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Getting Published: Exploring the Issues and Dispelling the Myths <br />Professor Simon Haslett<br />Dean, School of STEM<br />Presentation at the University of Wales, Newport<br />CELT Writing Retreat, Gregynog Hall<br />Wednesday 11th May 2011<br />

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A bit about the facilitator<br />Since 1990 Simon has published:<br />Over 120 academic articles, mostly peer-reviewed journal articles.<br />Over 50 articles in the popular press (newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc).<br />Over 50 conference papers.<br />Seven edited books (three as sole editor).<br />Two sole authored books.<br />Served as editor on four academic peer-reviewed journals and professional magazines (e.g. for learned society).<br />

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Aims of the Workshop<br />Explore motivations for publishing.<br />Overcome barriers to writing and submission for publication.<br />Approaches to writing for publication<br />Submitting your work to publishers.<br />Responding to editors and reviewers comments.<br />Strategic issues in academic publishing<br />This seminar is about publishing and not about the academic writing process.<br />

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Part 1: Why are you here?<br />What are your motivations for wanting to write and publish your work?<br />ICE BREAKER!<br />In two’s or three’s, tell each other and discuss your main motivation for wanting to get published.<br />Someone write each one down in the centre column of on the flipchart paper to report back<br />10 minutes<br />

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What are you bringing with you?<br />In pairs/three’s, tell each other about a piece of writing that you have written and are proud of, published or not.<br />List up to three positive writing tips each (things that helped you) on a post-it that you are happy to share; stick them onto the groups flipchart down the left-hand side.<br />Should take around 10 minutes altogether.<br />

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So why are you here?<br />What are the barriers that are still preventing you writing and/or publishing your work?<br />In pairs/three’s, discuss the main barriers to writing and getting published.<br />Write each one down on a post-it note and stick to the right side of the flipchart paper.<br />10 minutes<br />

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Barriers from a writing retreat<br />Making time<br />Distractions<br />Getting started<br />Writing in chunks<br />Perfectionism<br />Reworking a thesis<br />Permission to write<br />Emotions<br />Fear of rejection<br />

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Mid-Plenary Session<br />In your table groups, stick your flipchart paper on the wall/window, whiteboard, etc.<br />Wander around the room and look at what other groups have written in terms of:<br />Motivation<br />Tips<br />Barriers<br />Could you use this to inform your approach to writing and publication?<br />

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Homework!<br />Following the seminar today visit the Getting Published blog and register at:<br />http://academic-publishing.blogspot.com<br />Under the Gregynog Workshop post, if you’re happy to do so, please click on ‘comment’.<br />Please reflect on how you may use the plenary to inform your future approach to writing and publication?<br />Please comment on others ‘comments’ too.<br />If you have a Google Account please ‘follow’ the blog. Thanks.<br />

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Part 2: Submitting for Publication<br />Making your name known.<br />Who is your audience?<br />Types of publications?<br />The academic writing process.<br />Choosing a journal to submit to.<br />Preparing your manuscript.<br />What not to do.<br />Possible outcomes.<br />Dealing with and overcoming rejection.<br />Responding to reviewers comments.<br />Proof stage.<br />Strategic issues in academic writing and publication.<br />

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Making your name known<br />Collaborate with your supervisor (or a colleague)<br />Become active in your academic community<br />Present at conferences<br />Journal editors actively look out for good papers<br />Prepare effective conference posters<br />Network: talk to journal editors (who are other academics)<br />Write working papers<br />Practice in writing academic papers<br />Useful feedback<br />Does not count as prior publication if revised<br />Create your own website<br />

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Audience<br />Local, national, international?<br />Researchers, practitioners, teachers, general public?<br />Type of Publication<br />Journal article (watch out for special issues)<br />Magazine article<br />Review article<br />Book review – good way of starting<br />Research note (short report or work in progress)<br />Working paper – mainly for conferences<br />Book or chapter in book (often through invitation)<br />

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The Academic Writing Process<br />Inventing and research<br />Planning<br />Drafting<br />Revising<br />Editing<br />Submission<br />Peer review process<br />Revisions<br />Proof stage and publication<br />(modified from Ganobcsik-Williams, 2009)<br />Draw up a plan and discuss with a colleague – what issues come to mind?<br />

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Choosing the Right Journal<br />Research the journals in your field<br />Library and websites<br />Conference stands<br />Talk to peers <br />Familiarise yourself with aims and scope of journals<br />Choose the most suitable journal(s) for your article<br />Good to have a fall back or two<br />Should it be an Open Access journal? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mRFRe4DxdM<br />Type of journal (pro’s and con’s)<br />Multidisciplinary (often for a general subject readership)<br />Niche (need to be hot on specifics)<br />Do you<br />Write an article for a specific journal? (I prefer this from the start)<br />Find a journal for your article? (if I haven’t chosen a journal yet)<br />

