How To Get Your Article Published In A Magazine – This month marks the start of my fourth year as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal for Educational Integrity. Before that I worked as a co-editor and before that I worked as a reviewer and article writer. Last year, the journal received its first impact factor (4.6), placing it in the 95th percentile of all journals within educational research. Since that happened, the number of submissions the journal has received seems to have skyrocketed. Each week I review submissions from authors who are eager to have their work published in a first quarter (top quartile) academic journal. In this post, I provide five tips on how to get your work published in a top-ranked journal.
Make sure your manuscript fits the journal’s goals and scope. The main reason I reject manuscripts outright without sending them for peer review is that the topic of the manuscript has no relevance whatsoever to our journal. Reputable journals publish their objectives and scope on their website. As an example, here are the goals and scope of the International Journal for Educational Integrity.
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As an interdisciplinary journal, we receive submissions from just about every field you can think of, but just because a journal is interdisciplinary doesn’t mean anything goes. When I receive a manuscript on the effectiveness of a pesticide or new developments related to geo-spatial heat maps, I automatically reject it because the topic is outside the scope of the journal. Manuscripts that deal with education broadly, but which have no direct connection to ethics and integrity, also receive desk rejections.
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If you want to publish your article in a high-quality journal, make sure it is consistent with the journal’s goals and scope.
Poor quality writing is one of the main reasons manuscripts receive a desk rejection. Make sure the quality of your manuscript is your top priority. Quality markers include, but are not limited to, writing that is comprehensible and error-free. (The odd typo can be corrected during the revision process.) Quality also means including a literature review that shows you understand previous scholarship in the field, a detailed methods section, and an in-depth analysis. The findings must show original contributions to the field, together with the limitations of the work.
Articles that are theoretical or conceptual should still have a clear structure and be organized in a way that the reader can follow. The problem/gap/hook heuristic is a way of framing a conceptual article so that the value to the reader is clear.
Posts that are difficult to read, either because of poor writing or because they lack organization, are more likely to be rejected. This does not mean that all articles must follow a cookie-cutter formula. Unconventional articles can be interesting and valuable, but the reader must still be able to follow them.
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Make sure your submission fits with the journal’s submission guidelines. Don’t wait for a desk rejection and then tell the editor you can reformat the manuscript. Submit according to the guidelines.
I have had prospective authors argue with me via email when I reject or request a revision of their submissions on the basis that their manuscript does not follow the journal’s guidelines. Arguing with an editor about how you don’t have the time or interest to submit according to the journal’s guidelines is unlikely to persuade an editor that your submission should be considered. Saying that you will revise or reformat your submission only if your article is accepted is a fast track to a rejection.
Read recently published articles in the journal to understand what kind of submissions make the cut. It can also be useful to understand who the editors and editorial board members are and how their expertise contributes to the journal.
I reviewed a submission that argued that female students were inherently vulnerable to academic cheating because of their gender. (The main argument was that women are more morally corrupt than men.) Um….
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Needless to say, the submission was problematic (and rejected) for a number of reasons, not least the lack of scientific basis for the claims in the submission. When I did my preliminary editorial review, it occurred to me that the authors probably had no idea that the editor was a woman… And why would they, when only 8% of editors-in-chief of academic journals are women? It might not even occur to them to check. (If they had, they could have saved themselves the trouble of submitting…)
A quick check of the editors can give you an insight into who is the manager of a journal. Reviewing the information about the newsroom probably gives an incomplete picture at best, but it can be useful.
Make sure your manuscript adds something new to the existing knowledge base. The best academic articles provide value to the reader and the wider scientific or scholarly community. Always keep the reader in mind. One reason submissions are rejected is because the authors are so self-absorbed in themselves and their own ideas or goals that they do not consider individual readers as well as the collective readership of the journal as a whole.
When potential writers ask me to publish their article because they need a publication to graduate, get hired, keep their jobs or get promoted, my heart aches. This is a sign of systemic dysfunction in academia in general, but it is a sign that a journal editor cannot solve. The article itself must provide value to the reader, otherwise it is unlikely that the article will be published. The more value you can provide to readers, the more likely it is that your manuscript will be published in a high-quality journal.
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There are many other things to say about how to get your work published in a quality academic journal, but I’ll stop for now, as this covers some of the basics. I hope these tips are helpful in getting your academic work published in the coming years.
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Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. The opinions are my own and do not represent the opinions of my employer.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 2, 2024 at 11:48 am and is filed under higher issue, International Journal for Educational Integrity. You can follow all responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. Do you have an idea for a health article, but don’t know how to take the next step? Looking for ways to share your passion for health with others?
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Just starting out as a health writer, have an idea for a piece…but not sure how to get your first article published?
When you begin your journey as a health writer, looking for your first big break as a writer, it can be hard to imagine getting published for the first time.
Why is the first step also the hardest? You may not be sure where or how to start – or, very commonly, it’s the fear of rejection that’s holding you back.
This is easier said than done, I know, but it is important to fight the fear. If fear prevents you from taking responsibility—whether it’s the fear of failure, criticism, or a lack of confidence—remember that even authors who have written hundreds of articles started from scratch. If they can do it, you can.
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Fear is a writer’s greatest enemy and will continue to hold you back until you can find ways to overcome it. Knowing that getting an article published for the first time involves a thoughtful and somewhat systematic approach makes the whole process seem less scary.
A planned, methodical strategy will give you a good chance of getting published – and it will help you produce quality content, too.
1. To get your first article published, you need to be clear about your reasons: What, who, why and where
Whether you have an idea for a health article, or want to become a published writer but don’t know how to get there, this first step will help you get clear about all your reasons for getting published. Consider:
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2. Since it is your first published article, you may need to write the entire article before pitching to an editor
When you’re starting out, you need all the practice you can get. It really helps to write all the time, at every opportunity. You should write the article first. As a new writer, you may not be lucky enough to get an opportunity to be published without showing the client or editor a finished writing sample.
Editors also know that writing a winning article is not the same as writing a good article. Having an idea is one thing, but being able to translate that idea into an impressive health article is