MOLECULES

Because I submitted to a journal specializing in phycology, the paper was submitted on January 28, 2022. On February 5, 2022, the editorial team assigned three experts for peer review, resulting in two minor revisions and one major revision. After the final major revision, it took 10 working days for MDPI to proofread and make internal edits. However, the academic editor rejected the paper, claiming that it did not fit the theme. Later, I sent an argue letter and recontacted the editorial team. After further modifications and improvements, I resubmitted the paper. The academic editor still insisted on not accepting it and angrily requested the opinions of some guest editors. Eventually, there was a change in editor, and the editor-in-chief considered the article reasonable and acceptable. It was accepted on March 5 and published on March 7. The publication fee was 2300 CHF, and the proofreading fee was 230 CHF, which is a bit expensive. However, the impact factor is also 4.411, although it is in the third quartile of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it is still quite good. Currently, they usually respond within a month regarding acceptance. The editorial team's review speed and final proofreading speed are fast. I recommend trying this journal if you are in a hurry.

First submission to SCI, wrote it very seriously, with beautiful data and graphics. The paper was revised under the guidance of a postdoctoral fellow in a 985 research group. Because I urgently needed a paper, I randomly chose a journal with high publication volume and fast review speed to submit to. My supervisor gave me freedom to choose, so I selected "Molecules". The review process only took a few days, and the reviewers all suggested direct acceptance. I think I wrote it well, and it might be because my boss is the corresponding author (well-known in the industry). However, my supervisor was not satisfied and said that the journal is low-quality. He said I should have submitted to a top-tier journal in the first or second zone of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He advised against submitting to "Shenbo" (a local journal), and even though it has been promoted to a higher zone this year, my doctoral supervisor said it is still low-quality and publishing in such a journal does not count for graduation. The only advantage is that it is an open access journal, which can increase citation rates. After two months of publication, the paper has already received 5 citations.