Publication without Tears: Tips for aspiring authors - Emma Coonan, Guest Presenter

Publication without tearsTips for aspiring authors EMMA COONAN

JOURNAL OF INFORMATION LITERACY

• Inside the ‘black box’ • Framing your article• On writing

Have you submitted an article for publication?

Do you edit or peer review already?

You might enjoy this Scholarly Kitchen article if so.

Inside the ‘black box’

Managing editor: Cathie Jackson

Book review editor: Ian Hunter

Articles should be …• Research-informed and evidence-based• Designed around an arguable research question• Contextualised with reference to previous and current

advances in IL thinking• Methodologically robust with a demonstrable research

design

Publication criteria

• Relevance to the journal’s remit• Originality and interest to our audience • Title and abstract• Approach and method• Use of literature and referencing • Clarity of expression and structure

Peer review criteria

• Relevance to the journal’s remit – research- or practice-based investigations into information literacy• Originality and interest to our audience - useful contribution to

knowledge or good practice?• Title and abstract – appropriate wording and length and

informative?• Approach and method – appropriate? rigorous?• Use of literature and referencing – good analysis of literature?

Good referencing or signs of plagiarism?• Clarity of expression and structure – clear exposition of

argument? Logical structure? Spell out acronyms, avoid jargon!

Peer review criteria

Accept for publication without amendment - almost never!

Revisions requiredMajor revisions required followed by peer reviewResubmit elsewhereDecline submission

Reviewer recommendations

Editor-in-ChiefEmma Coonan

• Make a list of all the actions needed of you

• If you can’t meet them, discuss this with the editors

• Revise the paper and resubmit it

• If there were comments you didn’t address, because you couldn’t or because you disagreed with them, say why

• Remember that addressing these comments may unearth other suggested changes – several rounds of revisions may be required

What to do with reviewer comments

• Make a list of all the actions needed of you Can you address them? If so, how?• If you can’t meet them, discuss this with the editors

Tell us why (you can take your article elsewhere!) • Revise the paper and resubmit it

with a covering letter detailing how you have addressed each comment

You might also like this Storify.

What to do with reviewer comments

• ‘Resubmit’ doesn’t mean ‘Reject’It’s been known for authors to react as though they’re the same thing• Journals have a specific scope and remit

If your article doesn’t fit, our container is the wrong shape!• We are writers too

… and we know it sucks to have your writing criticised

Remember …

Feedback should be constructive, comprehensive and courteous ... The role of peer reviewer is a privileged one and must be undertaken with empathy and integrity.

JIL Author Guidelines

“help[ed] to make a potentially very scary process a lot more manageable.”

“The author would like to thank …the reviewers, whose comments were invaluable.”

Reviewing the reviewers

“I would like to thank you again for all the constructive and benevolent effort that you and your reviewers put into this review and for the graciousness with which you did it.  I have been through several submission processes that have been quite impersonal and where the critical feedback has been either on the verge of cruelty or entirely neglectful.  You and your reviewers stand apart …”

Reviewing the reviewers

JIL copyeditors

Lizzie Seals

Sharon Lawler

Helen Bader

Lisa Hutchins

JIL Copyeditors’ advice

• Use the publication template if there is one• Define acronyms and abbreviations on first use• Format your references using the journal’s house style• Ensure all in-text citations are given a full reference at

the end, and that all references are cited in the text• Ensure diagrams and images are copyright-cleared

and/or attributed

Tweet by Academia Obscura reproduced with permission

Image source unknown (reddit meme)

Once it is published• Add it to your institutional repository if publisher

permits• Tell the world - use the DOI where possible

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Framing YOUR article

Author:You

What is a journal article?

Light green Lego brick by Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0

You might find this blog post useful too.

What could you publish?

What could you publish?

• Literature review• Data• Your ‘beloved darlings’

Think of publishing something from your research, not your thesis

Framing YOUR article

Author:You

On writing

Tell your reader …

• Context - you’re contributing to a dialogue• Approach and method that underpin the

research• Rigour - the validity of your approach and

findings• What/why/how of your research

What/why/how

• What is your research?

• Why are you doing it?

• How are you doing it?

What/why/how• What is your research?What questions does it address (or ask)?

• Why are you doing it?Why does it matter? What will it change?What interests/frustrates/niggles you about the topic?

• How are you doing it?What’s your approach or method? How does it frame your findings?How does it help you mitigate bias?

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Emma Coonan, Editor-in-ChiefJournal of Information Literacye.coonan@uea.ac.uk

Twitter: LibGoddess

A bit more on writing

• Keep focused Pin your hypothesis or question and your what/why/how analysis by your desk. Everything you write is directed towards answering the question.

• Flatpack itDive in wherever you feel you have something to say. Write up the section which comes most naturally and compile the sections later.

• It’s iterativeDraft, redraft, draft again (and see Lamott on first drafts!)

• Find (or bribe) a proofreader This could be a colleague, friend or family member, but always get someone else to read it through!

• Read critically to help you write critically Become a reviewer – or ‘buddy up’ with another aspiring author and support each other

• Free-writingDon’t wait until you know what you want to say – get ideas out of your head so you can reflect on and develop them

• Join (or start) a writers’ groupYou can read why I love them in this blog post.

• Break it down It’s like eating an elephant!

http://patthomson.net/

http://explorationsofstyle.com/

Emma Coonan, Editor-in-ChiefJournal of Information Literacye.coonan@uea.ac.uk

Twitter: LibGoddess