1. Ginny Smith Managing Editor: Planning and Urban Studies Taylor & Francis Ltd. Email: ginny.smith@tandf.co.uk

2. Publishing in Academic Journals Tips to Help you Publish Successfully July 2007

3. Key topics Audience and Type of Publication Choosing the Correct Journal Assessing the Best Journal for your Article Writing for your Chosen Journal Preparing the Journal Manuscript Top Ten Reasons Why Journal Articles are Rejected And Finally!

4. Audience and Type of Publication Local, UK, international Teachers, researchers, general public Magazine article Books Research note Literature review Journal article: Do you –Write an article for a specific journal –Find a journal for your article

5. Choosing the Correct Journal Research the journals in your field –Library –Websites –Talk to Peers Type of journal –General –Niche Familiarise yourself with the aims and scope of journals in your area Choose the ‘Best’ journal for your article

6. Assessing the Best Journal for Your Article What is the readership and usage? Is it international? Is it peer reviewed: how long will this take? Who is the editor? Who is on the editorial board? Who publishes in the journal? Is it on the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) Citation Database? Available online and printed? Is it published by a major publisher or association?

7. Writing for Your Chosen Journal Look at previous papers to get a feel for what is accepted Check the aims and scope again Take note of maximum extent of the submission Follow any submission guidelines –Check if the submission is to an online editorial office, many now use Scholar 1 or Editorial Manager Quote from previous papers published in the journal Send an abstract to the editor? (some editors do not encourage this)

8. Preparing the Journal Manuscript Read the note to contributors Write an abstract: this is a skill, it shouldn’t be the same as the conclusion! Ensure references cited in text, appear in bibliography Expand any acronyms, remember it is an international audience Check spelling and grammar Take care when choosing the title, remember academics may find it via a search engine

9. Manuscript Preparation Cont’d. Figures, tables and photographs –Check they are ALL present –Place in a separate file on the disk –Do not embed in the text of the manuscript –Consider how they will appear in the journal –Ensure you have the correct copyright clearance Ask a colleague to read paper prior to submission

10. Top Ten Reasons Why Journal Articles are Rejected 1Sent to wrong journal 2Not a proper article (i.e. too journalistic, or clearly a thesis chapter, or a consultancy report) 3Too long (ignoring word limits for the particular journal) or too short 4Poor regard to conventions of journal (failure to consult Notes for Contributors) or to conventions of academic writing generally 5Bad style, grammar, punctuation; poor English (not corrected by native speaker) 6Fails to say anything of significance (i.e. makes no new contribution to the subject) or states the obvious at tedious length 7Not properly contextualised (e.g. concentrates on parochial interests and ignores the needs of an international or generally wider readership) 8No theoretical framework (including references to relevant literature) 9Scrappily presented and clearly not proofread 10Libellous, unethical, rude

11. Top Ten Factors Influencing Authors * 1. Right kind of readership 2. A&I Coverage 3. Impact Factor 4. Prestigious editorial board 5. E-journal available 6. Size of readership 7. Speed of refereeing 8. Hard copy available 9. Easy to publish in the journal 10. Price of the journal *Source: CIBER survey, University College London (www.ucl.ac.uk/ciber)

12. And Finally! Do NOT get disillusioned by rejection Be prepared to re-write or alter your paper Make use of the referee’s comments Try again Good luck! –There IS a journal out there for you!