How To Get Published!

Hi HEALers!

Thank you again for another wonderful morning of presentations, activities, and insights. You are all creating such an elaborate body of work and I know that some of you have expressed to me your interest in publishing these pieces. For three years, I served as the student representative on the editorial board of the Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education and based on that experience I advise the following:

Gather. Make a list of the publishers that you are interested in submitting to. Read about their scope and mission in order to confirm that your work is a good fit for their journal.

Review. Read a few of the pieces that are published in that journal to get a sense of the writing style and format that editors accept.

Submission Guidelines. Carefully read the submission guidelines for the journal or magazine that you are interested in submitting to. Many of these publications have strict rules pertaining to word limits, referencing style, and the use of tables, graphs, and/or images.

Edit. If you feel that your piece aligns well with the publication, then invite a few of your colleagues to read your work and assist you by providing feedback. Also, inform them of the publication that you are submitting to because they may be able to provide further insight pertaining to that specific journal's submission process.

Cover letter. Submit your article with a cover letter introducing yourself, your work, and explain why you chose their magazine for submission. Indicate that your work conforms to their submission guidelines and suggest potential reviewers for your piece.

Hurry up and wait. Once you submit your work, be patient as the review process can take a few months or more. Submitters will often receive one of the four notifications listed below:

Accept. You're in! Pop open the champagne bottle cause this is a rare occurence!
Accept with revision. You're in with a few minor fixes requested.
Revise and resubmit. They want your piece but require more extensive work in order for acceptance. In this scenario, it's important to respond to the publication as soon as possible with the requested edits.
Reject and resubmit. This is a very common response from journals so don't get discouraged. Read their reply carefully as many publications will indicate why your piece was rejected. Use that feedback to enhance your paper and consider submitting to another publication.

Here are a few additional resources I've gathered that may help guide your process:

How to get published in a professional journal by Barbara O'Neill
How to get your work published as a graduate student by Danielle Lorenz
How to get your journal article published by SAGE journals

As always, I'm here for you if you need me to review your work.  Good luck!

Sincerely,

Jacqueline