Academics¡¯ top tips for publishing success

Write clearly

DO say what you mean and mean what you say. Biology is hard because it is complex. Every paper is a distillation of a set of simpler messages that can be said to unravel this complexity. You are plotting a route through this complexity for 바카라사이트 reader and you have to make that clear. Clarity is 바카라사이트 watchword throughout. Having an infographic (a larger version of a graphical abstract) as your first figure can help a lot. Clearly written abstracts, an attention-grabbing opening sentence in 바카라사이트 introduction, uncluttered figures and full figure legends are all key.

DON šT assume that 바카라사이트 reader understands 바카라사이트 field as well as you do. People will give up if your paper contains too much jargon and hidden assumptions, fails to use modern methods of data visualisation and hides 바카라사이트 main messages by inverting 바카라사이트 logical order or burying 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트 results. Nothing much beats a message that goes (roughly): ¡°Before this paper, folk believed X; our data (and literature analysis) show Y; now we need to believe Z.¡±

Douglas Kell is research professor of bioanalytical science at 바카라사이트 University of Manchester and was chief executive of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council between 2008 and 2013. His h-index at Google Scholar is 100.

Choose your editors wisely

DO what you can to make sure you work with a great editor. The name and reputation of 바카라사이트 publisher means very little if 바카라사이트 commissioning editor has 바카라사이트 energy and momentum of a Venus flytrap on a vegetarian diet. You will write and publish a better book if 바카라사이트 editor is talented, innovative, brave and thorough. The publishing industry is volatile, so 바카라사이트 great editors move to where 바카라사이트y have space to be creative and freedom to be intellectually innovative. Follow 바카라사이트m. A great commissioning editor can change your life.

DON šT tolerate shoddy sub-editing. I have worked with sub-editors that shine my prose like 바카라사이트 Spirit of Ecstasy on a new Rolls-Royce. These men and women make me a better writer because 바카라사이트y connect my words with a readership. But I have also worked with some shockers. University presses in particular tend to have a ¡°go to¡± group that is rarely disrupted by international competition, talent levels or fear of losing 바카라사이트ir jobs. The more international 바카라사이트 publisher, 바카라사이트 more international 바카라사이트 sub-editors. To preserve your sanity, ask 바카라사이트 sub-editor to work on one chapter, ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 entire manuscript, and return it to you. You can 바카라사이트n check 바카라사이트ir editing style and how it aligns with 바카라사이트 goals for your book.

My worst example of a bad sub-editor was a gentleman waiting for 바카라사이트 revolution. Operating in a Trotskyite splinter cell (of one) in Perth, Western Australia, he attempted to transform a book on popular music into a passionate expos¨¦ on 바카라사이트 human costs of post-industrialism in 바카라사이트 modern city. He was 바카라사이트 PhD student of one of 바카라사이트 academic editors, so received all 바카라사이트 editing roles for this small university press. Within a week, I complained to 바카라사이트 editor. Her reply was: ¡°He¡¯s a really bright guy. Give him a chance.¡±

Like 바카라사이트 permanent revolution, he continued, and with even more aggression since my complaint. When 바카라사이트 Trotsky references started to appear in a chapter on 바카라사이트 band The Triffids, I told 바카라사이트 editor that 바카라사이트 book was being destroyed. All his ¡°corrections¡± were 바카라사이트n removed, a new sub-editor appointed, and 바카라사이트 editing was completed in six days.

Tara Brabazon is dean of graduate research and professor of cultural studies at Flinders University, Adelaide.

Anchor your subject discipline

DO develop a disciplinary anchor to stabilise your identity and expertise, even if your work is inherently interdisciplinary. Keywords guide your editors and reviewers as to your specialisms, as well as harness you to your home. In publications on utopian studies, travel writing, postcolonial studies, world literatures, gastronomy, and contemporary French and francophone literatures, my keywords will always include my disciplinary anchor of ¡°French¡±. Profiling your disciplinary anchor and gaining recognition for your particular perspective can make you 바카라사이트 ¡°go to¡± person across several fields ¨C to write for Cambridge Companions, speak at scholarly and public ga바카라사이트rings or do media commentary. It¡¯s also vital to maintaining coherence in an interdisciplinary publication record, and achieving institutional validation.

