5 Tips When Submitting Your Research Journal for Publication
That research project you've been slaving away over for months is done, complete, written up and now you want to submit the fruits of your labor to the appropriate professional journals for publication. But where to begin?
It's actually not a difficult process; in fact, it can be quite easy if the following five steps are followed:
1. Know-and follow- the submission guidelines of the journal! Most journals have submission guidelines in their hard copies and on their websites. Journals are very specific in their requirements and won't give your paper a second glance if the spacing is wrong, the margins aren't per their standards, or the wrong style guide is followed. If the journal guidelines state that submissions should use APA style, don't submit yours in MLA.
2. Make sure your article is as error-free as possible. There are several ways to do this, of course. Most word processing programs have a spell/grammar check function, so you can start there to catch the most obvious gaffes. Keep in mind, though, that these programs aren't perfect and will miss errors that the human eye can catch-and they also sometimes suggest "corrections" that are, in fact, grammatically incorrect. So use your own eyes to read behind your spell/grammar check, and then have friends or colleagues read behind you. A simpler and usually not prohibitively expensive means of proofing and perfecting your paper is to hire a professional editor through a firm such as FirstEditing.com. These editors are also familiar with all major style guides and can edit yours to the style preferred by the journal you're submitting to or to their "in-house" style.
3. Be aware that journals frequently subject submissions to a peer review panel. While this sounds scary, all it means is that after your paper is submitted, the journal has its own panel of reviewers who will read your work and suggest changes they feel are needed to make your paper more acceptable to the journal. Helpful hint: unless the changes they suggest would totally change the point of your paper, follow their suggestions! This will increase the likelihood of your paper seeing print.
4. Resubmit your paper to the journal after making the necessary revisions. When resubmitting the paper, accompany it with a letter addressing the peer review panel's suggestions. Explain what changes were made, why others were not, and so forth. Again, it's a good idea to have a professional editor review this letter along with the revised paper, just to catch any little mistakes that might have slipped by you.
5. Remember that the same paper, with minor revisions/updates, can be submitted to many different journals in the same field! If you're in a "publish or perish" vocation, you want to get as much mileage out of your research as possible. With this in mind, be aware that submitting the same paper to several journals, revised to meet specific journal guidelines and updated as necessary, is a common and accepted practice.
Submitting your paper to journals isn't mysterious, scary or even all that difficult, as long as the steps outlined above are followed. Start submitting, and good luck!
It's actually not a difficult process; in fact, it can be quite easy if the following five steps are followed:
1. Know-and follow- the submission guidelines of the journal! Most journals have submission guidelines in their hard copies and on their websites. Journals are very specific in their requirements and won't give your paper a second glance if the spacing is wrong, the margins aren't per their standards, or the wrong style guide is followed. If the journal guidelines state that submissions should use APA style, don't submit yours in MLA.
2. Make sure your article is as error-free as possible. There are several ways to do this, of course. Most word processing programs have a spell/grammar check function, so you can start there to catch the most obvious gaffes. Keep in mind, though, that these programs aren't perfect and will miss errors that the human eye can catch-and they also sometimes suggest "corrections" that are, in fact, grammatically incorrect. So use your own eyes to read behind your spell/grammar check, and then have friends or colleagues read behind you. A simpler and usually not prohibitively expensive means of proofing and perfecting your paper is to hire a professional editor through a firm such as FirstEditing.com. These editors are also familiar with all major style guides and can edit yours to the style preferred by the journal you're submitting to or to their "in-house" style.
3. Be aware that journals frequently subject submissions to a peer review panel. While this sounds scary, all it means is that after your paper is submitted, the journal has its own panel of reviewers who will read your work and suggest changes they feel are needed to make your paper more acceptable to the journal. Helpful hint: unless the changes they suggest would totally change the point of your paper, follow their suggestions! This will increase the likelihood of your paper seeing print.
4. Resubmit your paper to the journal after making the necessary revisions. When resubmitting the paper, accompany it with a letter addressing the peer review panel's suggestions. Explain what changes were made, why others were not, and so forth. Again, it's a good idea to have a professional editor review this letter along with the revised paper, just to catch any little mistakes that might have slipped by you.
