CoffeeTime Science: The Tug-of-war over Manuscripts

Your manuscript is your first priority, but everyone else’s last priority

“Celebratory coffee?” I text Katja and Narges, “I finally submitted my paper”. We meet by the machine. “So you finally heard back from all your co-authors and got the OK to submit?” Narges asks.

“Yup. Super fast, only took 4 months” I add, raising one eyebrow. Narges smiles sympathetically, “Well, at least it’s submitted now”.

We sit down and contemplate the general back-and-forth between first authors and their various co-authors, and how the whole process can be a little frustrating and always takes much, MUCH longer than we would like it to. “At least it didn’t take 9 months to get everybody’s feedback” Katja tries to placate me “Like it did for poor Cookie Monster^*” Hmmm.

We all sip at our coffees in commiseration.

“I know people are busy, but trying to get feedback from all co-authors on a manuscript is like herding cats – you hear back from 2 immediately, and the other 6 need about 5 email reminders before they get back to you.”

I complain,

“And then there’s the added complication that some journals require each author to sign a copyright agreement form for the initial submission, rather than after it’s accepted. Getting all of the signed forms takes another couple of weeks at least.” 

“I wonder whether people realize how agonizing it is for us to have to wait so long for feedback – after all, publications are the only currency we have in terms of our careers, and that one paper can make all the difference,” Katja reflects.

“Probably not” Narges reasons, “After all, most people have many other things on their plate that have to take priority, including their own first or last author manuscripts”.

Narges is, of course, right. I guess we forget sometimes that, while our project and our manuscript are the most important things to us, they are nobody else’s top priority.

“Although they probably all were – or are – in our shoes, too” I join in, “But I guess it’s easy to forget about that manuscript from a collaborator and people probably don’t realize we have to put everything on hold until all authors have given their OK to submit”.

Maybe I need to be a little more patient, I berate myself, or maybe, I just need to keep bugging everyone until I get feedback. Although continuous nagging might work with some people, I also realize that it can be rather annoying. It’s a difficult balance to find, I contemplate. T

he best strategy is probably to try and keep sending friendly reminders to all co-authors, and in the case of the senior author, to have regular meetings with them to push your manuscript back to the forefront of their mind. Also, it’s important to be a little more patient and understanding of everyone else’s workload. “Maybe if you explain why it is so important – and urgent – to you, they will realize they are delaying you and try to be a bit more conscientious and timely with manuscript feedback” I think out aloud. “That would be nice,” both Narges and Katja agree. We finish our coffees in pensive silence and return to our respective projects and manuscripts in the making.

^* See previous posts.

My name is Christine, and I am an immunologist. After my undergraduate studies in Oxford, I moved to London for my PhD and first postdoc. After 7 years in this magnificent city, I was ready for an adventure and decided to go to Boston for a second postdoc. Six years later, I’ve made Boston my permanent home, but I am currently on an 8-month sabbatical back in London, where I am learning new things at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine before returning to Boston. In addition to doing research, I write a series of blogs about conversations and discussions I have had with other scientists, with topics ranging from the inane to career goals and options, our research, new techniques and technologies and the like. I would like to share some of those topics with you in this blog. Want to join in? Grab yourself a cup of your favorite caffeinated beverage, read along, and leave comments.