Publication without tears: tips for aspiring authors

Liz McCarthyWeb & Digital Media Manager, Bodleian LibrariesDigital Communications, 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

• Relevance to the journal’s remit

• Originality and interest to our audience

• Title and abstract

• Methodology

• 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?

• Methodology – 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 editor(s)

• 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

• 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

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 attributed

Once it is published

• Add it to your institutional repository if publisher permits

• Tell the world – use the DOI where possible

Framing YOUR article

Author:You

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You might find this blog post useful too.

• What is your story? Who is your audience?

• Current research project? MLIS project?Could you publish something based on your literature review, findings from a pilot project, final project conclusions?

• Early idea/exploration?Share reflections/interim findings via conferences or blogs

• Writing by yourself or with a co-author?

Where and what to publish?

Where and what to publish?

• Read journal author guidelines and previous articles

• Consider journal mission and scopeE.g. JIL focuses on information literacy –not library skills, libraries or teaching in general

• Peer-reviewed article? Shorter project report?

• Consider writing conference reports, book reviews ... or becoming a peer reviewer

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?

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 we love them in this blog post.

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

http://patthomson.net/

http://explorationsofstyle.com/

Journal of Information Literacy

http://jil.lboro.ac.uk/ Twitter: @JInfoLit