5. Remember that the same paper, with minor revisions/updates, can be submitted to many different journals in the same field! If you're in a "publish or perish" vocation, you want to get as much mileage out of your research as possible. With this in mind, be aware that submitting the same paper to several journals, revised to meet specific journal guidelines and updated as necessary, is a common and accepted practice.
Submitting your paper to journals isn't mysterious, scary or even all that difficult, as long as the steps outlined above are followed. Start submitting, and good luck!
New Word of the Day
- mammonism: Dictionary.com Word of the Day
- mammonism: the greedy pursuit of riches.
How To Improve Your Writing:
em dashes and ellipses
Editing, whether it is for an academic journal, a short story submission, or a non-fiction manuscript for publishing, always follows basic rules of grammar and punctuation. This blog will help you learn the basic rules of em dashes and ellipses, and how to use them accurately in your work. While this blog will assist fiction writers most often, this is a useful skill to have in your writing arsenal.The em dash
The em dash is a longer dash that is similar to a hyphen. It is used to show a pause in a quote that is all one sentence, and it is also used to show when one sentence trails off and another begins.
For example,
"I hope that you have told me the truth - you don't always." This quote is all one sentence, but there was a pause in between the words truth and you that are represented by the em dash.
OR
"He just walked right in through the - He didn't even think to announce his presence!" This shows that one sentence trailed off and another began - NOTE the capital letter to begin the second sentence.
When typing in Microsoft Word, you can prompt one of these dashes by placing a space after the last letter of the word, hitting the hyphen key (next to the zero) and then pressing your space bar again before typing the next word. Most Microsoft Word applications use an auto format that will insert the em dash for you.
Ellipses
In contrast, the ellipsis is used to show when a thought trails off and the sentence is incomplete. It is a series of three dots.
For example,
"I just couldn't believe what he was...." she muttered, as if to herself.
These quotation marks most often trip up fiction writers, as they're used often in dialogue. However, whether you are writing a fiction piece, or working on an academic submission, please remember that the professional editors at FirstEditing.com are always here to assist you with your work.
How Does It Look?
So now that you've gone through the final edit of your research paper, before you submit your work, you have to take a look at the formatting and ask yourself, "How does it look?"If you are submitting it to a publisher or agent, you really have to find out their requirements and follow them to a "T." However, if who you are submitting your work to has no specific guidelines for submission, then you'll just want to submit the clearest, cleanest copy you can. There are many books on the market that help with formatting-everything from research journals, to query letters to manuscripts.
What your paper looks like says a lot about you as a writer. If you have several different fonts going on, some paragraphs are indented while others are not, or you flip-flop between capitalizing certain words it not only looks sloppy, but it shows that you don't care much about your work and you may not be taken seriously. It also shows that you are an amateur. Whether you are a novice at writing or not, you can still present a clean copy. If this is something that you are submitting to a publisher, it can prevent your manuscript from even being read. Editors won't waste their time trying to sift through a hodge-podge mix of formats.
The most important thing when thinking about your manuscript presentation is that consistency is key. If you start out putting your chapter headings in bold text, then continue throughout. If you start capitalizing a specific word or term in chapter one, then continue in that form. You get the idea. The inconsistencies can also be disconcerting to the reader; that is, if they continue to read it.
Obviously, a perfectly manicured and pristinely formatted manuscript cannot help you with poorly written content. So yes, the content is of utmost importance; but the appearance of your manuscript is what the reader, editor, agent, or publisher will see first, before they even read the first sentence.
Take the time to make your work presentable-it can make all the difference!
Useful Ideas for Revising or Editing
Revising gives you the chance to preview your work on behalf of the eventual reader. Revision is much more than proofreading, though in the final editing stage it involves some checking of details. Good revision and editing can transform a mediocre first draft into an excellent final paper. It's more work, but leads to real satisfaction when you find you've said what you wanted. It is truly rewarding.
