SciWo says that she's reviewed about nine papers this year but in that same time she has only submitted one manuscript. "I know that reviews are a vital part of professional service, but I also know that I need to get another paper out this fall to keep me on pace for tenure. If reviews keep coming in at the same pace as they have this spring and fall, I know I won't get that paper finished up," she says.
She says there are three philosophies covering the number of reviews people accept: "more is better," "parity," and "bad compromise." "More is better" is unrealistic, she says, since her time is limited and "bad compromise," in which all reviews are accepted but only allotted a certain number of hours to be complete, is, well, bad. Instead, she wants to move toward "parity" in which she takes on about as many reviews as she has generated, but wonders if not accepting all reviews she's offered will backfire.