第一次投稿经历，与园友共享

我属于半路出家的那一族，还没发表过中文论文，就赶上了要求英文SCI了。前段时间试了一把，其中甘苦，过后方知，写出来与与园友共享。
一年以前，老板到国外作访问学者，带回来一些质粒和菌株，我从中挑了些自己觉得比较有意思的试验材料，开始了自己的SCI征途。首先花了6、7个月的时间建立了一个从细菌基因组中直接钓取突变的方法，准备稿件时发现有点大事不妙，系统查阅文献表明，2000年就有日本人在BBRC上发过一篇类似但更为繁复的方法。这实在是做方法者的大忌，但势成骑虎，不甘心完全放弃，把那篇文献仔细阅读，从方法的完整性和结果的可信性方面狠加批驳，以表明我们的改进尚有发表价值。（贬损他人以抬高自己本来有违做人之道，但想着是针对日本人也就用不着客气了。）
先投了NAR，两周后编辑来信，将稿件毫不客气地给枪毙了。退稿信如下
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to consider your manuscript for publication in Nucleic Acids Research.
Your paper was sent to two referee for comment and their reviews are inlcuded below. I am sorry to tell you that they recommend that this work is not sufficient to warrant publication in Nucleic Acids Research. In other comments they suggested that the work may become appropriate for a more specialist publication.
评审更是对稿件的创新性和语言批得一无是处，有点受打击，但还能接受，因为对BBRC上方法的改进，怎么可能发NAR！俗话说，多大的锅烙多大的饼嘛。当时投也主要是为了熟悉投稿过程，测试杂志反应时间，当然还加上一点买**似的赌徒心理作怪。
收回稿件后，找原来教写作的外国人改了改语法错误，再找了一个专业杂志, “Mutation Research”　投了出去。之后第5周开始到第7周，我发了两封Email和一份传真去问进展，直到收到如下回复。
I just received your Fax. I have been out of the country for 3 weeks. Your manuscript was accepted for publication but requires minor revision. This information should have been sent to Dr. Liu, the corresponding author, by my secretary. I will ask her to scan the reviewrs comments and send them to you as well.
然后，顺着评审的意思改了改，回答一些他们关心的问题，再发给编辑，一周后收到如下。
回复。
I am pleased to inform you that your revised manuscript entitled "Directly Fishing Out Subtle Mutations in Genomic DNA With Histidine-Tagged Thermus Thermophilus MutS" has been accepted for publication in Mutation Research. Your manuscript has been forwarded to the publisher.

Thank you for selecting Mutation Research for publication of your work.
差不多搞定了，劫后余生啊。庆幸！

antiSARS