Response times for popular journals within the field

[KA.DINGER.RA]

Hello all,

 

I recently submitted an article for consideration for a fairly prominent journal in Hebrew Bible. As it would be my first non-book-review publication, I'm excited to hear back about an acceptance, rejection, or R&R. I was wondering if anyone could anecdotally speak to the typical turnaround times for journals to which they have submitted.

 

I've heard CBQ has a goal time of about three months. I haven't heard anything outside of that, though.

[Epaphroditus]

Really depends on the journal. JSNT aims to respond in 3 months. JBL takes over a year.

[sacklunch]

3 hours ago, Hopeless_Academic said:

Really depends on the journal. JSNT aims to respond in 3 months. JBL takes over a year.

I guess it depends even on the journal. I heard from JBL within six months.

[KA.DINGER.RA]

I'd heard from several people that JBL can be over a year. I have requested to do multiple book reviews with them and even hearing back about that has been 8-16 MONTHS. 

 

Absolutely ridiculous. 

[Warelin]

8 minutes ago, KA.DINGER.RA said:

I'd heard from several people that JBL can be over a year. I have requested to do multiple book reviews with them and even hearing back about that has been 8-16 MONTHS. 

 

Absolutely ridiculous. 

I think it's important to realize that each journal has a different way of handling submissions. Submissions are often read by several people before it makes its way up to an editor. There's a high possibility that the people on the editorial board are professors or scholars. As professors, they're balancing teaching, advising, recommendation letters, conferences, service to the college, service to the program, service to the city, writing for publications, etc. As a scholar, they're balancing conferences, presentations, social speaking engagements, extended periods of research at various libraries and archives and so-forth. More often than not, journals don't pay for their editors. 

And trying to find a time where multiple people are free when they have a rotating schedule of events can prove to be an incredibly different challenge. But they edit because they want the field to grow and others to be excited about it.

[KA.DINGER.RA]

12 minutes ago, Warelin said:

I think it's important to realize that each journal has a different way of handling submissions. Submissions are often read by several people before it makes its way up to an editor. There's a high possibility that the people on the editorial board are professors or scholars. As professors, they're balancing teaching, advising, recommendation letters, conferences, service to the college, service to the program, service to the city, writing for publications, etc. As a scholar, they're balancing conferences, presentations, social speaking engagements, extended periods of research at various libraries and archives and so-forth. More often than not, journals don't pay for their editors. 

And trying to find a time where multiple people are free when they have a rotating schedule of events can prove to be an incredibly different challenge. But they edit because they want the field to grow and others to be excited about it.

I should rephrase. I think that taking 16 months to get back to someone about whether or not they can start working on a book review for a journal (particularly one like RBL that puts out so many reviews) is ridiculous.

 

Experiencing wait-time on hearing about an article, which obviously takes a lot of time to read and critique, is far more understandable. 

Edited October 19, 2018 by KA.DINGER.RA

[Warelin]

1 minute ago, KA.DINGER.RA said:

I should rephrase. I think that taking 16 months to get back to someone about whether or not they can start working on a book review for a journal (particularly one like RBL that puts out so many reviews) is ridiculous.

  

Wait time one hearing about an article, which obviously takes a lot of time to read and critique, is far more understandable. 

Ahh, that does seem a bit more extreme. I ended up sending a query to a journal today. They responded within a few hours.

Sorry to hear that it took them months to reply to you. =(

[KA.DINGER.RA]

Just now, Warelin said:

Ahh, that does seem a bit more extreme. I ended up sending a query to a journal today. They responded within a few hours.

Sorry to hear that it took them months to reply to you. =(

It's no worries! I've had a couple of bad experiences with SBL, hence my frustration. Hoping that the wait isn't too too long on this journal submission. It wasn't bench rejected, which is always good! haha.

[sacklunch]

Perhaps mine was returned so quickly (a bit less than 6 months) from JBL because of what I submitted, which was an edition of an unpublished papyrus fragment. The editor responded that to be published with them I needed to have the papyrus carbon 14 dated and the ink tested. I guess the Jesus' wife fake scared them away. In any case, I guess that means JBL is out of the publishing papyri game (or any other ancient artifact for that that matter), since no reputable institution would allow such tests (which require destroying some of the artifact). 

Edited October 19, 2018 by sacklunch