I Thought Wrong!

Today I woke up to a harsh(ish) reality. While in my last post I said that ”my manuscript had been accepted with minor revision”, I also said “except the response was so short that I have a feeling that I have misunderstood it.” Today when I checked what the status of my manuscript was:

Your submission is in peer review

News about your peer review process

·         The editor has invited 5 reviewer(s)

·         There is 1 reviewer(s) that has accepted to review your manuscript

After the editor has collated and reviewed all the reports they need, which may involve seeking additional reviews, you'll be notified about their decision.

This would be good news, had I not had the misguided thought that the manuscript was accepted. Apparently, when the e-mail from the editor says: “decision: minor revision”, it means that the paper is accepted for peer-review, not accepted altogether. When I asked ChatGPT, it said that this kind of a thing is common in certain journals. According to ChatGPT:

4. Why the wording sounds so formal (and odd)

The email text is clearly templated and partially auto-generated:

·         Generic salutation

·         Numbered point “1.”

·         Overly verbose explanation of SNAPP clicks

·         No scientific content

This strongly indicates:

·         The message was triggered by editorial office staff

·         Not by the handling academic editor

·         Not by reviewers

Also:

6. Is this an error?

Not an error, but:

·         Poorly worded

·         Poorly timed

·         Poorly explained

·         Confusing for authors

You did nothing wrong, and your manuscript was not “pre-accepted” or “fast-tracked.”

So, all in all, no harm done. The article is now under peer-review. While yesterday’s e-mail was poorly worded, poorly explained and confusing, it wasn’t exactly wrong.  What this means is that no, my manuscript wasn’t accepted. My elation was premature. But also yes, the paper is being peer-reviewed. I wasn’t even expecting a decision yet, so really everything is going just as it’s supposed to be going.

Annoying that I proclaimed to the world (although with hesitation) that the manuscript was accepted. But, then again, this shows I’m just a regular person. I make plenty of mistakes. This is just one of many.