A young philosopher writes:
Currently, young faculty and grad students can find it to be very difficult to get published in top journals since so many of these journals can take so long (one journal took 18 months to get back to me with a rejection!). On the other hand, in my experience with A-level journals, Phil and Public Affairs and Nous have been incredibly efficient. Phil Studies and Journal of Political Philosophy - journals with medium reputations - have also been pretty efficient.
As you've pointed out before, for junior faculty this puts us in a real bind. We can always pull our submissions after N months and submit it somewhere else, but that could have two drawbacks. First, it could burn bridges. Second, suppose I think I have a reasonable chance at getting a paper published in a top journal -- ought I to wait it out or should I go for a less-than-top journal just because they have a quick turnaround time? The latter might get me an extra line on my CV but in most cases, one publication in a top journal is better than, say, three in a middle tier journal (e.g., because a piece in a top journal is more likely to be read by others).
So, I wonder if you would put out the following proposal for comment:
All authors would be *released* from the commitment not to submit their essays to other journals if the initial journal does not respond with a summary judgment (R, R&R, CA, or A) on the paper within 90 days of submission. The author would NOT be responsible for informing the editor of his/her decision to submit elsewhere.
Rather, because of the poor editorial and refereeing efficiency, the author would be free to start shopping his/her paper to another journal without having to tell anyone (including the second journal, since that would prejudice the editorial process against the author).
If this seems unworkable because it requires an honor system amongst those submitting the essay, note that the *entire* blind review system depends upon an honor system, namely the referees honoring their commitment to referee in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, many referee DO NOT referee in a timely fashion. So, the honor system as it is currently constructed, is failing.
Thoughts? Signed comments strongly preferred, and post only once, comments may take awhile to appear.