Try to Be Objective

You and your co-authors should carefully, but objectively, read the editors’ and reviewers’ comments.

Keep in mind that reviewers are not the enemy and their criticisms are not a personal affront!  Rather, reviewers are allies whose objective is to help you improve your manuscript.

It isn’t easy to receive criticism of your work no matter how constructive it may be. You may sometimes receive reviews that seem frustrating, but it is important not to take any criticism personally. Reviewers are representative of the journal’s audience and as such their feedback can help you to more clearly communicate your findings to the journal’s readership. It is always a good idea to assume that reviewers have the best of intentions when reviewing manuscripts.

Remember, it is a reviewer’s job to outline what points need to be addressed in a revised manuscript.  This generally means that they will mostly be pointing out the manuscript’s limitations and not its strengths.

It is often a good idea to let some time pass between reading the comments and beginning to revise your work for resubmission.