Journal title
Dur. 1st rev. rnd
Tot. handling time
Imm. rejection time
Num. rev. reports
Report quality
Overall rating
Outcome
n/a
n/a
30 days
n/a
n/a
n/a
Rejected (im.)
13.0 weeks
13.0 weeks
n/a
2 reports
4
4
Accepted
26.3 weeks
28.6 weeks
n/a
1 reports
4
4
Accepted
Motivation: kind review with helpful comments
11.7 weeks
37.3 weeks
n/a
4 reports
4
5
Accepted
Motivation: This journal has very high (and meticulous) standards for publication. I hope other journals follow suit.
22.6 weeks
31.9 weeks
n/a
2 reports
3
2
Accepted
Motivation: It took more than a month for an editor to be assigned to the manuscript and 35 days for the decision to send to review. First round of review wasn't fast (~4.5 months). Second round took a lot longer than it should have, with acceptance coming more than two months after re-submission but no feedback, changes, or indication that reviewers were re-engaged at all. However, they were very quick in demanding payment of publishing fees and reminding us that payment hadn't been made (the reminder came after less than one business day! Accepted on a Friday, reminder to pay came the following Sunday)
8.3 weeks
28.0 weeks
n/a
2 reports
4
4
Accepted
Motivation: The quality of the first reviews was very good. However, maybe too many rounds of reviews were required
12.1 weeks
12.1 weeks
n/a
3 reports
2
3
Rejected
Motivation:
We fruitlessly waited about 4 weeks between time referees concluded their reports and the editor Final decision. However, the Editor simply reported reviewers' reports without any personal evaluation of the paper. Reviewers' reports were quite short (one made by few lines)
15.6 weeks
16.7 weeks
n/a
3 reports
2
5
Accepted
Motivation: The editor was excellent in advising the best format for the article.
n/a
n/a
2 days
n/a
n/a
n/a
Rejected (im.)
6.4 weeks
6.4 weeks
n/a
2 reports
5
5
Accepted
10.1 weeks
12.6 weeks
n/a
2 reports
3
3
Accepted
10.1 weeks
10.1 weeks
n/a
3 reports
3
3
Rejected
8.9 weeks
8.9 weeks
n/a
2 reports
5
5
Rejected
Motivation: Despite a rejection decision, the useful reviewer comments helped the paper get published elsewhere.
n/a
n/a
10 days
n/a
n/a
n/a
Rejected (im.)
5.3 weeks
5.3 weeks
n/a
3 reports
4
4
Rejected
5.6 weeks
9.0 weeks
n/a
2 reports
3
4
Accepted
Motivation: The reviewers took their time, but the constructive and critical reviews were a big contribution to improve the manuscript. The entire review and publication process was without problems.
9.9 weeks
12.0 weeks
n/a
1 reports
4
5
Accepted
6.3 weeks
17.4 weeks
n/a
3 reports
5
4
Accepted
6.3 weeks
12.4 weeks
n/a
2 reports
5
2
Accepted
Motivation: The review process was slow, but ultimately we got two good reviews that very much improved the final paper. Unfortunately the total length of handling time makes Nature Communications difficult to recommend, in addition the publication fee is astronomical.
Immediately accepted after 1.4 weeks
Accepted (im.)
Motivation: Complete publication procedure was very fast and review comments of the editorial board were of high quality. Mrs. Franzen-Reuter is doing a great job in regard of quality and review procedure.
n/a
n/a
6 days
n/a
n/a
n/a
Rejected (im.)
4.7 weeks
14.4 weeks
n/a
3 reports
2
2
Rejected
10.3 weeks
15.4 weeks
n/a
2 reports
3
3
Accepted
n/a
n/a
8 days
n/a
n/a
n/a
Rejected (im.)
n/a
n/a
14 days
n/a
n/a
n/a
Rejected (im.)
Motivation: It was rather straightforward.
26.0 weeks
26.0 weeks
n/a
0 reports
n/a
1
Rejected
13.0 weeks
21.7 weeks
n/a
2 reports
3
4
Accepted
13.3 weeks
13.3 weeks
n/a
2 reports
3
4
Rejected
Motivation: Two reviewers. One pointed out the problems regarding the rationale of the research question, and the comment definitely helped us improve the manuscript before submitting to another journal (accepted after minor revision). However, the other referee quibbled about well-established experimental procedure, which is used by thousands of researchers, without giving any reason. In the decision letter, the editor did not refer to the second reviewer, which I believe is fairly reasonable; but it seemed that SBB does not advance the manuscript unless both reviewers are unequivocally supportive, and therefore the editor did not ask for additional review.
13.0 weeks
15.0 weeks
n/a
2 reports
4
4
Accepted
Motivation: Initially it took some time to find reviewers, as the paper was not sent for review for longer than a month. However, communication with the editor during this time was excellent and they were receptive to new reviewer suggestions and generally kept us updated.

