Getting published

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by GBrown, Dec 10, 2002.

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  1. GBrown

    GBrown New Member

    Does anyone have experience with getting published in professional journals? If so, I am seeking advice. I would like to read about your experiences (good and bad) with submitting your articles for publication.
     
  2. Steve King

    Steve King Member

    I've been published a few places -- mostly trade magazines. I have other articles in the works now. So far, I've found the experience to be kind of fun and pretty easy going.

    I have read (o.k., I skimmed) a couple of books on how to get published in magazines and professional journals; but I did not find them helpful. For example, they suggest that you send the publisher a one-page summary of what you're going to write, to see if they are interested in printing it. I've never done that. Instead, I write what I want and then send it to the most appropriate journal. I know that if they don't want to publish it (which hasn't happened yet) then another magazine or journal will want it.

    I have also begun giving presentations at symposiums and conferences. If you don't mind public speaking, that's a great way to network and meet people in your field. Some graduate school advisors recommend getting published and speaking at conferences while working on your PhD. I suppose it's no different in the DL world.

    I'm not sure what kind of information you're looking for and I know there are others on this board who have published quite a lot. (Unlike others, I can still count all of my published articles on my fingers.) What are your concerns or questions?
     
  3. GBrown

    GBrown New Member

    I'm not looking for anything specific, just general advice. I want to get started with beefing up my CV. There aren't very many opportunities for public speaking (I'm in Fairbanks, Alaska), but I see publishing in journals a worthy endeavor.

    Is there a list of professional journals separating the "good" from the "bad" in terms of reputation? There are many journals in the Touro library, but how do I know which ones are worthwhile?
     
  4. levicoff

    levicoff Guest

    Most journals, both academic and professional, have "writer's guidelines" available (as do many general magazines and even book publishers). They will inform you, among other things, about the publication's style, any length requirements, the acceptance/editing process (including whether editorial board or peer reviewed), use of citations and tables, and required style manual (Chicago, APA, etc.).

    Check the index page of the specific journal, which should tell you where to write to request their writer's guidelines.

    By the way, when you say "worthy endeavor," it depends on your goals. Magazines pay, professional journals do not necessarily pay at all (let alone pay well). Most academic and professional publications fulfill the "publish or perish" mentality and, at this stage of the game, they will help buff up your résumé or C.V. (which is important if teaching is your goal). But as far as putting bread on the table, the old expression bodes well, "Don't quit your daytime job."

    The journals also tend to have a fairly long lead time (from submission to acceptance to actual publication). Still, especially when you are a doctoral student, you will be able to get mileage out of saying, "I have an article coming out in . . ."

    Finally, don't neglect newspapers (you can get a list of dailies and weeklies for anywhere in the U.S. at http://www.newspaperlinks.com), but do try to avoid the "Letters to the Editor" section of newspapers. If a newspaper is willing to publish somhting you write as an article, it makes a nice addition to the C.V. If they only want to print you in the "Letters to the Editor" section, it's not worth listing, since any schmuck on the street can write those (and, in fact, they do).

    As for which journals are worthwhile and which are not, the answer is that all of them are worthwhile. Even academics have perceptions, and a small journal with a classy-sounding name will do the job when it comes to your C.V., just as a classy-sounding dissertation title will puff your image even if the internal content is crap. (Face it, A Heuristic Analysis of Experiential Research on Southern Californians Who Surf sounds better than How I Spent My Summer Vacation.) Academe, like anything else in life, is a game to some degree - you only have to learn to play it well. (Or, as a wise bishop once told me, "If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bullshit.")
     
  5. John Roberts

    John Roberts New Member

    Having done this in Professional journals for Engineering and Management, the approach that I took when first starting out was to identify those Journals which I personally read or which I would like to contribute an article to.

    The first step was to write to the editor and request an interest to submit an atricle based on (your) particular area of interest. Also many Journals have schedules laid out for a full year on what each of the editions would contain in terms of related subjects or topics of interest.

    Dont just simply say to the editor 'Oh I will write 2-3 pager on XYZ subject', it will get tossed immediately.

    Most editors like the soft approach that coordinates with their schedules and quite often have space for contributing articles, with very tight cut off dates, going the draft route first then final copy-print 60 days before issue.

    You never know, you may end up getting a premium prize for best article on ABC subject?

    BTW, I thought Ph.D students usually are in publication by now, whether its a Trade Journal, Conference papers or research paper?

    J.R(ic)
     
  6. Mike Albrecht

    Mike Albrecht New Member

    I will second what Steven and John said above. I just picked a magazine or two that I read regularly and contacted the editor with a couple of article ideas, now 15 credits later I still use this approach.

    Today, most trade journals will gladly accept articles, especially if you do not want to get paid.

    Also consider online sources such as web magazines of regular print versions, they often have a slightly differing content.
     
