Submission Turnaround

The CFR is not obsessed with keeping turn-around time. Instead, the goal is to get a good informed opinion on a paper. If this takes an extra 4 weeks (because the best referee is busy or because extra steps have to be taken to handle a critique), so be it. The typical first submission of a non-critique paper will take about 3-5 months, of a critique paper about 5-9 months.

Thus, our average turn-around time is about 50% higher than that of the top journals. There are multiple good reasons for this: First, when told by referees whether they can get an extension, I often grant it. I care more about asking the right referees (and to think about a paper) than to get the wrong referees (and get a quick half-thought knee-jerk rejection). Second, as editor, I often ask the referees more questions, especially when their perspective is more negative than my own. (I have also sometimes consulted a second referee and once even a third referee, especially when the original referee views my editorial perspective as different but viable, too.)

I believe this higher turn-around time to be in the interest of submitting authors. However, if you face a strong time-related deadline (e.g., you are up for tenure), the CFR may not be the right journal for you.