12 months and three substantial revisions later, the paper has been accepted and is easily the best paper I’ve ever written because of the way the “sponsor” critiques the paper based on their interest in the material and familiarity with the journal. There was also a blind reviewer…

Imagine if that senior academic got credit for this work? It’s almost like being a co-author but not really. They would get to use their clout to help works they support get published, without taking direct credit. They get to critique it more objectively because their name’s not on it…