  7. Bill Highsmith

    Bill Highsmith New Member

    Frequently for professional journals and conferences, articles and presentations are classified as peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed. It is obvious what this means: peer-reviewed articles are reviewed prior to publication by subject matter experts for acceptance; non-peer-reviewed articles are reviewed typically by a section editor.

    Peer-reviewed articles carry more academic weight and may open some doors that trade publications, particularly in academia or at companies having a strong research culture. But as Dr. Levicoff implied, don’t buy the Corvette until you see the size of the check, if any.

    Peer-review adds some months to the process of publication, so you have to look as much as a year in advance for certain conferences and publications, particularly if they have a special focus. You can probably find a website in your area of interest that lists conferences and publications of interest. The conference websites will nearly always have a “call for papers” section that describes the needs and requirements for publication or presentation. Many technical journals also include calls for papers and general publication information.

    You really have to look closely at a journal to see what sort of articles they need. Some trade magazines carry fluffy articles that are hardly more than free advertisements for a company; whereas, some journals are looking for very scholarly works.
     
  8. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    If you are planning to write about aerospace (I note your ERAU degree) see the AIAA web site (www.aiaa.org) for opportunities - both papers and journals.

    For journal pubs note the following policy:
    "We request payment of a publication charge of $875 per full-length paper, $375 per Note, and $275 per Comment. Although payment is voluntary, the solvency of the journals depends upon it. An author's organization is expected to pay the charge unless it is absolutely unable to do so. Payment is authorized as a cost item in Government contracts under a policy ruling by the Federal Council of Science and Technology. The policy recognizes that research results frequently are published in journals that do not carry advertising and are published by nonprofit organizations."
    Maybe other professional journals have a similar policy.

    There is no cost for submiting a paper for presentation at an AIAA conference.


    Ian Anderson
    BS - USNY
    MSQA- CSUDH
    MAS - ERAU (in work)
    AF-AIAA
     
  9. levicoff

    levicoff Guest

    What Ian and Bill have covered touches on what call the synergy of publication. Presenting papers at professional conferences (which generally does not pay anything) is simply another expression of this - bumping up your credentials for the sake of the C.V.

    Example: When I was doing my doctorate, I had articles accepted by several publications - journals, magaine, and newspapers. They led to my being accepted at an RA graduate school for my doctoral teaching internship. My role at the school led to my being contacted on numerous occasions by the local affiliates of all major networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) when they needed expert commentary on their newscasts. (Which is a real trip - they generally tape you for ten minutes, broadcast you for five to ten seconds, and you hear from every relative and neighbor with whom you don't want to be bothered as they call and shout, "I saw you on TV!")

    The combination of publication and the roles of teacher and expert commentator added to my credibility when it came to signing a book contract with a major publisher. The book resulted in my being retained by the graduate school at which I did my internship and being named an adjunct professor even before I graduated.

    The subsequent book and my teaching position contributed to my being awarded a contract with an even larger publisher for my next book. And all of the above resulted in being invited to do workshops, seminars, and endowed/invited lectureships. And by that time, I no longer bothered with writing small pieces for publication unless they had the potential to generate more book sales. Nor, for that matter, did I ever "present a paper" at a professional conference; since I was already being contracted for lectures, I couldn't be bothered with the presentations that didn't pay or those that might relegate me to being the 28th member of the last panel of the day.

    That's the synergy. Depending on the environment, persons who hold a doctorate may or may not continue to write for journals or present papers at professional conferences. If you hold a position at a large university, you will likely be more concerned with puffing the C.V. than if you are at a smaller, more teaching-focused school. The continuing variables include gaining tenure, securing research funding, moving up the ladder of faculty rank, and even good ol' ego.
     
  10. Tom

    Tom New Member

    You may want to take a look at Sage Publications:
    http://www.sagepub.com/
     
  11. GBrown

    GBrown New Member

    THANK YOU!!

    Thank you to everyone for their input!

    I am not interested in monetary reward (at this point), but I am interested in being as employable as possible following my retirement from Uncle Sam's Army in a few years. I want to teach at the undergraduate/graduate level - I'm not so interested in research, but I know it is a part of the package. Therefore, I need to prove my ability by getting published.

    I suggested to Touro University International that they provide assistance - they plan to add some pointers to their PhD guide CD for the next release (probably next term). Also, some of the professors volunteered to provide personal assistance later this term (the term started yesterday, so they're very busy).

    Thanks again!!
    :D
     
  12. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Be really careful about publishing anything that might end up in your dissertation.

    The excellent and scary book by Wilfrid Cude, The Ph.D. Trap, and, last year, The Ph.D.Trap Revisited, details his experience at a major university, when a prestigious journal in his field invited him to write an article or two, which were published. Then when it came time to submit his dissertation, it was rejected, because of the university's rigid rule about all original never published work. Cude fought this for years, lost at every turn, never got his Ph.D., and got his revenge by writing at length about many other unfair events that happened to doctoral students. His main focus is Canadian, but I think a lot of it is relevant in other countries.
     

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