How to write a reply to reviewers for the first time?
Dear Marcelo,
Oh my, oh my! First off, congrats for finally getting that ‘final_manuscript_v10.doxc’ out of your computer and into the submission portal. And congrats for not being desk rejected. You have already made it where many others have failed.
The first reply to reviewers can be daunting and overwhelming. You are supposed to address every little comment, but what do you do when the reviewer is rude or does not comprehend the basic science? How do you deal with their wishes to cite redundant papers (that probably they have published)? How do you deal with mean comments? It all can be very hard, but let me give you a guidebook to passive-aggressive phrases for your reply to reviewers:
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- The reviewer seems to have misinterpreted published literature …
- We strongly disagree with the statement …
- The reviewer claims that our observations have been previously reported, but…
- As per our previous comment reply …
- We are happy to include this reference, albeit we do not find it necessary to support our …
- We are concerned that the reviewer has misinterpreted …
- It is obvious to us that this reviewer displays a bias towards …
- The reviewer claims that our results are faulty, but…
- We note that the reviewer does not cite any literature to support their claim that …
- Well, actually…
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Do not forget: you are right! Now get yourself some chamomile tea, and dig into your resources for ‘internet anonymous comment section‘ and you are good to write your first reply to reviewers.
Yours truly,
The Sassy Scientist
PS: This has been written under a highly-caffeinated state …
