Forum Fridininum

I’ve been to an interesting session at the SSSR conference 2007 about the process of academic publishing. Several editors and publishers of JSSR and Oxford University Press presented their thoughts on the subject. Some tips & don’ts on how to get your work published.

For articles
The criteria the editor will use:

1. Is it new and / or interesting?
2. Is it description or analysis? The latter is best.
3. Jargon factor: the less the better. “Think like a sociologist, but write as a journalist.”
4. How does the paper flow? Chop away everything that doesn’t address the question you want to answer. Pay attention to subheads and transition paragraphs.
5. Craft of writing

Don’ts:

• No more than one journal at the time
• No unfinished papers or papers that are not yet good enough
• Don’t submit rejected articles to another journal without paying attention to comments. Reviewers usually work for a number of journals, so you’re resubmitted paper may be sent to the same reviewer again.
• Don’t forget to pay attention to the abstract. The abstract determines whether someone is going to read your article. What needs to be in it: the question, the data, method, a rationale for reading it, and important keywords.
• Don’t take it personally if your paper is rejected. There are many reasons why an article may be rejected.

For book reviews
Good book reviews …

• Summarize
• Evaluate
• Contextualize: where does this book fit in (which debate?)

For book publishing

• Books have a high threshold. Other than articles, people need to go out and get it. So, you should have a clear profile of the audience you will be targeting
• Look for a publisher that (1) has recently published in your specific field and (2) that corresponds with what you’re doing (for example, if you are junior researcher, you will not fit in with a publisher that only publishes books of established authors).
• The time between sending and the (first) review takes at least 6 weeks. Do not contact publisher before that period of time, but do not hesitate to contact him / her after that as a sign of continuing interest.
• Usually send only one chapter for review. Be sure to be able to provide the rest of the manuscript if asked. If they’re excited you want to keep them that way.
• Make sure whether your wishes with regard to the publication will be met at an early stage of the publishing process. You (and the publisher) don’t want to be disappointed at the end of the process.
• Remember: publishers are not evil. They’re on the same business.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 at 10:10 am and is filed under research.