Normally, this journal is very slow, it takes 3-5 weeks from receiving all the review comments to the editor making a decision.

(0) 讚！ | ifqw

What's going on with this journal? It has been 6 months of external review, and I have already received 3 sets of revisions for 2 weeks, but they still haven't sent me the comments. Why...

(0) 讚！ | 好运加持

The sub-journals of the N series are relatively slow, such as the Sun Journal.

(0) 讚！ | 树树树

The efficiency of this journal is really low, it took 21 days to assign an editor, while high-efficiency journals can decide whether to send for review within a week.

(0) 讚！ | wqxiong

I also wrote a paper on machine learning potential energy functions and submitted it to NPJ Computational Materials, with experimental validation included. However, it was also rejected from the special issue on machine learning potential energy functions. It seems that the requirements are quite high, as a thorough analysis of the mechanism is needed and the workload is substantial.

(0) 讚！ | 树树树

Originally thought the phenomenon was very new and could try submitting to Nature Communications, but was rejected by the editor and recommended to switch to NPJ Computational Materials. Thinking that what I was doing was machine learning potential energy, it should be more suitable for NPJ CM. Then submitted to the special issue on machine learning potential energy, but was rejected by the guest editor, who said the method was not innovative. But the theme of my article is to discover new phenomena. It may be a problem with the writing style of the article. It may also be that editors in niche areas don't care. Let's continue to switch journals.

(0) 讚！ | 大懒猫

In May, I submitted another article, but it was rejected by the same editor, so it's not about submitting articles through personal connections. It should be that the quality of the work itself is relatively high, and the editor and reviewers recognize it.

(1) 讚！ | 树树树

No, this is my first time submitting to npj with my boss. Maybe we were lucky and didn't encounter any troublesome reviewers~

(0) 讚！ | 树树树

You are definitely a familiar person submitting a contribution.

(0) 讚！ | 水水哥

A very smooth submission process, with both reviewers providing minor revisions and high praise of "well written." Each reviewer provided three minor suggestions, which were addressed within five days and resubmitted. The paper was accepted without further review by the editor. Please see the timeline in the image. Best wishes for the continued success of NPJ Computational Materials.

(0) 讚！ | 树树树

May I ask if there are any results on your article now? The article I submitted has been in the status of being assigned to an editor for two weeks after technical review, but there have been no updates.

(0) 讚！ | 白杨战风沙

The second reviewer has had the manuscript for 3 months and has not provided any feedback yet. The editor has also not reached out to find a new reviewer. What is going on?

(0) 讚！ | 好运加持

Two external reviewers have received the manuscript for review. One returned feedback in 10 days, while the other has been taking 40 days. How do editors typically handle this situation? Also, how long does it usually take for reviewers to complete their reviews? Isn't it usually within a month? How long does the review process take for NPJ journals? Does anyone know?

(0) 讚！ | 好运加持

This journal is very likely to become a garbage journal in the future. There are several main reasons for this:

1. The processing speed is extremely slow and very biased. Big shots can get their papers done in 1-2 months, while regular people may have to wait up to a year just to get rejected.
2. Some editors prefer to have their friends review papers, leading to malicious rejections. Since it is a small-field journal, editors may have conflicts of interest, resulting in unethical practices such as dragging out the review process for months before ultimately rejecting the paper.
3. For some garbage articles submitted by big shots, such as machine learning with only 10 data points, all reviewers may recommend rejection. However, certain editors may still insist on revisions.
4. Despite the slow processing speed and inconsistent article quality, the publication fee is unreasonably high. Any domestic journal could easily outperform this one.
5. If the team does not make necessary changes to eliminate some editors who are unprofessional and biased, the journal may end up like Nano Letters. Nano Letters used to be one of the flagship journals in the field of chemistry and materials, with many big names contributing. However, due to biased editing practices and favoritism within the community, it has now fallen to a second-rate journal.

(3) 讚！ | jefu

What should I do if I accidentally agree to preprint submission? Can it be revoked?

(0) 讚！ | wang727

It seems like your timeline feels like something big is not right, and now I am:
Jan 25th 24, Manuscript Received
Jan 25th 24, Editor Assigned
Jan 28th 24, Manuscript Under Consideration
Received an email a few days later notifying that it was sent for external review, and "zip of files for reviewer" appeared in the manuscript items column, then:
Mar 6th 24, space
Mar 6th 24, Manuscript Under Consideration
Mar 8th 24, Waiting to Send Decision to Author
The "zip of files for reviewer" disappeared from the manuscript items column
Oh no! Please don't reject it, after waiting for a month and a half, please give me a chance to make revisions

(1) 讚！ | Asherly_Z

12.22 manuscript received/editor assigned
12.26 manuscript under consideration
2.5 Blank
2.22 manuscript under consideration
2.24 waiting to send decision to author
2.28 reject
Notification of rejection received after more than two months, overall slow with emails sent for review around mid-January

(1) 讚！ | Johnny_zxy

I also submitted it that way, assuming the first author for correspondence, but I don't think it's a problem. The author order is indicated in the Manuscript file, and if it is accepted, the proofreading process will also provide final confirmation

(0) 讚！ | Asherly_Z

This can be considered as a top journal in computational materials science, but compared to Nature Communications, it is definitely a notch higher

(0) 讚！ | NuMat

I would like to ask, if this journal accepts it, is it likely that the professor will be willing to pay the handling fee? Also, how reputable is this journal compared to Nature Communications? Which one would be better to submit to in the field of computational materials science? Thank you

(6) 讚！ | Carl_Ica

After waiting for two months, I received an email notification that the manuscript was being sent for review. However, the status remained unchanged after the review, still stating "manuscript under consideration." It seems that there are possibly too many submissions for this magazine, resulting in a particularly slow processing of manuscripts.

(0) 讚！ | raolixiang

May I ask if "under consideration" means it has been submitted for review or not yet? What does the status display after it has been submitted for review?

(0) 讚！ | Exciter

The submission has been 56 days already, and the current status is still "Manuscript Under Consideration". I am anxiously waiting.

(1) 讚！ | raolixiang

Disgusting rejection, I really can't believe it, garbage.

(0) 讚！ | Mrwenwen

May I ask if this journal requires a page charge?

(0) 讚！ | superman123