Publishing tips
Here are some tips from Academics and Researchers who have published papers.
- Most instructions to authors should give an indication of the time required for your paper to be reviewed. If this is not the case consult the editor
- If someone has a paper that is ‘out of the box’ for a particular journal, the author can run the abstract by the editor to see if it is worth submitting
- Looking at well known scholars’ websites in the field can give an idea of where they have been publishing lately
- Look down your reference list. Which journals exist there or appear to feature most strongly? This may be where a paper should be published if it is in the same or similar area and journal editors like to see their own journals cited on a submission
- Use informal networks at conferences to make contact with editors
- Co-author your paper with recognised researchers in the field.
- Talk with published authors, and check to see if there are resources/information provided within your Division, eg Professional Development for researchers
Tips from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
- Listen to the podcast from the Emerald Insider's guide to getting published seminar, presented by Professor David Lamond, Editor in Chief of the Journal of Management History. Then hear from Mary O'Connor, Academic Librarian, on how the Library can help you find the right journal.
Useful readings
Some journals publish useful tips to help prospective authors. These include:
Business
- Colquitt, JA & Ireland, RD 2009, 'From the editors: taking the mystery out of AMJ's reviewer evaluation form', Academy of Management Journal, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 224-228
- Writing for Emerald: the complete guide for authors, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, viewed 4 May 2011, <http://www.emeraldinsight.com/authors/writing/index.htm>
Education, Arts and Social Sciences
- Bowen, GA 2010, 'From qualitative dissertation to quality articles: seven lessons learned', Qualitative Report, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 864-879
- Nihalani, PK & Mayrath, MC 2008, 'Publishing in educational psychology journals: comments from editors', Educational Psychology Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 29-39
Health
- Golub, RM 2008, 'Correspondence course: tips for getting a letter published in JAMA', JAMA, vol. 300, no. 1, pp. 98-99
- Johnson, C & Green, B 2009, 'Submitting manuscripts to biomedical journals: common errors and helpful solutions,' Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 1-12
- Refer to Appendix A for some useful hints and an example of a presubmission checklist
- Refer to Appendix A for some useful hints and an example of a presubmission checklist
- Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publications 2010, viewed 1 November 2010, <http://www.icmje.org/urm_main.html>
- Journals that have requested inclusion on the list of publications that follow the ICMJE's Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, 2010 viewed 1 Novermber 2010, <http://www.icmje.org/journals.html>
Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment
- Valenti, MC 2011, 'How to get published: an inside view of the IEEE peer-review process' Lane Dept. of CSEE graduate seminar, West Virginia University, Apr. 11, 2011, viewed 23 May 2010, <http://www.csee.wvu.edu/~mvalenti/documents/HowToPublish2011.pdf>
Tips from the Nature Publishing Group (NPG)
At a recent seminar, one of the editors from the Nature Publishing Group provided the following tips - although in some cases they relate directly to their own publications, the information will generally be applicable to most journals.
Nature publishes ~ 7% of all submissions and their rejection rate is 95%. This is one example of rejection rates, the percentage varies according to the individual journal.
Nature only wants the best of the best.
Their tips include:
- Papers must be clearly written
- Avoid jargon and babbling
- The first paragraph of a Letter should be no higher than the level of an introductory undergraduate class
- Bulk of the paper at the level of a first-year graduate course in the field
- Content should cover why the topic is interesting, what big problems are there in the field, what has the author done, how does the work advance us towards a solution of one of the big problems? These are useful hints to keep in mind.
Regarding the section on scope of the journal:
- Every issue contains a broad range of subject areas/disciplines
- Papers are read by scientists outside the field of the author (and also by lay-people)
- No field is excluded
- The journal is independent of scientific societies
- Publishing in Nature gives wide publicity to the author’s work – especially as they have a network of journalists they deal with
- All papers should report a fundamental new physical insight or announce a startling, unexpected or difficult to understand discovery
For more information consult their Authors & referees at NPG (opens in a new window)