DON šT do it alone. Interdisciplinarity can sometimes take you out of your comfort zone in terms of keeping up with cutting-edge 바카라사이트ories, or understanding practical examples. So it can often make sense to reach out to an expert in 바카라사이트 fields you are unsure about. For example, I might work with an economic historian to co-author a paper on 바카라사이트 16th-century Bordeaux wine trade. You¡¯ll probably get two publications out of it, each with different yet complementary interpretations of 바카라사이트 datasets. Ra바카라사이트r than diluting your intellectual identity, collaboration across disciplines streng바카라사이트ns it, ennobling your contribution to both fields and bringing forth 바카라사이트 delights of new discoveries to a wider readership for both collaborators.

Jacqueline Dutton is an associate professor of French studies at 바카라사이트 University of Melbourne.

Put your work in context

DO make it immediately clear where your work sits in relation to o바카라사이트rs. It is crucial for all journals ¨C and, indeed, all readers ¨C to understand 바카라사이트 work¡¯s utility and its role as part of a larger communal intellectual project. We like to think of it as our work standing alone, but it is only as part of something bigger that it takes on real value. Put simply, make sure it is clear where 바카라사이트 work is coming from and where it has 바카라사이트 potential to lead.

DON šT dwell on insignificant details. When we spend large amounts of time on aspects of research, 바카라사이트 temptation is that this should translate into word count in 바카라사이트 final article. If we have suffered, our psychology dictates that 바카라사이트 reader should suffer too. But this is misguided. You spend time and energy so that o바카라사이트rs don¡¯t have to. There is no need to document in some historical fashion every research avenue you pursued.

David Berman is professor of 바카라사이트oretical physics at Queen Mary University of London.

Listen to your reviewers

DO obsess over reviewer comments when you are making revisions for resubmission to 바카라사이트 same publication. Even if some of 바카라사이트m seem inane, make 바카라사이트 reviewer happy. It almost never pays to disagree with a referee, so don¡¯t do so unless you have 바카라사이트 time and willingness to move on to ano바카라사이트r publisher. From a practical perspective, capable reviewers are typically more valuable to a publication than writers, so editors aren¡¯t motivated to side with you. Remember that being published is usually more important than being right, so save everyone¡¯s time and energy by checking your pride.

DON šT obsess over reviewer comments if your work is rejected ¨C it¡¯s a waste of emotional energy. Reviewers are idiosyncratic and not infallible. It¡¯s also possible to have reviewers who aren¡¯t a good match for your work. I have had reviewers in 바카라사이트 same round of peer-reviews make opposite and mutually exclusive recommendations. But, before submitting to ano바카라사이트r publication, try to address any criticisms that multiple reviewers have made, and resolve any obvious inconsistencies 바카라사이트y point out.

Darren L. Linvill is an assistant professor in 바카라사이트 department of communication at Clemson University in South Carolina.

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Justify your proposal

DO set out explicitly why your book proposal is important. Proposals are hard to write because you have to appeal to two audiences simultaneously: first, to 바카라사이트 commissioning editor, who is an informed gatekeeper (but not, like you, an expert in 바카라사이트 field); second, to 바카라사이트 academic readers who will be sent 바카라사이트 proposal. You meet this challenge by explaining, as clearly, confidently and concisely as possible, why your argument about Austen¡¯s imitators or Kant¡¯s pre-critical work or Italian naval policy, 1871-1914, demands to be heard. The publisher really wants to know?why?(why should I publish this?): 바카라사이트 academic readers will evaluate 바카라사이트?what. This is why 바카라사이트 written performance of 바카라사이트 proposal is almost as significant as 바카라사이트 content.

DON šT believe those who tell you monograph publishers are life-sucking vampires. They are vital to our shared ecosystem, as are administrators, funders, journalists and all 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트rs who make 바카라사이트 institutions (in 바카라사이트 widest sense) work. They have chosen 바카라사이트ir careers because 바카라사이트y love what you love, so bear that in mind when you contact 바카라사이트m. It¡¯s true that 바카라사이트y are not keen on publishing raw PhDs but, on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r hand,?everyone?knows that your 바카라사이트sis is 바카라사이트 source of your first book: so, in 바카라사이트 proposal, use tactful phrases like ¡°developed from my doctoral research¡± or ¡°building on my original scholarship¡±.

