Writing for Publication

Abstract

Both beginners and experts can improve their publishing success by increasing their knowledge of the journals to which they send manuscripts, Mr. Henson points out. Some people write for publication to give back to their profession, some to improve their profession, some to improve their teaching, and some to advance their own careers through securing tenure, promotions, and merit pay. Whatever the reason, both beginners and experts can improve their publishing success by increasing their knowledge of the journals to which they send their manuscripts. For a decade and a half I have been surveying journal editors to get information to help writers select appropriate journals for their work and shape their manuscripts to meet the needs of those journals. The results of the most recent survey (199697) are shown in Table 1. The return rate was 90.7%. The diversity of these journals is reflected in the wide range in circulation, which varies from 200 to 200,000 subscribers. One of the most common mistakes writers make is failing to resist the urge to send their manuscripts to the most prestigious and best-known journals, ignoring the less widely circulated journals. This is unwise because it limits one's potential target audiences. The average readership for the journals I surveyed is only about 19,500, and more than half (53.8%) have fewer than 5,000 subscribers. Acceptance Rates Perhaps the single characteristic of journals that most captures the attention of writers is the acceptance rate. While this statistic is usually the first bit of information sought by writers, it is also, ironically, the one they most frequently ignore. Like moths drawn to a flame, few beginning writers seem able to resist the temptation to send their manuscripts to the journals with the lowest acceptance rates. The acceptance rates of the journals I surveyed range from 4% to 80%. More than one-fifth (21.3%) of these journals accept less than 10% of the manuscripts they receive. But a closer look at Table 1 reveals that 38.3% of these journals accept at least 30% of the manuscripts received. Writers under pressure to earn tenure might be wise to avoid journals with very low acceptance rates. Refereed Status Another characteristic that has overwhelming appeal for writers is the journal's refereed status. Yet, to put it mildly, professionals disagree on the meaning of referee. Because there is so little agreement on the meaning of the term, several years ago I developed a system to evaluate the refereed status of journals, awarding one point for sending manuscripts away to be judged, one point for sending a rating form to the referees, and one point for keeping the process anonymous. More than three-fourths (81.3%) of the journals I surveyed this year meet at least one of these criteria, and 56.3% scored three points. A common mistake is assuming that all refereed journals are better than all nonrefereed journals. In fact, some of the most prestigious journals are not refereed, in part because they invite the contributions of authors they want to have write for them. Unless your institution gives credit only for publishing in refereed journals, purposefully avoiding nonrefereed journals needlessly limits the audiences you can reach and reduces your number of publications. Research Format An important decision that all education writers must make is whether to write research-based articles. Ninety-eight percent of the journals I surveyed report research in one form or another. About 42% of all the articles that appeared in these journals last year reported research. Intimidated by or disgusted with the rigor and demands they faced when writing their dissertations, some professors are determined to avoid all journals that publish articles that resemble dissertation style. These writers should realize that, by targeting journals that do not follow a research format, they can simply report data without adhering to the traditional dissertation/research format. …