteExcellent experience overall - I submitted my article online and it was formally accepted about 2 months later. They do expect contributors to subscribe for one year ($40), and after making the requested format changes (margins, notes, title format, etc), you must mail a CD and printed copies of your paper to them. This seemed odd, since the initial submissions were all done online... but overall not a big deal. i definitely recommend this journal for short articles
ReplyDeleteGreat experience! they were very fast (2-3 months) and their editing was careful. I would highly recommend!
ReplyDeleteVery fast response and turnaround. My article went form submission to print in seven or eight months.
ReplyDeleteAlso, they will still make offprints for you (if you're willing to pay for them, naturally), which is getting more and more rare.
I had a very positive experience here. The assistant editors are very quick to respond to questions via email and are very efficient at keeping you apprised of the process. My conditional acceptance arrived in approximately 4 months (including the winter holiday) and was accepted after the minor revisions were made in about a month. The publication will come out about a year after the original submission.
ReplyDeleteMy experience was similar to that of everyone above. Quick turn around, professional and reasonable feedback.
ReplyDeleteMy submission was rejected with not much feedback after seven months. I thought this was too long to wait, but maybe it's more common than I realize. I wish I'd received more constructive feedback to help me rework the piece. Now I've lost a lot of time, and my tenure clock did not stop ticking.
ReplyDeleteI had a very positive experience. The process was fast. And I received constructive feedback that improved the article. The editorial assistant maintained great communication. Overall, a fantastic experience.
ReplyDeleteThe journal has just changed editorship (though it is still housed in the same department). The new editor has extended the length of submissions to 6000 words and the journal is slated to include several special issues in the coming years.
ReplyDeleteThe old 3000-word limit was seldom observed in RN anyway, so the new limit seems to just reflect what was already happening in practice. Hopefully it will not lose its uniqueness as a venue for short academic pieces.
ReplyDeleteQuick turnaround time. Ok, though not impressive, feedback. Still, overall very happy with my experience with them.
ReplyDeleteI can second the quick turnaround, for which I'm grateful. The comments were marginally helpful, even if it seemed that the reader missed the point of the argument.
ReplyDeleteI had to rescind a submission after waiting almost a year with no reply from reviewer. When I finally inquired, the assistants were polite and apologetic, and told me that changes taking place on the editorial board were affecting the turnaround times for articles. I appreciated the candor, but still, disappointing.
ReplyDeleteCan those who have submitted to RN in the recent past speak to the time elapsed from initial acknowledgement of receipt of submission to the reply with commentaries/feedback? The website FAQ for RN and Hispanofila reports recommending 1-1.5 months to their readers, but this seems ambiguous, particularly in light of some of the more recent comments posted above. I am just wondering when it might be appropriate to contact the editor regarding the status of my submission so as to avoid the situation of the post from May 28, 2014.
ReplyDeleteI received an acknowledgment within a week of submission and a rejection with brief comments approximately 3 months after that.
ReplyDeleteI had an overall quite pleasant experience. The editors sent me an acknowledgment of receipt within two weeks of submission. The review process took about two months and had a positive outcome. The feedback from the reviewers was helpful and showed a careful reading. This helped me improve the final and slightly revised version of the article. Email communication was extremely efficient and very professional. I would definitely recommend submitting something to Romance Notes.
ReplyDelete