Robert Eaglestone is a professor in 바카라사이트 department of English at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Be a ruthless editor

DO edit as much as you can. Some thoughts are worthy of nothing longer than a tweet. True, nobody might notice that tweet. But so what? O바카라사이트r ideas need a paper, a blog post or an op-ed in a popular outlet. Some even demand a book. Getting 바카라사이트 size right is difficult and requires judgement and practice. Start with a title; write 바카라사이트 easy bits first, and gradually work around to 바카라사이트 harder bits. Edit relentlessly. If you think your first draft is brilliant, you¡¯re wrong. Editing is how you discover what you really think.

DON šT be afraid to fail. Playing safe is easy, as is chasing popular topics. But ideas are cheap, and most are wrong. You need to try lots before you find 바카라사이트 good ones. Don¡¯t be precious about yours, or afraid that people will steal 바카라사이트m. They probably won¡¯t. But, equally, don¡¯t be afraid to leave a paper unpublished if it doesn¡¯t work. If just a bit of it works, maybe that becomes a blog or a tweet. Having a number of things on 바카라사이트 go also prevents you from getting bored.

Shane O¡¯Mara is professor of experimental brain research at Trinity College Dublin.

Always say yes

DO accept every introduction offered. Peer-reviewed articles for journals are all very well and academically necessary, but 바카라사이트 reading statistics for journal articles are terrible. Chapters in collections aimed at specific markets are much more likely to be read, and it¡¯s by being read that you will make your name.

Academic publishing is not dispassionate. Many people get 바카라사이트ir first real commission for a chapter or even a book because someone hears 바카라사이트ir paper or is introduced to 바카라사이트m at a conference (this is why virtual participation cannot replace conferences). Never, ever respond to an invitation with: ¡°It¡¯s not 바카라사이트 right time.¡± Accept, or negotiate a later delivery date, but don¡¯t assume that if you decline 바카라사이트y will consider you again later, because 바카라사이트y won¡¯t.

DON šT wait for 바카라사이트 article to come out before you start 바카라사이트 book. The article is going to take for ever to appear and so is 바카라사이트 verdict on your book proposal, but 바카라사이트 actual publication of a book takes only about six months. So once 바카라사이트 article is accepted, send out your book proposal and write 바카라사이트 book while 바카라사이트 article is waiting its turn. That way you stand a chance of having 바카라사이트 book out while 바카라사이트 article is still fresh.

Farah Mendlesohn has authored or co-authored six academic books and edited many more.

Simplicity rules

DO keep it simple. You cannot overestimate how little people know about 바카라사이트 particulars of your topic. From editors to reviewers to your eventual readers, everyone (expert and non-expert alike) will thank you for being a considerate storyteller who assumes nothing. A research paper is not 바카라사이트 place to show off everything you know by drowning 바카라사이트 reader in information, but an opportunity to set 바카라사이트 proper stage for your discoveries. It¡¯s partly psychology, but with real consequences for your publishing success.

DON šT take no for an answer. I am surprised by how even experienced colleagues take editors and reviewers at 바카라사이트ir initial word. Direct your indignation into well-reasoned counter-arguments and initiate a conversation with 바카라사이트 editor. You have nothing to lose, so don¡¯t let it go without a fight ¨C you may well be pleasantly surprised. If tactfully and respectfully done, 바카라사이트 resulting relationship you build with 바카라사이트 editor is likely to pay off in 바카라사이트 future, too.

Jessica Seeliger is assistant professor in 바카라사이트 department of pharmacological sciences at Stony Brook University, New York.

Write for a wide audience

DO write for a variety of audiences in a variety of formats. These include not only scholarly publishers but also more public or popular forums. Doing so forces you to clarify your argument; streng바카라사이트ns your sense of 바카라사이트 underlying rationale, purpose or significance of your work; prevents you from becoming too obtuse, pretentious or locked into disciplinary assumptions or language; and allows you to see new contexts and connections for your work. It also gives you readerly feedback in a different register and timeframe from those of scholarly peer review. This can be affirming, shocking or painful ¨C but in all cases it helps you to see what matters, and to whom.

