submitting journal articles

Some often unspoken, but nevertheless important, rules of conduct:

 

• Don't submit the same piece (or even different versions of it) to multiple journals simultaneously. Not only is this often explicitly prohibited in journals' submission guidelines, it's also a dick move (and, many believe, an unethical one). It can certainly be frustrating to wait months to hear back on something, particularly if you're anxious to get a piece placed before going on the market. But you're engaging in a good faith process by asking a journal to publish something you've written, and you should be willing to invest the time necessary for it to work its way through the editorial process. 

 

• Submitting to multiple journals can also lead to difficult decisions if a preferred journal finally gets back to you after you've already been accepted by a less desirable one. Tempting as it may be, you should avoid withdrawing a piece once it's been accepted. Not only is it tacky, but when the original editor sees your paper published in a different journal, s/he may be understandably irked (particularly if you weren't honest about your reasons when withdrawing the piece). This sort of behavior can establish a reputation that can be difficult to repair, so think carefully before you decide where you want to submit.

 

• Always ask an editor to pass along your thanks to the readers who responded to your piece, even if their feedback led the journal to reject your submission. Such grace and gratitude can also establish a reputation, and it demonstrates you understand and appreciate the willingness of other scholars to volunteer their time to give feedback on your work and help improve the state of scholarship in our field.

 

• Part of establishing your niche in a discipline involves responding, sometimes negatively, to the work of others. Some recommend junior scholars avoid such practices altogether (you never know who may be reviewing your work someday, or who may show up at a conference presentation looking to settle a score with some pointed questions). But if you feel it's necessary, work on establishing your niche not by carving it out with a rusty spoon, but by respectfully sidling between your peers and letting the brilliance of your intervention make theirs look shabby by comparison. Don't criticize previous arguments for not acknowledging findings that had yet to be made, or for adhering to scholarly traditions that have since become anachronistic. Take them on their own terms, and recognize their conclusions are as contingent as your own will be. Ultimately, what you want your work to inspire is not a fight, but a dialogue, and the attitude and tone with which you approach your critiques will help ensure the latter.