How to Publish an Article in a Journal
You can publish an article in a journal through five (5) straightforward steps. You can get your article published by choosing a journal, writing the article, submitting the journal, passing peer reviews, and completing production.
Follow the steps in this guide to get your article published. You can also take advantage of the tips later on in this guide to maximize the reach and relevance of your published articles.
How to Publish an Article in a Journal
Step 1: Choose a journal
Where you choose to publish your article is the most important step to take before beginning to write. Your preferred journal could have the reach and popularity your article needs to reach a wider audience.
Consider all options carefully before proceeding to the next step to get your article published. You need to look at the preferred mode of publication (open access, paid, or subscription-based) offered by your preferred journal.
Also, journals usually have strict formatting and structure requirements for articles due for publishing on their platform.
How to choose a journal
Use an online journal selector – online tools from top academic repositories like Elsevier, Wiley, etc. can recommend suitable journals for your potential article.
Manually review journal options – select a journal with a manual search through available library resources.
Why should you choose a journal before writing?
Journals usually accept research that builds on existing material they already published. Your article will stand a higher chance of getting published if it adds to existing research or improves a new topic.
Step 2: Write your article
The next step involves writing an educative and effective research article. Writing a high-quality research paper is vital if you want your article to pass through the publishing process with ease.
You can always take guidance from existing works in a journal to know how to structure your article. Published articles will ease your writing process greatly, especially if you find a topic related to your paper.
Follow the simple guide below to learn how to structure your article based on journals you want to publish it on:
Consider elements about the journal – closely look at the subject area of your article and ensure it aligns with the journal you chose. Look out for recent journals published to see if there are any changes in structure and style of articles.
It is also important to consider the following:
- Your intended audience,
- Appropriate keywords,
- Editorial policies, and so on
You can write the journal and get an experienced editor to look through its pages for any possible corrections.
Step 3: Submit your journal
After writing, you need to submit your article to the publisher for a detailed review. You need to note that journals usually have different submission requirements in case you plan to see your work published in multiple serials.
Most journals usually spell out their submission guidelines to make it easy for authors to structure their article appropriately. Some common requirements journals look at before accepting your article includes:
- How you structured the article (headings, abstract length, page length, referencing styles, additional resources, etc.)
- Your cover letter (brief details about your academic qualifications or information concerning the topic, or both)
- Data presentation (details on all data used in making findings for the article)
Some journals provide authors with a ready-made checklist of all requirements to accept articles. You can look through the submission checklist of your preferred publisher to make it easy for you to hand in your journal.
Step 4: Complete internal editorial and/or peer review process
The first three steps to get an article published are in your control, but the fourth step isn’t. Your article must go through a peer review process before it is accepted for publishing on a journal. Peer reviewed editorials are usually compulsory for health publications and other science journals.
A peer review is an independent appraisal of your research article by multiple experts in your chosen field of study. Reviewers usually judge the following in an article:
- Originality (percentage of plagiarism)
- Significance (how important the article topic is to current discussions in the journal)
- Validity (the essence of points made in the article and how they help build on existing topics)
Reviewers will consider these points and ensure every aspect of the article undergoes a thorough assessment. Peer reviews also check if the methodology used is good enough and properly fits data chosen for the research.
Step 5: Finish production
After your article passes through the peer review and other editorials, it is ready for publishing. Production makes your article ready for publishing and you usually don’t have to do anything here. The journal production team will prepare your article for publishing to align with their format.
Also, the production team may request your input in the final stages if your article requires extra resources. Some articles contain supplementary information submitted separately like videos, graphs, and other resources.
You can consult the production team to know how best they can present extra information about your article to make it easy for readers to access.
Further Steps to Take after Publishing Your Article in a Journal
You should take further steps to ensure your article gets the audience you want after seeing it published. You can decide to boost the impact of your research by:
- Confirming it is easy to access,
- Signing up for periodic reports about your article (monthly, quarterly, or annual reports views and citations of your work)
- Maintaining the record of your articles (effecting corrections, retracting contested sections, removing unauthorized content, etc.)
- Article translations (producing your work in multiple languages to serve your non-English speaking audience)
Following these steps ensure you can get your article the attention it needs and improve its reach to a wider audience.
Final Word
Always ensure your article is of the highest standard before handing it over for a peer review. Reviewers help ensure your article is of the highest standard and provide necessary feedback where possible.
Peer reviews may also take a post-publish format in some science articles. These reviews can help researchers take note of new points made by experts to improve the quality of published articles. Follow the tips above to maximize the relevance of your article and get it published without stress.