Reject Early, Advance Faster: The Case for Timely Editorial Triage in Scholarly Publishing

Key Points Delayed desk rejection creates avoidable costs for authors and slows the dissemination of scholarly knowledge. Editorial Opportunity Cost (EOC) explains the academic, professional and systemic consequences of delayed editorial triage. The Timely Editorial Triage (TET) Framework proposes three principles: Triage Early, Evaluate Proportionately and Tell Authors Promptly. Timely editorial triage should be recognised as a component of responsible scholarly publishing, not merely an operational metric.