Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Getting Published

Here is a good short piece on submitting to journals.  And one should take note of the dual definition of submit: giving the piece to the journal for review AND then doing whatever the reviewers want once you get a revise and resubmit.  Submit as in given in, surrender your ego, and suck it up.  Perfectionists and purists have something in common--they don't get published much.  It is, indeed, a social science--we learn from each other as we try to persuade each other that our ideas are interesting and our arguments are persuasive.  If the folks who read one's stuff are unconvinced, then one needs to consider what it takes. 

And less literature review, as this piece suggests and as I have ranted, might just be one way to go.  Yes, you may alienate a potential reviewer for not citing his or her stuff, but putting all potential reviewers to sleep to minimize the risk of offending a potential ego-centric reviewer is never a good idea.  True, there are heaps of people who are ego-centric who might be your reviewer, but all of us can fall asleep.  Best to go with the odds--and make it interesting and not bore the reader with endless review. 

No comments: