Just Suck It Up and Revise the Darned Thing!

My new year's goal for 2021 was "Bliss, Not Dread." Spelled out a bit more fully: Do more of what I love, less of what I hate. Well, I retreated from the "bliss" ambition in the face of some personal heartbreak, but I was still holding on to the "dread" part of the equation. Why should I, in my depleted and diminished state, seek out any projects that would make me even more miserable? 

In my trusty little notebook, I made two lists, one of THINGS I LOVE and one of THINGS I HATE, so I wouldn't get confused. Included under THINGS I HATE were: 

1. anything that makes me feel bad about myself

2. pretending to be an expert

3. trying to please reviewer #2!

For those of you who are not academics, let me explain about "reviewer #2." Articles submitted to academic journals are sent out for double-blind peer review. Two experts in your field read your paper and write up their comments and recommendations for or against publication. You don't know who they are, and they don't know who you are (except that sometimes your field is small enough that it's easy to guess, on both sides). A very common verdict is "revise-and-resubmit": heed the reviewer comments, revise accordingly, and send it back to the same journal (usually with the same reviewers) to see if they are happier this time. Almost invariably one reviewer is fairly enthusiastic and wants only minor changes. And the other reviewer . . . is not. That reviewer has come to be known as "reviewer #2." 

Well, last summer I received comments on a children's literature article, and sure enough, reviewer #1 was fairly positive and reviewer #2 was downright scathing, though still recommended that I revise "substantially" and resubmit. Here is a sample of "scathing": "One of the key issues the author should consider addressing in revision is the essay's overall lack of purpose and coherence"!!!! That was one of FIVE similarly damning comments. And even reviewer #1's comments were annoying, pointing out grievances about how I used semi-colons and parentheses. 

I am retired. I have no need of any further items on my c.v. And in fact, the universe as a whole is remarkably indifferent to whether there are any further articles published by me about anything. I do NOT need to engage in the enormously dispiriting work of trying to deal with problems regarding purpose, coherence, and semi-colons!

And yet . . . I just discovered that my little granddaughters aren't coming to us this month because of their recent COVID exposure. I had cleared an entire week to take care of them, a week that is now given to me as a gift. I haven't been able to face any creative projects right now. How should I use that week? Hmmm... well, maybe I could at least try to revise that article... maybe I should at least TRY.

So here are my stern-but-encouraging thoughts to myself as I gird up my loins for revision.

1. I have published MANY academic articles in my life, both in philosophy and children's literature, at least several dozen. With only two exceptions (one outright acceptance and one outright rejection), I have ALWAYS received a revise-and-resubmit verdict. The comments have ALWAYS been scathing. But I have ALWAYS managed to do enough to address them that the paper ended up getting published.

2. It was work for the editor of the journal to recruit these reviewers. It was work for them to read my (purposeless, incoherent) article (with its flawed use of semicolons); reviewer #1 (the nice reviewer) took the added time to send very helpful line-by-line comments, particularly on the introductory section. It feels moderately wrong to blow off their efforts and just walk away.

3. I myself spent several months on the article and poured a lot of love into it. Doesn't this article deserve another two weeks of effort to find it a home? Also, in the past, despite much wailing and gnashing of the teeth, I've always thought the reviewer-prompted revisions strengthened the paper enormously. 

4. I am spending most of my days moping and brooding. Isn't it better to do something useful? And whenever I send something off into the universe I have a lovely little tingle of anticipation that something nice MIGHT happen.

I am going to do this thing! I am going to please reviewer #1 and make at least a stab at pleasing reviewer #2. I am going to suck it up and revise the darned thing!

Wish me luck!