Accepted! Writing, Submitting, and Publishing Manuscripts in Journals
Alan J. Zillich, PharmD — William S. Bucke Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, Purdue University College of Pharmacy — talks with us about getting your work published; from identifying great ideas, collaborating, writing, and revising your manuscript. Key Lessons: From review articles to meta-analyses, from case reports to observational studies and controlled trials, getting your work published is immensely gratifying. But it requires many months (and sometimes years) of effort. Working with a mentor who has experience producing scholarly work and getting published is a great first step. Good research questions arise from practice. When there are gaps in our knowledge, that's where a scholarly project that's potentially publishable often emerges. Working with an authoring team - bringing together people with different skills - can really improve the quality and rigor of your scholarly work. Use explicit criteria to determine who qualifies as an author on a paper. Be sure to acknowledge those who contributed but not meet the definition of author. Finding the "right" journal for your work is important. Each journal has a different audience and mission. Getting rejected is part of the process. The feedback from peer reviewers can be extremely helpful and you are one step closer to getting published. Beware of predatory journals (who don't provide a rigorous peer review but still charge high publication fees). Blocking time in your schedule to regularly engaging (at least weekly) in scholarly activities - researching and writing - is critical to success. Make an appointment with yourself. Unfortunately, this might require early mornings, evenings, or weekends if you can't negotiate the time into your workday.