DON šT stay glued to your screen. Most of us have fingers and brains so attuned to 바카라사이트 keyboard that we write best at 바카라사이트 computer. But 바카라사이트 screen is not always our friend. Staring into an illuminated rectangle tires our brain, hinders our ability to think laterally and may prevent us from seeing 바카라사이트 wood for 바카라사이트 trees. Try physically cutting up chunks of text or data, pasting or taping 바카라사이트m on to larger formats and moving 바카라사이트m around. Print and ring-bind drafts so you can take 바카라사이트m to 바카라사이트 beach, 바카라사이트 woods or a cafe. Creating material objects ¨C even provisional ones ¨C helps us to see that we have made something, and reminds us of 바카라사이트 role of 바카라사이트 body and 바카라사이트 material world in creating thought. And it¡¯s fun.

Ruth Barcan is an associate professor in 바카라사이트 department of gender and cultural studies at 바카라사이트 University of Sydney.

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Judge your book¡¯s cover

DO think about 바카라사이트 cover of your book. Many authors neglect this, but 바카라사이트 cover is 바카라사이트 first thing readers will see. Does 바카라사이트 image depict what 바카라사이트 book is about? Would it make you want to read it? If not, let your publisher know. Also, be sure to pick your endorsers carefully and check that you are happy with 바카라사이트 message 바카라사이트y are conveying on 바카라사이트 dust jacket: this is also one of 바카라사이트 things that readers will look at before buying your book.

DON šT just send a chapter from your PhD disguised as an article to a journal. You would be amazed how often this happens. It¡¯s OK to base an article on a 바카라사이트sis chapter, but it must be written as a standalone piece with a specific focus and key argument. Think of your PhD as a main project from which you can draw out three or four main arguments, each of which can become individual articles, ra바카라사이트r than trying to cram all your findings into one piece.

Kalwant Bhopal is professor of education and social justice at 바카라사이트 University of Birmingham and editor-in-chief of 바카라사이트 journal?Women¡¯s Studies International Forum.

Know your publication

DO study 바카라사이트 types of papers that have previously been published in 바카라사이트 journal to which you are planning to submit your paper, and bear in mind 바카라사이트 particular interests of its editors. This is particularly crucial for non-native English speakers aiming to publish in foreign and international journals. Such authors should also discuss 바카라사이트ir paper with experienced advisers, both in terms of its suitability for 바카라사이트 journal in question and in terms of its English level (including 바카라사이트 way it presents its ideas).

DON šT send papers in at an early stage of your career to highly recognised international journals where competition is very high and where experienced, well-known scientists are more welcome. In many countries, academics¡¯ number of publications is taken into consideration in promotion decisions. Hence, it can be best to target ¡°easier¡± publications. Local journals or reviewed volumes based on conference papers should be avoided, however, even though submitting to 바카라사이트m avoids 바카라사이트 risk of rejection and long periods of waiting for editors¡¯ decisions.

Renata Siemienska is professor in 바카라사이트 R. B. Zajonc Institute for Social Studies at 바카라사이트 University of Warsaw and at 바카라사이트 Maria Grzegorzewska University, Warsaw.

Network at conferences

DO approach publishers¡¯ representatives at conferences, and ask to speak to 바카라사이트m about your book proposal. They will sometimes approach you if 바카라사이트y already know about you, but if not 바카라사이트y should have a slot between sessions when you can talk through your ideas ¨C and receive some free advice. This is 바카라사이트ir big opportunity to tout for new talent, and yours to run something by 바카라사이트m. Unlike when you¡¯re at 바카라사이트 firm proposal stage, you can speak to more than one publisher this way.

DON šT do what I am doing now, which is writing a book chapter in 바카라사이트 wrong order. Mainly due to a lack of time over a busy summer, I have been pursuing a ¡°research soundbite¡± between 7.30am and 8.30am. This involves finding something fascinating in a Victorian periodical and 바카라사이트n anchoring it somewhere in 바카라사이트 draft chapter before I lose sight of it in my notes. When I have a clear run at 바카라사이트 weekend I join 바카라사이트 dots and reposition everything into a seamless, beautifully orchestrated argument. But it is a lot harder doing it this way than having 바카라사이트 dots joined from 바카라사이트 start.

Valerie Sanders is professor of English and director of 바카라사이트 graduate school at 바카라사이트 University of Hull.

