Rejected manuscripts: Next steps and finding the right fit

56 min

Wesley B. Swords

Jessica Tom

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About this video

Has your paper ever been rejected? Most likely yes. Do you know how to deal with it the right way? Probably no.

In this module, we invite two Scientific Managing Editors to share their experience in navigating manuscript rejection. As published authors themselves, they’ve been in your shoes. As current editors, they’re at the forefront of helping rejected authors find the right home for their research. You will hear from them some useful tips and editorial insights so that you won’t be at a loss in case of an unsuccessful submission.

Although rejection is hard, it can be an opportunity that leads to something bigger. We hope to help you turn the situation into one which enables you to end up with either a better publication or a more suitable home for your research – maybe both!

After this module, you will:

Understand the types of and reasons for manuscript rejection
Know what to do and what options you have when your paper is rejected
Learn how to respond to reviewers’ comments effectively and improve your chance of acceptance the second time
Benefit from personal experience and editorial insights from the editors

About the presenters

Wesley B. Swords

Senior Scientific Managing Editor (Energy Journals)

Wesley has hands-on research experience in the fields of physical, inorganic, materials, and organic chemistry with applications in solar energy, solar fuels, and photocatalytic synthesis. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, spent time as a visiting researcher at Uppsala University, and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. With 6 first-author manuscripts and 17 others co-authored he understands what it takes to publish research from an author’s perspective – and has dealt with the pains of manuscript rejection. In 2022, Wesley joined Elsevier as a Scientific Managing Editor within the Author Heroes team. Working within the Energy and Materials portfolios, he enjoys assisting and advocating for authors throughout their publishing journeys.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesley-swords

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrSwordsChem

Jessica Tom

Scientific Managing Editor (Colloids Journals)

Jessica Tom received her Ph.D. in 2014 at the University of Sydney in the application of controlled radical polymerisation techniques to modify and improve the properties of materials including cellulose and silica nanoparticles. Her post-doctoral research at Technische Universität Darmstadt and Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena involved making mesoporous organic-inorganic hybrid materials with tuneable ionic permselectivity for lab-on-chip devices, and the use of photoacids/photobases in block copolymer micelles for photo-triggered local drug release. After deciding to leave the lab, Jessica joined Elsevier in 2021 as a Scientific Managing Editor. In this role, she helps authors find the right home for their valuable work after rejection by offering and facilitating the easy transfer of their manuscript to a more appropriate journal.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jctom