#MillerTwitterTakeover Could you please talk about dealing with a mountain of rejection as an ECR?...no idea what normal numbers of rejections/paper are...I think the arbitrariness of journal/award/grant decisions is difficult to understand/move past.
I'll give it a shot WCM 1/n
With a paper, I identify reach, good, & safe journals. Reach=I'd love for it to be there, good=I'd be happy for it to be there, & safe=I'll be ok with that. Sometimes, you need more than one safe journal. But I often am rejected x1, sometimes x2, & occasionally x3 2/n
Journal decisions are based on quality & fit. Sometimes, the quality is just fine, but the fit is not. Fit may be based on the readership, topic, or sometimes the impact of the study. So, you may be rejected for fit, rather than quality. 3/n
Rejection is painful...always. My main strategy is to read the letter first. Then I put it aside & don't look at the comments until my emotions are calmed down 2-3 days later. Then I read them. I find that I can be much more objective that way. 4/n
As an editor, I like to believe that our decisions aren't arbitrary. I try hard to be objective. So try to look at the comments & remember that they are intended to improve the science--it's not about you. Try to have a thick skin & keep the focus on the science.5/n
Lastly, remember that we all get rejected--for papers & grants. I was on a study section 2 yrs ago where some really bigshots were not discussed. It happens to us all. So, rejection doesn't mean that you're an imposter...it means that, this time, others didn't agree with you. 6/6
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