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Assessing the Best Journal for Your Article<br />What is the readership and usage?<br />Prestige in your field<br />Who is the editor and who are on the editorial board?<br />Who is likely to review your paper – can you suggest reviewers? Is <br />Who publishes in the journal? <br />Is it published by a major publisher or association? <br />Local/national/international?<br />Is it peer reviewed<br />How long will this take?<br />Is it on the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) Citation Database?<br />How often is it cited?<br />Is it available online and in print?<br />

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Writing for Your Chosen Journal<br />Check the aims and scope<br />Look at previous papers to get a feel for what is accepted – has it got a history in a topic area?<br />Contact the editor – maybe?<br />What does my research contribute to the field?<br />Make your research relevant to the wider world; you need to be explicit about its widest context.<br />Ask a colleague to read paper prior to submission – maybe? Except where English needs to be checked/improved.<br />

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Preparing the Manuscript<br />Read the guidelines carefully – many submit through an online gateway now.<br />Comply with minimum and maximum limits <br />Expand any acronyms<br />Especially if the audience is international or interdisciplinary<br />Write an abstract that conveys the content, results and main conclusions (add keywords)<br />Check spelling and grammar<br />Double spaced and single sided (usually required).<br />

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Manuscript Preparation Cont’d.<br />Ensure references cited in text appear in bibliography – and vice versa<br />Not too many self-references if reviewed anonymously (add them after review)<br />Figures, tables and photographs<br />Check they are ALL present<br />Resolution and file type is important e.g. TIFFs<br />Observe conventions e.g. maps should have scale bars and north arrow<br />Place in a separate file<br />Make sure they are all numbered and referred to<br />Consider/suggest how they will appear in the journal<br />Ensure you have the correct copyright clearance<br />Some journals now accept audio and video clips<br />

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What not to do<br />Don’t try to boil down your whole PhD/Masters thesis into one article<br />Don’t put the article on your website first<br />Don’t send your article to more than one journal at once<br />Don’t plagiarise, including self-plagiarism<br />Don’t repeat the same article with just small changes<br />Don’t wait for a decision before you start your next article.<br />

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Possible outcomes<br />Accept as submitted – very rare<br />Accept with minor revisions<br />Accept with major revisions – with or without second peer-review stage.<br />Higher Education Quarterly receives c. 90 papers/year and accepts 30%, but 30% of those are never resubmitted after revision.<br />Reject – common<br />Studies in Higher Education rejects 350 of the 400 papers it receives every year!<br />

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Why articles are rejected<br />Professor David Phillips (University of Oxford), Editor of Oxford Review of Education, offered the following ten reasons:<br />Article not ready, only a draft<br />Article is parochial<br />Poor English<br />Manuscript is poorly prepared <br />Too short or too long<br />Article is submitted to the wrong journal<br />Nothing new is stated or found<br />Under theorised<br />Under contextualised<br />Not a proper journal article<br />

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Overcoming rejection<br />Rejection can be a positive result - it is sometimes better than major revision.<br />Prestigious journals only accept 20% of submissions<br />Very few papers are accepted without revision<br />Mentoring function of editorial boards<br />feedback from best in field <br />Act on comments <br />Try again<br />

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Responding to Comments<br />Go through the reviewers comments and number each action expected of you.<br />Make a list of all actions, combining similar points – can you address them? If yes, how?<br />Revise the manuscript and resubmit with a covering letter explicitly outlining how you dealt with the reviewers comments.<br />If you couldn’t make a requested change, or disagree with the reviewer(s), then say so and justify why – the editor will make the final decision.<br />Make a decision to declare, or not, if you are submitting a rejected paper to a new journal – sometimes it helps?<br />

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Proof stage<br />You will usually be emailed a pdf of the proofs of your paper.<br />Check them very carefully.<br />Identify errors, not usually possible to make significant changes, but no harm in asking if you think it’s important.<br />Select your type of reprint – usually pdf.<br />When published circulate to everyone who you think may be interested – don’t be shy.<br />

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Strategic Issues<br />Some issues that may influence you:<br />Research Excellence Framework (REF)<br />High impact, ISI-listed journals<br />Research Degree Awarding Powers (RDAPs)<br />Learned/professional society journals<br />Institutional/Departmental Strategy<br />E.g. Research-informed teaching<br />To assist in gaining external funding<br />Prioritisation and personal goals<br />E.g. always wanted to publish in a particular journal<br />

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What’s your next move?<br />In pairs, discuss what might be your next step on the road to writing and getting published? For example:<br />Will you collaborate or go it alone?<br />Do you have any strategic priorities?<br />Do you need further support or advice?<br />Following the seminar, draw up a personal action plan with targets and a timescale for achieving them; what will you do if you don’t meet them (feel free to post on the blog)?<br />

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Bibliography & Resources<br />HEA-ICS, 2007. Writing for Publication. http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/events/displayevent.php?id=187 [accessed 28th June 2010].<br />Taylor and Francis Ltd, 2004. Getting published in academic publications: Tips to Help you Publish Successfully. At www.lancs.ac.uk/celt/celtweb/files/gettingpublished_js.ppt [accessed 28th June 2010].<br />Vitae, 2010. Publishing your research. http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/1298/Publishing-your-research.html [accessed 28th June 2010].<br />