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.
The positive: speedy turn around The negative: won't give any helpful feedback if they reject you.
I submitted something there last year and got a response within a month or two. Unfortunately, it was a rejection. I do not mind the rejection, but when I asked for comments on the article/reasons for the rejection the editor said that it was not their editorial policy to share their reasons for rejecting it. I don't think I will send something there again until they change that policy. I don't want to spend months working on an article without any feedback from the journal after sending it.
I had the same experience as Christine; I did hear back within a month or so that my article was rejected, but again, no feedback. Even something as basic as "your topic is not our interest right now" would have been helpful.
I had an excellent experience with this journal. I submitted an article in September, and received an acceptance (contingent on some revisions) in mid-November. The two reader's reports were extremely thorough and helpful, and the communication from the Managing Editor throughout the process was excellent. The proofreading and copyediting were also extremely good. This is one of the best journals around.
My experience was negative, too. After six months without news, I sent a couple of status requests. Eventually, an assistant sent me a rejection email with an explanation along the lines of "sometimes we can share reviewer's comments, sometimes we can't". Their whole approach seems lacking in courtesy and professionalism.
Publiqué un artículo en esta revista. Se tardaron unos ocho meses en responderme. Los comentarios de los evaluadores fueron pertinentes y muy detallados. El tiempo de espera entre la aceptación y la publicación del artículo fue de un año. Esta es una revista que goza de prestigio en el campo de los estudios hispánicos y, sin duda, se ocupan de preservar la calidad de las contribuciones.
In my experience with this journal, they do not send the reviewers' comments or any kind of explanation why they rejected my essays. This happened to me twice and is a sign of unprofessionalism.
They publish one of my worst articles when I was 26 or 27. Fifteen years on, I send them a really good article and they, surprisingly, reject it. No feedback, nothing. There are many better journals. I won't be submitting anything else to them
They only care about canonical authors and will not publish any article related to "minor" authors. Also, they mostly publish about Latin American literature
the managing editor is very helpful and timely with responses but i found it somewhat shocking that the journal offers no comments/rationale when rejecting a piece.
I had a similar experience as most of the above commenters. They were fast to reject my piece, which I certainly appreciated, but offered no reviewer comments at all. It's kind of a useless process compared to the other venues that offer at least some comments with a rejection, and leaves one with the impression that they really don't care much about making a contribution to scholarship. I've served as an outside evaluator for several reviews now, but I've decided to only do so for those reviews that provide some feedback with rejections.
Bad experience with this journal. I reckon there must be some hidden elitism here and an overall rejection of more theoretical approaches. I got my article rejected in a week with no explanations or suggestions. The editor was not helpful. I sent it somewhere else and after a few revisions it has been accepted for publication. I totally agree with the poster above. They just don't care.
Publique un articulo con ellos hace unos 10 anios. Gran experiencia. La editora fue muy amable.
ReplyDeleteThe positive: speedy turn around
ReplyDeleteThe negative: won't give any helpful feedback if they reject you.
I submitted something there last year and got a response within a month or two. Unfortunately, it was a rejection. I do not mind the rejection, but when I asked for comments on the article/reasons for the rejection the editor said that it was not their editorial policy to share their reasons for rejecting it. I don't think I will send something there again until they change that policy. I don't want to spend months working on an article without any feedback from the journal after sending it.
I had the same experience as Christine; I did hear back within a month or so that my article was rejected, but again, no feedback. Even something as basic as "your topic is not our interest right now" would have been helpful.
ReplyDeleteI had an excellent experience with this journal. I submitted an article in September, and received an acceptance (contingent on some revisions) in mid-November. The two reader's reports were extremely thorough and helpful, and the communication from the Managing Editor throughout the process was excellent. The proofreading and copyediting were also extremely good. This is one of the best journals around.
ReplyDeleteMy experience was negative, too. After six months without news, I sent a couple of status requests. Eventually, an assistant sent me a rejection email with an explanation along the lines of "sometimes we can share reviewer's comments, sometimes we can't". Their whole approach seems lacking in courtesy and professionalism.
ReplyDeletePubliqué un artículo en esta revista. Se tardaron unos ocho meses en responderme. Los comentarios de los evaluadores fueron pertinentes y muy detallados. El tiempo de espera entre la aceptación y la publicación del artículo fue de un año.
ReplyDeleteEsta es una revista que goza de prestigio en el campo de los estudios hispánicos y, sin duda, se ocupan de preservar la calidad de las contribuciones.
In my experience with this journal, they do not send the reviewers' comments or any kind of explanation why they rejected my essays. This happened to me twice and is a sign of unprofessionalism.
ReplyDeleteThey publish one of my worst articles when I was 26 or 27. Fifteen years on, I send them a really good article and they, surprisingly, reject it. No feedback, nothing.
ReplyDeleteThere are many better journals. I won't be submitting anything else to them
They only care about canonical authors and will not publish any article related to "minor" authors. Also, they mostly publish about Latin American literature
ReplyDeletethe managing editor is very helpful and timely with responses but i found it somewhat shocking that the journal offers no comments/rationale when rejecting a piece.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience as most of the above commenters. They were fast to reject my piece, which I certainly appreciated, but offered no reviewer comments at all. It's kind of a useless process compared to the other venues that offer at least some comments with a rejection, and leaves one with the impression that they really don't care much about making a contribution to scholarship. I've served as an outside evaluator for several reviews now, but I've decided to only do so for those reviews that provide some feedback with rejections.
ReplyDeleteBad experience with this journal. I reckon there must be some hidden elitism here and an overall rejection of more theoretical approaches. I got my article rejected in a week with no explanations or suggestions. The editor was not helpful. I sent it somewhere else and after a few revisions it has been accepted for publication. I totally agree with the poster above. They just don't care.
ReplyDeleteit is a useless process, but at least they have the courtesy of notifying on a rejection within a couple of weeks.
ReplyDelete