Yokohama International School How to Get Published (in Education) Dr Mary Hayden 2 June 2011

When should you publish? Where should you publish? How should you go about publishing?

When should you publish? If you have a good (education-related) idea worth sharing more widely If you can write clearly and engagingly (or know someone who can help you to do so – either as a joint author or ‘critical friend’) If you’re prepared for/interested in others discussing your ideas

Where should you publish? Decide BEFORE you start writing! Depends on: the idea/the evidence to support the idea how many words you want to write the audience you want to share your ideas with

How should you go about publishing? Think about: what you want to write about why you want to write about it who you want to tell about it where you’d like to see it published

To help you decide …… publishing books is generally much more difficult to get into than publishing in journals or magazines look at back copies of any journals/magazines you’re considering (to get a ‘feel’ for what’s required) read the ‘notes for contributors’ (if there are any) – make explicit what the Editor’s looking for (length/style/topics/deadlines etc) consider contacting the Editor to ask if they’d be interested – in principle – in a piece on the topic you have in mind (after steps 2 and 3 above)

While you’re writing …… Remember the audience you’re writing for (tone/style/structure) Remember the ‘notes for contributors’ Remember that any piece of writing needs ‘crafting’ (drafting/re-drafting/re-drafting again …..) Try to allow enough time to be able to leave it for a week or two – so you can see the earlier draft through ‘fresh eyes’ Ask a critical friend to read what you think is a good draft Be prepared to revise it later (especially for an academic journal)

Peer review process: usually along these lines: Author submits article through designated procedure Editor judges if there’s a prima facie case for consideration (topic, length, style etc): if not, will reject If there is, anonymised article is sent out to 2 or 3 reviewers (‘blind’) for response to Editor Editor makes judgement, based on reviewers’ comments, whether to accept outright, reject outright, or accept subject to modification – and feeds back to author accordingly

Some golden rules NEVER submit the same piece of writing for consideration by more than one publication at the same time … but it’s OK to write for different types of publication, in different styles (usually different lengths), about the same topic Be patient – the process (especially where peer review is involved) takes time Remember your writing may be read in 20 years’ time (or more) – avoid use of (eg) ‘now’ and ‘last year’

Some options ‘professional’ journals: experience-based writing (longer pieces) [reviewed by Editor, possibly with support of small editorial board] ‘professional’ magazines: experience-based writing (shorter pieces: may include photos) [reviewed by Editor, possibly with support of small editorial board] ‘academic’ journals: research-based writing (empirically- or literature-based) [peer reviewed]

In the context of international education (for example)…. Professional journal: International Schools Journal(~3,000) (published by John Catt on behalf of CIS/ECIS) Professional magazine: IS magazine(~1,000) (published by John Catt on behalf of CIS/ECIS) Professional magazine: IB World(~500-1,200) (published by Haymarket, for IB) Academic journal: Journal of Research in (~4-7,000) International Education (published by Sage)

Some Details and Contacts IS magazine: Editor: Dr Caroline Ellwood International Schools Journal: Editor: Dr Caroline Ellwood

Some Details and Contacts cont … IB World: Editor: Robert Jeffery JRIE: Editor: Dr Mary Hayden or Prof Kay Margetts [

Some interesting issues Increasing numbers of publications available online (as well as in hard copy) – or only online What do we mean by a ‘publication’? How does disseminating ideas through traditional forms of publishing relate to disseminating ideas via, eg, twitter, blogs, ….? ‘Self publishing’ speeds things up – but skips the critical review (and the editorial support). [Care!]

Happy writing! Dr Mary Hayden