A junior philosopher writes:
I know that you posted about issues with PPQ a while back (although I wish I had seen your post before submitting a paper there). I am a pre-tenure professor, and I’ll be submitting my tenure package this spring. I submitted a paper to PPQ and had the worst experience I’ve ever had with a journal.
I submitted my paper in March of 2023. Like the other people who contacted you, I was told that the initial review would take up to 10 weeks. I had not heard anything by July, so I reached out to the editorial assistant. I was told that they would check with the editors and get back to me.
I did not hear back. I waited until December and I wrote to them again to ask for an update. I was horrified to learn that the paper still had not been sent out for review. The editors had done nothing with it. This week (in January of 2024), I received a desk rejection with no comments. The editorial assistant apologized on behalf of the editors and told me that I could request comments if I wanted them. I asked for them and received a single page of fairly minimal comments from the editor.
This was truly the worst experience I have had with any journal. I thought I would share it with you. I would be happy to forward the emails if you would like proof of the timeline.
Thanks for everything you do in terms of sharing this kind of information with others in the field. I wish I had seen your post sooner. Luckily, my tenure package is fairly secure (I have a book coming out in a month or two). But this is an awful thing for a journal to do to anyone, regardless of their tenure status.
I hope others have had good experiences with PPQ (comments to that effect, or comments from the editors, are welcome). How common are experiences like this at PPQ or other journals? Please use a real email if you are going to praise or criticize, by name, a particular journal.
