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Job-Market Reporting Thread (2025-26)
Job-Market Discussion Thread (2025-26)

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  • Handling an R&R with 2 positive reports but 1 vague negative report?

    In our new “how can we help you?” thread, a reader asks,

    I was hoping to get some advice on an R&R I recently received. The journal provided comments from three reviewers. Two of the reports offer substantial, detailed, and constructive feedback, giving me a clear path forward for revision.

    However, the third reviewer’s report is a bit of a challenge. Based on the tone and general nature of the comments, it strongly suggests a recommendation for rejection (though this isn’t explicitly stated). The report only provides very general and somewhat ambiguous criticisms, without specific, actionable guidance on how the manuscript might be improved. This is understandable, of course, if their overall recommendation was to reject.

    So, I’m not sure how to best address this third reviewer’s feedback in my revised manuscript and response letter. I see two main approaches:

    Attempt to infer the reviewer’s underlying concerns from the general comments and make revisions based on that interpretation.

    Focus the revision primarily on addressing the substantive and detailed comments from the other two reviewers, while politely explaining in the response letter that the third reviewer’s feedback was too general to provide a basis for specific textual changes.

    I’m leaning toward the second option. The first approach feels overly speculative, and I’m also worried about its potential risks: it might require revising sections that the other two reviewers specifically approved of, and it could also detract from the paper’s main thesis.

    I’d be really grateful for any insights or advice from others who have navigated a similar situation.

    I had a paper like this a while back and more or less pursued OP’s second option. The paper was accepted after the R&R, and it seems like the editors more or less ignored the vague negative report, which I appreciated.

    Do other readers have any helpful tips/experiences to share?

    4

  • How to list reviewing on a CV?

    In our new “how can we help you?” thread, a reader asks,

    When people referee one manuscript twice–first time as in its original version, and second time in its revised & resubmitted version–how many referring services do they count as having done in terms of their CVs? Can they put [Journal name] (X2) or should they put [Journal name] (X1)?

    I don’t list the number of times I’ve reviewed for a given journal on a CV, but if I did I wouldn’t count reviewing R&Rs toward the number.

    What do readers think/do?

    16

  • The mechanics of going from a well-formed idea to a published book?

    In our new “how can we help you?” thread, a reader asks,

    What are the mechanics of going from well-formed idea to printed book?

    More details: this is a few years off for me, but let’s suppose I’m a relatively established early career researcher. I might be in the 2nd or 3rd year of a 4 year postdoc, or just entering my first permanent position off the back of a postdoc. I’ve got several good papers out on a My Special Niche, and My Special Niche is significant enough that I want to write a monograph, partly based on the work of these papers (and partly with new material). I have a good enough plan to write a 1000 word (or 2000 word, or whatever) overview of the proposed book.

    As ever, the philosophy is the easy bit.

    Who do I email first? The publisher? Do I need funding for the project? Do I just start writing in May and hope that I’m mostly done when term starts again? For emails to publishers or funding bodies, what state would the book/idea need to be in (rough abstract, long abstract, first chapter, half manuscript, full manuscript?).

    Good questions. I actually don’t quite remember the mechanics very well that led to my first book. I think I might have had a couple chapters drafted up, and then sent proposals to a bunch of publishers. Alas, my memory is pretty hazy. One definitely doesn’t need funding to write a book, though I imagine that would be nice–but alas, I also don’t know much about approaching funding bodies.

    What I do think the OP should be aware of, if they are not already, is that (1) publishers can have pretty strict limits on how much previously published material they are willing to have a book based upon (I believe my first publisher said that no more than 10% could be based on previously published work), and (2) most publishers have book proposal forms on their websites that authors are supposed to fill out when pitching a book which typically require much more than a 1,000 word abstract or overview of the book. In my experience, among other things, these forms pretty standardly require a detailed chapter by chapter plan, with abstracts outlining the expected contents of each chapter. Different publishers also typically have instructions about who to contact for proposal submissions. Sometimes there can be different editors in a given area, and one has to approach the editor(s) whose interests seem closest to the book–which can require a bit research.

    Anyway, writing a book is exciting and I wish the OP the best of luck! Do any readers have any helpful tips or experiences to share?

    9

  • Teaching advice for people with autism?

    In our new “how can we help you?” thread, a reader asks,

    Does anyone have teaching advice for autistic people?

    I am autistic (and trans) and just finished my master’s degree. I just taught my first philosophy course and was extremely overwhelmed by having a room full of people (20-25) look at me, by the lights being too bright, by not knowing how the students perceive me, what they expect of me, etc. I am rather bad at reading the room, at noticing what other people think, etc. and all this put me into a state of dissociating but still functioning during the course, and a mild shutdown afterwards.

    Beyond changing the lighting, having stimming tools ready, making a break in the middle, and breaking up the class into smaller discussion groups, does anyone have advice for handling the difficulties of teaching as an autistic person?

    I have found general advice for autistic people in the profession on this blog, but no teaching advice.

    Do any readers have any helpful tips to share?

    4