Start Large, End Small
First check whether you have fulfilled the intention of the assignment. Look again at the instruction sheet, and revise your work to be sure you can say yes to these questions:
* Have you performed the kind of thinking the assignment sheet asked for (e.g., analyze, argue, compare, explore.)
* Have you written the genre of document called for (e.g., book review, critique, personal response, field notes, research report, lab report, essay)?
* Have you used concepts and methods of reasoning discussed in the course? Don't be shy of using theoretical terms from the course. Also beware of just retelling stories or listing information. Looking at your topic sentences in sequence will show what kinds of ideas you have emphasized.
* Have you given adequate evidence for your argument or interpretation? Be sure that the reader knows why and how your ideas are important. A quick way of checking is to note where your paragraphs go after their topic sentences. Watch out for repetitions of general ideas - look for progression into detailed reasoning, usually including source referencing.
Now polish and edit your style by moving to smaller matters such as word choice, sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. You may already have passages that you know need further work. Here are some tips:
* Read passages aloud to see if you have achieved the emphasis you want. Look for places to use short sentences to draw attention to key ideas, questions, or argumentative statements. If you can't read a sentence all the way through with expression, try cutting it into two or more.
* Be sure to use spell check. I have learned how crucial this is before and after each document! It will help you catch most typos and many wrongly spelled words. But don't let it replace anything automatically, or you'll end up with nonsense words. You will still have to read through your piece and use a print dictionary or writer's handbook to look up words that you suspect are not right.
* Don't depend on a thesaurus. It will supply you with lists of words in the same general category as the one you have tried-but most of them won't make sense. Use plain clear words instead. Use a print dictionary and look up synonyms given as part of definitions. Always look at the samples of usage too.
* Don't depend on a grammar checker. The best ones still miss many errors, and they give a lot of bad advice. If you know that you overuse slang or the passive voice, you may find some of the "hits" useful, but be sure to make your own choice of replacement phrases. A few of the explanations may be useful.
Nothing can substitute for your own judgment. You will become quite comfortable with your own style and creativity.
Start Large, End Small
First check whether you have fulfilled the intention of the assignment. Look again at the instruction sheet, and revise your work to be sure you can say yes to these questions:
* Have you performed the kind of thinking the assignment sheet asked for (e.g., analyze, argue, compare, explore.)
* Have you written the genre of document called for (e.g., book review, critique, personal response, field notes, research report, lab report, essay)?
* Have you used concepts and methods of reasoning discussed in the course? Don't be shy of using theoretical terms from the course. Also beware of just retelling stories or listing information. Looking at your topic sentences in sequence will show what kinds of ideas you have emphasized.
* Have you given adequate evidence for your argument or interpretation? Be sure that the reader knows why and how your ideas are important. A quick way of checking is to note where your paragraphs go after their topic sentences. Watch out for repetitions of general ideas - look for progression into detailed reasoning, usually including source referencing.
Now polish and edit your style by moving to smaller matters such as word choice, sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. You may already have passages that you know need further work. Here are some tips:
* Read passages aloud to see if you have achieved the emphasis you want. Look for places to use short sentences to draw attention to key ideas, questions, or argumentative statements. If you can't read a sentence all the way through with expression, try cutting it into two or more.
* Be sure to use spell check. I have learned how crucial this is before and after each document! It will help you catch most typos and many wrongly spelled words. But don't let it replace anything automatically, or you'll end up with nonsense words. You will still have to read through your piece and use a print dictionary or writer's handbook to look up words that you suspect are not right.
* Don't depend on a thesaurus. It will supply you with lists of words in the same general category as the one you have tried-but most of them won't make sense. Use plain clear words instead. Use a print dictionary and look up synonyms given as part of definitions. Always look at the samples of usage too.
* Don't depend on a grammar checker. The best ones still miss many errors, and they give a lot of bad advice. If you know that you overuse slang or the passive voice, you may find some of the "hits" useful, but be sure to make your own choice of replacement phrases. A few of the explanations may be useful.
Nothing can substitute for your own judgment. You will become quite comfortable with your own style and creativity.
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