Imagine the following situation: You sent your article for publication and you just received the changes requested by the editor, and their suggestions are worded in quite a rude way. You want to adopt some of their suggestions but not others, and you wish to avoid further conflict with such an explosive person. How do you defend your choices without inflaming further tensions?
Tip 1 – Stay calm
The most important thing is to respond to their suggestions is a calm and polite way. Take a deep breath and don’t let your emotions take control of you. Your justifications need to be calm and professional, even if the comment on your work was made in a rude manner. Don’t be tempted to respond in kind!
Tip 2 – Explain each point thoroughly
If you wish to keep a section that your editor wants to change, you need to be thorough with your justifications. Answer any possible objections they might have, and don’t be afraid of writing an extensive explanation.
Tip 3 – Don’t rush it
Responding to a rude person is a time-consuming process. Depending on the number of comments you need to respond to, the whole process might take quite a few hours. Take your time to respond to each of them in the best way you can. Patience is key.
Tip 4 – Check your spelling and grammar
Your communication with your editor is as important as your paper, so don’t be sloppy with your language! Observe the propoer rules of capitalisation, punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Your responses are a reflection of you as an academic, so make an effort to avoid careless mistakes.
Tip 5 – Check the flow of your argument
Writing in a language that is not your native one can be difficult, especially with the pressure of justifying your writing to a hostile editor. Make sure that the general structure of your argument makes sense to a native speaker!
The way you might be used to writing in your native language will not always have a 1-to-1 correspondence in English. This frequently leads to run-on sentences and arguments that are impossible to follow for a native English speaker. When in doubt, be as clear as possible: cut down on sentence length, present only one argument in each sentence, and keep a logical connection between each argument. Don’t be afraid of sounding “simple” and not erudite enough! The main focus should be on clarity.
Free downloadable checklist
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I hope that this post helped you if you are facing a similiar challenge. If you are unsire about how to put any of the tips into practice, Academic Translations offers a Signature Communication package that was especially created for such a scenario. We can help you establish a productive and pleasant dialogue with your editor. Read more about our Signature Communication package here.
Happy writing!
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