It sometimes takes longer than three months for us to decide. In such cases, the extra time usually is due to delays in receiving reports from external reviewers or the fact that the manuscript is one of many strong contenders for publication. No, we have no objections to simultaneous submissions, provided that we are informed. Because we accept only a small proportion of submitted manuscripts and sometimes take several months to decide, we think it is only fair to allow authors the option to submit their work elsewhere. The lag time between acceptance and publication varies, but it is rarely less than four months.
Articles usually appear about six months after they have been submitted.
From time to time, IS does publish articles that will also appear in books or in different form in another publication. All other things being equal, simultaneous or future publication elsewhere will hurt a manu- script's chances of being accepted at IS . Publication in IS usually becomes more likely if the manuscript is on an extremely important topic, is of exceptional quality, will not appear elsewhere until long after it has been published in IS , will be published in an obscure or inaccessible book or periodical, or will appear elsewhere in a significantly different form. The MIT Press is the journal's publisher. MIT Press handles typesetting, printing, and mailing the journal, as well as advertising, subscription inquiries, and copyright permission.