Responding to Reviewers: 10 Pieces of Advice

It is often necessary to respond to reviewer comments. For example, if you submit a paper, and the editor’s decision is “revise and resubmit” or “accept with major revisions”, you will be required to respond to reviewer comments. 

I have responded to reviewer comments hundreds of times throughout my career, not only for papers and books, but also grant applications.

This blog post lists some pieces of advice that you might find useful.

1.

Put the reviews on the back burner.

When you get the reviews, read them through right away. Read them through a few times. But then put them on the backburner for a few weeks, and let your thoughts settle. Let the content of the reviews percolate, and connections form. Let the disappointment and frustration drain away. Let your battle plan start to form (meaning, your battle to respond to the comments).Then after a few weeks, return to the task energized.

2.

Create a master file called “Response to Reviewers”. 

This file contains all the reviews in Word format, and your response to those reviews. I like to put the responses in red, so I can easily find them. When you submit your revisions, submit this file to the editor. They will appreciated it, and it will let the reviewers see that you have taken their comments seriously.

3.

Respond to all comments.

In the responses file, make sure to respond to each and every comment. Take them all seriously. If for some reason you decide not to respond, explain your decision. For example, perhaps the reviewer asks you to consider Johnson 2011, but does not tell you the title or the place of publication. If later on, you cannot find that article, you can explain this in the response file. If the reviewer asks you to consider “stative passives”, but does not say why (and so you do not even know where to start), explain that in the response file.

4.

Do not demonize the reviewers.

Your reviewers are doing voluntary work. An editor asked them to review, and they agreed. They did this because they have a professional commitment to the field. Chances are they are probably not ignorant, willfully stupid, brain dead or your mortal enemy. 

5.

Do not let your emotions have the upper hand.

Process the comments in a calm and composed manner. Being angry or frustrated or depressed is not going to help you reach your goal, which is to get the paper or book published. Blowing off steam, complaining to your friends, swearing under your breath are normal and healthy activities. But if left to fester unresolved, anger and other negative emotions are bad for your mental and physical health.

6.

Give yourself time.

Responding to reviewers is a legitimate research activity. Just like you find time to do reading or writing or fieldwork, you need to find time to respond to reviews. Perhaps you will need a lot of time, like a spring break or part of the summer vacation. But it may be that just a few well-scheduled research days might be sufficient. 

7.

Break it down.

Any complex task can be executed successfully, if one is willing to break it down. Read through the reviews carefully and develop a plan for how to respond. Break down the task: Which comments are easy to respond to? Which are more difficult? What needs to be read? What needs to be rewritten? What needs to be thought about some more? Which comments will you respond to today? Tomorrow? On Saturday?

8.

Be grateful.

First and foremost, if you are responding to reviewers, it means the paper or book was not rejected. That is a major accomplishment. Accept it as such.

Try to find positives in the reviews, even if they lean toward the negative. For example, if the reviewer’s remarks force you to clarify something that you thought was crystal clear, be grateful. If the reviewer found it unclear, chances are other people will as well. So, it is good you are rewriting the passage. Such rewriting might clarify your thoughts on the issue, and lead to a deeper understanding of what is going on.

9.

Learn from the process.

What can you learn from the process? What benefits you directly? Perhaps, this is an opportunity to read that paper you have not been able to get to? If the reviewer is requesting information on how your analysis handles X (e.g., inherent reflexives or reduced relatives), take this opportunity to learn more about them. Find references. Read overview articles. Read classic articles. Read Lingbuzz articles. Ask friends and colleagues about X. 

Syntax is a skill, as much as it is a body of knowledge. Use this opportunity to sharpen your skill. Think about the best way to argue for your position. Which arguments are weak and which are strong? Which would convince a disinterested party? 

Take advantage of the situation. Be aware of the positive.

10.

Write in a professional tone.

Drain your replies completely of all snarkiness and frustration and personal jabs. Snarky sounding responses are off-putting, and will probably not persuade the editor. Writing in an unprofessional tone will not help you to get published.