How to Communicate With Busy Authors

Abstract

How do we communicate with authors who are very busy and not necessarily reading correspondence or instructions carefully? As editors, we want to provide instructions that are as detailed as possible, but in today’s world, it is necessary to keep things brief. There might be additional language barriers with authors who are not native English speakers. In addition, our communication with authors is frequently in writing, which can make it challenging to convey tone. Here are some tips on communicating with busy authors. Keep it light and to-the-point In college I had a professor who required all essays to be between exactly one and two pages. This was hard for us English majors, who were used to writing long, in-depth essays. It seemed impossible to write ONLY one or two pages, including an introduction, argument, conclusion, and references. Although I suspect that it was due in part to the professor’s busy schedule, requiring us to write short essays was the most practical skill that could be taught to us. In almost any form of writing, we need to know how to get our point across succinctly. Subject lines are key! I never create a vague email subject line like “Question” or “Important!” Try to include the journal name and paper number or a quick descriptor. Examples include “Missing Abstract in Journal Article” or “Odd Equation Symbol in Your Paper.” This keeps things organized and shows authors the detail with which you are handling their paper. Many publishing software tools send […]