Accepted, Accepted with Revisions, Revise and Resubmit, Reject, Desk Reject

Since starting my doctoral work, I've learned a few short-hand phrases about publishing in the academy. Most notable of these is "R&R" or "revise and resubmit." Basically what happens when one submits a manuscript for publication is one of several things:

Accepted: this rarely happens. I don't even know why this is a category, because I don't know anyone who has ever gotten a manuscript accepted with hardly any necessary revisions. And while I don't know everyone in academia, those I do know also say this rarely happens.

Accepted with Revisions: This is like the editor of a journal saying "We have reviewed your work, we like it, just make these changes and we'll publish" this is very good!

Revise and Resubmit: This is the most likely of all outcomes. This is when the email from the editor says "There is some good work here, but also some concerns from the reviewers. How about you take another shot, and if you can make the changes, we will likely publish."

Reject: The worst of all. Getting a reject is the worst because it usually takes 3-4 months for a journal to respond with a decision, and during that time you can't shop your manuscript around to anyone. Then when the reject comes, it's terrible because you think, "there went 4 months of possible revisions for a journal that would consider this."

Desk Reject: My advisor says this is one of the best things that can happen because within 2 weeks you know if the journal wants it or not. I'm glad he said that because I got a desk reject a couple of months ago and thought, "Oh well, I can shop this around somewhere else now." No hurt feelings.

The reason I go into all of this is because I recently heard back from a journal and got an "accepted with revisions" !! This is great news of course! The revisions are minor. (and I have to admit, they should be because I spent HOURS on this manuscript). I rewrote large chunks from an original paper my friend Meg and I wrote, submitted it with her blessing, and ta-da! Accepted with revisions. She and I are now working furiously to make changes and get it sent back. Needless to say, I'm very excited! And when I get this one turned back in, then I can focus on the other "revise and resubmit" manuscript I co-wrote. There were, er, a lot of things we needed to address. But those revisions will happen, I am sure.