The reviews, when they eventually came in, were of high quality, and helped improve the paper. I liked the interactive forum too, I'd like for more publishers to consider this model.

Overall a good experience.

14.5 weeks
14.5 weeks
n/a
2 reports
5
5
Accepted
Motivation: It's a journal that offered reviews in a timely manner. If only they all did.
15.0 weeks
19.0 weeks
n/a
2 reports
3
0
Accepted
Motivation: Our manuscript was handled terribly by this journal. First our initial submission was returned to us for not including a supplement with full size blots, which is specifically stated in their guidelines to only be required after the paper is accepted. Next it took ~7 weeks for the journal to assign an associate editor despite us including 3 editor suggestions in the cover letter. Multiple emails later, we provided the journal with a list of~15 associate editors with the necessary expertise to handle our manuscript. After finally being assigned an editor, it took ~6 more weeks to find reviewers. The paper was submitted in early January. By the time the reviews cam back it was mid-April. Addressing the reviewers concerns was relatively simple and the paper was returned to the journal in a few weeks. The paper was accepted for publication in late June. It is July 17 as I write this and we still have no indication as to when the paper will actually be published. In the words of my PI, "I've published over 200 papers and this is by far the worst journal I have ever dealt with."
Drawn back before first editorial decision after 91.2 days
Drawn back
Motivation: Worst experience for this journal. The status of my manuscript remain manuscript submitted since three months. I got a mail that they have mailed 20 editors for handling my manuscript and nobody is accepting ant request and please withdraw your paper. How is dat possible even in a repute journal like this. Utter time wastage..... Disheartened
1.7 weeks
1.9 weeks
n/a
2 reports
5
5
Accepted
Motivation: Very quick editorial decision. The reviewe were also quick and insightful.
7.7 weeks
7.7 weeks
n/a
3 reports
2
1
Rejected
Motivation: All three referees agreed that the manuscript was not interesting enough for their field...which is totally correct as the manuscript was written for a different field. We have no idea why an editor would send the manuscript to 3 referees from his own field instead of using referees from the target audience and the field we work in. However, our experience matches the experience from other research groups which submitted manuscripts to Nat. Comm. that were handled by the same editor and ended up with very bizarre peer review experiences. Accordingly, the submission experience with Nat. Comm. may be great for other groups ending up with different editors, but in our case, the experience was definitely subpar.
n/a
n/a
14 days
n/a
n/a
n/a
Rejected (im.)
Motivation: The paper was desk rejected as the editor deemed it not a good fit for the journal. No explanation was given as to why this were the case. The paper was obviously fully within the scope of the journal, so I assume the editor didn't like it but couldn't be bothered to give some feedback as to what the problems were. At least they didn't hang on it for too long.
56.7 weeks
73.1 weeks
n/a
1 reports
5
3
Accepted
Motivation: High quality but very long process.
6.3 weeks
6.3 weeks
n/a
2 reports
3
3
Rejected
19.7 weeks
19.7 weeks
n/a
1 reports
2
1
Rejected
Motivation: After 4,5 months of reviewing, only one reviewer review the manuscript. Then, the Editor rejected the manuscript although this reviewer advised major revision
56.4 weeks
69.3 weeks
n/a
2 reports
5
2
Accepted
Motivation: While the reports were high quality and helpful to improve the manuscript, the pace of review was painfully slow. The EIC would not repond to queries and we had written that we were considering to withdraw the manuscript due to excessively long time. Then, within a day or so, I obtained the first round of reviews that asked for a major R&R.
7.6 weeks
8.7 weeks
n/a
3 reports
4
4
Accepted