CONSIDERATIONS IN PUBLISHING: FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Disseminating your scholarship through publication is something very few people ever achieve, so it is quite an honor when it occurs. However, to be successful in a very competitive publishing environment, there are many factors which must be considered well in advance of the paper’s submission. The chart below outlines some of these considerations. A work sheet is also provided at the end of the table to help guide your journal selection.
Please let me know how I can support you on your exciting journey to publication!
All the best,
Amanda Curtsinger, DNP
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CONSIDERATIONS |
COMMENTS |
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1) Who is the audience? What is the subject matter and which groups are most likely to be interested in your topic? |
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2) What journal is most appropriate for your topic? a) Identify journals that are likely to be interested in your topic. i) You might start by reviewing your own reference page to identify the journals and authors you cited. ii) The journal(s) you cited most might be a good place to start, if your topic would not be too duplicative for the editor to be significantly interested. b) What is the purpose of the journal you selected? i) Determine the mission/vision/purpose of the journal. Does it fit with your topic? ii) If so, you will need to modify your paper appropriately to ensure it has wording that clearly demonstrates the fit is obvious to the editor, and to the reader. Important note: Lack of fit with the journal is the most common reason papers are rejected. c) What is the frequency of publication? i) Monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, annually? ii) Be aware that the less frequent the publication, the longer the wait to have your paper published (it is not uncommon to wait up to a year for an accepted paper to be published in less journals that are published less frequently). This is a big consideration if your topic is time sensitive. d) Does the journal require evidence that IRB approval was obtained prior to your study/project? i) The higher the journal’s Impact Factor (IF), the more likely that evidence of IRB approval will be required at the time the manuscript is submitted ii) See #3 below for discussion of IF. |
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3) What is the journal’s Impact Factor (IF)? i) IF refers to the frequency of citations in a specific journal over a set period of time. Higher level (better) journals have higher IFs because the quality of their published articles effectively influence practice and are therefore cited more often. Ideally, you want to choose a journal with an acceptable impact factor. ii) Scopus has a nice site which describes the overall impact of many nursing journals (1) Go to . (2) Enter “nursing” in the subject area (3) Click on the nursing topics of interest (ie. advanced nursing, nursing miscellaneous, etc.) to get the impact for the nursing journals listed. (4) If the journal you are interested in is not listed, then try looking directly on the publisher’s site for the journal you are interested in. iii) To search internationally, consider using the Scimago Journal & Country Ranking site: |
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4) What are some other important considerations for authors? Once you have narrowed down the journal choice, locate the” guidelines for authors” on their website: a) Is the journal fee-based? (i) It has become quite common for publishers to charge authors to publish (this can be hundreds or even thousands of dollars). It can be quite disappointing to finally be accepted for publication, only to learn that a fee is required. Be sure to determine this in advance so there are no surprises. (ii) Authors commonly must choose if they want their article published as “open source”. Open source is almost always fee based, since it increases the visibility of your article and viewers are not required to pay to obtain it (hence, the author pays the fee up front). (iii) Sometimes you have to search for fee related information, as it is usually not readily available/visible on the website. Contact the editor if you cannot locate this information. b) What is the word limit? i) Frequently, the word limit is around 1500-2000 words, but not always. Some journals go as high as 5,000 words. This is an important consideration, depending on the size of your paper. ii) Does the word limit include abstract and references? c) Is there a limit on the number of tables, graphics or art work? Is there a fee for graphics? If you have a lot of graphics/tables, this will be a very important consideration. |
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5) It is always a good idea to send a query letter to the editor well in advance of your submission if you are still unsure about the fit of your paper for the journal. a. A query letter (or e-mail) allows you to briefly summarize your paper to the editor to determine if s/he would consider publishing it b. A nice article with query letter example can be found here: “From Capstone Project to Published Article” |
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Name of Journal |
URL of website |
How often published? |
Word Limit? |
Limit on figures & Tables? Fees? |
Impact Factor? |
Fees? |
Query Letter? |
IRB? |
Comments |
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□ Monthly □ Quarterly □ Other: |
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□ Monthly □ Quarterly □ Other: |
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□ Monthly □ Quarterly □ Other: |
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□ Monthly □ Quarterly □ Other: |
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□ Monthly □ Quarterly □ Other: |
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□ Monthly □ Quarterly □ Other: |
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□ Monthly □ Quarterly □ Other: |
