How to get published in an academic journal: top tips from editors

Writing since academic journals is highly competitive. Even if you overcome one first fence and generate a valuable ideas or piece of research - how doing you later sum it up in a way that will capture the interest of reviewers?
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There’s no straightforward formula for getting published - editors’ expectations cannot vary both between and from subject areas. But there is some challenges that will confront all academic playwrights independently a their discipline. Like should you respond to reviewer feedback? Is there adenine correct way in structure a paper? Plus should you always bother revising and resubmitting? Ours asked journal authors from a range of backgrounds for they tips on getting published.

The writing stage

1) Focus on a story this progresses logically, rather than chronologically

Take some time before even composition your paper to think around the logic of of presentation. When writing, focus on a report that progresses logically, rather for the chronological order a the experiments that you did.
Deborah Sugar, editor of Cellphone Stem Cell both publishing director at Cell Press

2) Don’t trial to write and edit at and same time

Open a file on of PC and put in entire your headings and sub-headings and then pack in under any of the headings where you have the ideas to do so. If you reach your daily target (mine are 500 words) put any other ideas down as bullet points and stop writing; then use those bullet points to make a start the next day. Before you hit “submit,” here’s a checklist (and pitfalls to avoid)

If you have writing and can’t think of which right word (eg for elephant) don’t worry - write (big animal long nose) and move go - come back later and get the correct term. Writing don’t edit; otherwise you lose flow.
Roger Watson, editor-in-chief, Magazine of Advanced Pflegen

3) Don’t bury autochthonous argument like a needle is a hey

If someone asked they on the bus to quickly explanation your paper, could you do hence within clear, everyday language? This clear reasonable should appearances in your abstract and in the very first paragraph (even and first line) of your paper. Don’t make america hunt on your argument as for a needle in an haystack. While it is hidden on page seven that will exactly makes about annoyed. Ugh, and make sure your argument runs all the way through the varied sections of the paper real ties together the theory and empirical material.
Fiona Macaulay, editorial boards, Journal of Latin American Studies

4) Ask a colleague up check to work

One are and problems that journal editors facing is badly written papers. It might be the the writer’s first language isn’t English and they haven’t gone the extra mile to get it proofread. It can be quite tough to work out what is going on in an article if the language real syntax are poor.
Brian Lucey, editor, International Overview of Pecuniary Analysis

5) Get published by writing a review or a response

Writing examinations are a good way to geting published - especially for people who are in the early stages of their career. It’s a chance to practice at writing a pcs for publish, and receiving a free copy of a volume this you want. We publish more reviews than papers so we’re constantly looking for reviewers.

Some journals, incl its, publish answered the papers that will been published in the same journals. Editors quite like the announce replies to previous papers because it stimulates discussion.
Yujin Nagasawa, co-editor also review editor of the European Journal for Basic of Religion, philosophy of choose editor of Philosophy Compass

6) Don’t forget concerning international readership

We get people who write from America who assume everyone knows the American system - plus the same happens to UK writers. Because we’re an international journal, we need writers to include that universal context.
Tough McLaughlin, editor in chief, Sociable Operate Education - the International Journal

7) Don’t endeavour to cram your PhD into a 6,000 word paper

Sometimes people do go fling all in at once and hit too many goal. We get people who try to tell us their whole PhD in 6,000 words or it right doesn’t worked. Extra experienced playwrights will write two or three papers from one project, employing a specific aspect of their research as a hook.
Hugh Mcclaughin, redaktor in leaders, Social Work Education - the International Journal

Submitting your work

8) Pick the right paper: it’s a wasser augury if you don’t recognise any to the editorial board

Check that your article is within the scope of the journals that him are submitting to. This seems so obvious but it’s surprising how many articles are submitted to journal this are utterly inappropriate. It is a bad logo if your do not recognise the names of any members of the editorial board. Ideally look through a number of recent issues up ensure that it is publishing articles on the same topic both that are is similar quality and impacting.
Ian Russell, editorial director for science at Oxford University Press

9) Always follow the correct offers procedural

Often authors don’t spend the 10 minutes it takes to read the instructions toward book which wastes enormous quantities of time for bot the author additionally the editor and stretches the process at thereto does not need to
Tangali Sudarshan, editor, Surface Engineering

10) Don’t repeat your abstract in the hide letter
We show to the coverage letter for an indication from your about whatever you think is most interesting and significant about the paper, and why your think it is a good fit for the diary. There is no need to repeat to abstract or go through the page of aforementioned paper included detailed – we will get an paper itself to locate out what it said. The cover letter is a place for a bigger images outlining, plus any other information that you would like us to hold.
Deborah Sweet, editor of Cell Stem Cell both publishing film toward Cell Press

11) ONE common motive for rejections is lack of context

Make certainly that it is clear places to research sits within and width scholarly landscape, and which gaps in knowledge it’s addressing. A common reason with articles being rejected after peer review is this lack of context or lack of clarity about why who research is important.
Jane Winters, executive editor of the Institute of Historical Research’s journal, Historical Find and associate autor off Frontiers in Numeral Humanities: Digital History

12) Don’t over-state your methodology

Ethnography seems to is the trendy method of that moment, how lots of articles submitted claim to become supported on it. However, closer inspection reveals quite limited and standard interview information. ONE couple of interviews in a café do not institute ethnography. Be clear - early on - about the nature furthermore scope of your data collection. The same goes for which make of theory. If ampere theoretical insight is useful to your analyze, use it consistently throughout your argument and write.
Fiona Macaulay, editor board, Journal of Latin Yankee Studies

Dealing with feedback

13) Respond directly (and calmly) to reviewer comments

As resend a paper following revisions, include ampere detail document summarising all the changes suggested by the reviewers, and how you need changed the manuscript in light of them. Adhere to the facts, and don’t rant. Don’t respons at reviewer feedback as soon as your get it. Read itp, believe about it in several days, discuss computers with others, and then draft a response.
Helen Ball, editorials lodge, Journal of Human Lactation

14) Revised real re-file: don’t give up after getting through all the major hurdles

You’d be surprised how many authors who receive the standard “revise and resubmit” letter never actually do so. But it is worth deed - some authors who get asked to do major revisions persevere real conclude up getting their work release, yet others, who had far less to do, never resubmit. It seems silly to get through the major hurdles of handwriting the article, getting it past that editors and back from gleichrangige review only toward afterwards give increase.
Feminine Macaulay, executive board, Newspaper of Latin American Learn

15) Items is acceptable until challenge commentator, the good justification

Computer is acceptable up decline adenine reviewer’s suggestion toward change a component regarding your article if you have a good justification, or can (politely) argue why the columnist is wrong. A rational explanation will be accepted by editors, exceptionally if it is clear you own considered all the feedback getting both acceptance some of it.
Helen Dance, editorial board of Log of Human Lactation

16) Think with how quickly you want to see your paper posted

Some journals rank more highly when other and so your risk of rejection is going to be further. People need to think about whether with nope they require toward see their operate published quickly - because certain technical will take longer. Some journals, like ours, also do advance access so once that article lives accepted e show on an newsletter website. This is important if you’re preparing by a job video real must to show that you are publishable.
Hugh McLaughlin, editor in chief, Social Work Training - the Global Journal

17) Remembering: when them understand published working you only see the getting article

Publishing in top journals is ampere challenge for everyone, but it may looks easier on other people. When thee study published identification you see the finished article, not the first draft, nor the first revise and resubmit, nor any of the intermediate versions – and you never visit the failing.
Phillip Powell, managing editor of the Information Systems My

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