Getting Published Guide

The notes below give some advice on getting your research and your thesis published. Included are some tips on journal articles, monographs, online publishing and book reviews. In all cases, first impressions are important and scholarly presentation is key to acceptance for publication.

Journals:

• are a useful for publishing both completed research and research in progress
• present an opportunity to publish research that does not fit into the framework of your thesis
• are a good way for new academics to get published and establish a reputation
• publish a mixture of new and established academics
• conduct a peer review process of anonymous submission where experts in your field comment on your article. (This can be a good way to develop both your research and your presentation of your research.)
• allow you to establish a publishing profile that will aid a monograph proposal.

Ask your supervisor for advice as to where to publish your research.

Choosing the Journal
The reputation of the journal is important

• ideally it should be peer-reviewed by specialists with a renowned editorial board
• you do not have to publish in the most prestigious journals (which sometimes publish only established academics and reject 90% of submissions)
• find a niche journal or look for a special issue being prepared in your research field
• be prepared for rejection and to rewrite and resubmit your article to other journals.

A thesis chapter and a journal article serve different purposes and should be structured to reflect this. Choose the piece carefully in discussion with your supervisor.

Preparing the Article

• it should have a single argument or focus
• it should be coherent with an appropriate title
• it should be well-researched with evidence of scholarship
• the research should be new or show a new perspective
• the article should fit the journal's remit
• the average Humanities article length is 7000-10000 words.

Contacting the Journal
You can

• approach the journal cold
• join an association in order to publish (such as BAAS)
• be invited to submit after presenting a conference paper

Submitting the Article

• check the journal's submission guidelines for numbers of copies, format, etc.
• your article must be correctly laid out, referenced and presented
• check the journal’s style for referencing or ask for a style sheet
• check whether you need to provide an abstract or keywords
• check submission deadlines
• check whether submission should be made anonymously (a named cover sheet with an anonymous article)

After Submission

• the submitted article will be sent to specialist readers ( this takes 4-5 months)
• the journal editor will return the readers' reports with objective feedback (this could be as much as 2 detailed pages) and recommendations for publication, revision or rejection. The majority of articles do need revision and you should be receptive to constructive criticism.
• make your revisions, paying proper attention to copy-editing and proof-reading, and resubmit the finished article
• include a letter to the editor with your resubmission detailing how you have responded to the comment
• do not expect fast publication - some journals have a 1-2 year publishing lead time. (You will need to consider whether your article will still be cutting edge research in 2 years' time.)
• keep track of progress but do not harass the editor
• meanwhile you can list details of the 'forthcoming' publication once accepted on your CV

It is rare to be paid for a journal article. Your only payment will usually be 25 off-print copies which can be distributed to fellow researchers or used to back-up a monograph proposal.

Advantages of Online Publishing

• extending your readership
• gaining more citations
• the ability to measure your electronic readership precisely
• quicker publishing times
• the ability to include supplementary material
• your article can be found by using search engines.
• your article can be linked to from other electronic articles or bibliographies

Preparing an Electronic Article

• make it electronically friendly
• include keywords - the title of the article, abstract, references and introduction should all include relevant keywords to help your readers find you
• the title should be informative
• you can include extra features such as supplementary material, primary text, sound, visuals and links
• check the credentials of the on-line journal and its editorial board before submitting your article.

There is a small market for monographs with academic publishers.

• the usual print run for an academic monograph is 300-400
• you will not make a big profit
• an expensive dust jacket will eat into your profits
• the publisher may discourage illustrations as too expensive
• you may have to pay for illustrations (although you could ask the picture library not to charge for reproduction or you could get a grant to help with illustration costs)

You will need to convince the publisher that it will make a good book and that there is a target audience.

Developing a Proposal

• the proposal should outline the rationale of the book and give a chapter by chapter breakdown
• do not send a copy of your thesis
• you must repackage your research as a book, for example by broadening the focus and explaining its context in a new introductory chapter
• you should have a clear sense of the market for your work (an undergraduate or postgraduate or specialist scholarly audience) which will affect which publisher you approach

Finding a Publisher

• look at books on topics similar to yours and see who has published them
• look for a monograph series in your field
• approach the series editor who will have an academic background and will be more open to proposals
• the series editor can provide valuable feedback to a first time author
• it is better to target specific people - specialists - when sending speculative letters
• send a draft outline with a cover letter outlining your proposal and asking for revision advice prior to publication
• it is conventional to submit your book to only one press at a time and submission can be a lengthy process so it is important to target the right publisher

Presentation

• small academic publishers will reject a text that needs extensive editing
• your text should be attractive with no spelling mistakes, good footnotes and references

Proofs
After revision and acceptance of your text, you will be sent proofs.

• After revision and acceptance of your text, you will be sent proofs
• this the final stage at which you can make changes
• you may be asked to draw up an index - this involves a substantial amount of work

Publication
After returning the final proofs it may take a further year for the book to be published as many publishers out-source production.

Reviews

• mainstream publishers normally take responsibility for reviews as they will boost sales
• the publisher, however, does not have a specific responsibility for ensuring that the book is reviewed
• to ensure that your book is reviewed - send the publisher a list of publications in which reviews should appear and a list of possible reviewers in the field to be sent inspection copies

• are written by both new and established academics
• a good first step in gaining publishing experience
• short reviews are not peer-refereed
• many editors are happy to receive unsolicited offers to review books or new editions recently published by other academics - write a polite and informative letter outlining your research background and possible books you could review.

• publishers are often reluctant to publish conference proceedings or papers unless there is a clear theme and audience
• you will need to provide a context - a substantial introduction that defines the subject and presents a coherent volume of essay
• publishers will be more interested if you can define the market and the importance of the research.