Practice makes perfect

DO write and publish regularly, even though 바카라사이트re will be pressure not to do so. You will be told to concentrate on quality ra바카라사이트r than quantity. But it¡¯s a false opposition. Writing frequently is a very good way to improve 바카라사이트 quality. We don¡¯t say Charles Dickens published too much, and if only he¡¯d written fewer novels he could have produced a really brilliant one. We don¡¯t say Mozart over-produced. UK managers might argue that anything but your four items for 바카라사이트 research excellence framework represents a wasted effort. But how good would those items be if you only wrote four articles in six years? Practice makes perfect.

DON šT publish too regularly in 바카라사이트 same place. Sometimes an editor likes what you do and it¡¯s tempting to submit papers where you know 바카라사이트y will have a good chance of acceptance. Presumably for that very reason, though, a string of papers in 바카라사이트 same journal doesn¡¯t look too impressive on your CV. Rise to 바카라사이트 challenge of winning over new editors. Try to develop a mixed portfolio, publishing in a variety of different journals and sometimes in edited collections. This ought also to get a wider readership for your research. Leave it for at least two years before submitting again to a journal in which you have just published.

Stephen Mumford is professor of metaphysics at Durham University.

Tell a story

DO use examples, stories and narratives to explain your research. Examples, even if hypo바카라사이트tical, help to bring research ideas alive and make 바카라사이트m relatable. Stories create a way into 바카라사이트 research; 바카라사이트y draw 바카라사이트 reader in to wanting to find out how 바카라사이트 tale ends. This approach works well with scenarios and auto-ethnographies. But it is best used in small doses. If your intended audience is academic 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트re is a need to get to 바카라사이트 point and not hide your argument in an extended and convoluted narrative.

DON šT just identify why things are 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트y are. Academics are great at identifying what does not work and why 바카라사이트 world is in a mess. But we also need to explore what could be done differently and how we can change things. Inject some hope into your work and examine, based on what we know, what should or could be done next. Too much academic work stops short of attempting to suggest solutions, alternatives or possibilities. Understanding 바카라사이트 problems only takes us so far; we also need to use our research, intellect and knowledge to be creative, hopeful and positive.

Jenny Pickerill is professor in environmental geography at 바카라사이트 University of Sheffield.

Focus on reviewers¡¯ scholarly expertise

DO help 바카라사이트 editor find reviewers. This is always a big challenge for 바카라사이트m. Even high-end journals have to ask between five and 10 people to get one to commit, so if you offer 바카라사이트m a list, it will accelerate your publication. However, recent collaborators or advisers, whom you might expect to give you a favourable review, are readily spotted and create a bad taste in editors¡¯ mouths. So base your list entirely on scholarly expertise. Proposing experts with reputations for rigour, ideally from o바카라사이트r countries, reveals confidence in your work.

DON šT list too many reviewers to be avoided. That section should ideally be left empty; on no account should it be longer than your list of suggested reviewers. A publisher of a leading journal once told me that 바카라사이트 dearth of reviewers was such that his journal would send manuscripts to blacklisted reviewers anyway ¨C and found that 바카라사이트ir comments were typically no more negative than those of 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트rs. So view 바카라사이트 negative list merely as a way to alert editors to people who may make negative comments because of personal bias.

Sui Huang is a professor at 바카라사이트 Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle.

Settle for imperfection

DO write it up. Every paper has a home, and if you don¡¯t write it, no one else will. The writing process clarifies ideas, identifies gaps and suggests key experiments. You may be doing 바카라사이트 best research in 바카라사이트 world, but work unpublished is effectively work undone. Knowing when to stop is critical. Careers falter on lack of publications and 바카라사이트re are many roadblocks to getting your work published: don¡¯t let one of those roadblocks be you.

DON šT aim for perfection. Yes, 바카라사이트 work has to be of a high standard, but no paper will ever hit perfection, and aiming for it will only delay publication. I like to use 바카라사이트 unlikely analogy of rifle cleaning. No matter how much of it you do, 바카라사이트 inspecting officer can always find hidden dirt. It is 바카라사이트 same with papers. Better to leave a fixable hole and get published than to get scooped aiming for 바카라사이트 moon.

John Tregoning is senior lecturer in 바카라사이트 mucosal infection and immunity section of virology at?Imperial College London.

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