Getting published

[CallMeIshmael]

OK, so Im a second semester senior.

I've been working on this little side project for a while. Its fairly mathy and stems from stuff I read in a biology/evolution type book, but its really more of a sociological or even poltical (analytical side) piece of work.

Im sure the standards are high, but I do believe I could put something together that is good enough to get published. Obviously, Im not going to be overly picky. Anything even remotely accredited that would take it would be more than I could ask for.

What is the best way to go about doing this?


Ive talked to a prof (GOVT) at school informally, and he liked it a lot. Should I go through him? Is there anyway to do this on my own as a senior without even a degree yet?


Any advice is appreciated

[bunny]

Personally, I'd try and get a respectable co-author if you're trying to get published with no qualifications. I think it's the best way to get what you've got looked at - imo you stand a good chance of being dismissed without any more than a cursory glance if you submit it on your own.

[thylacine]

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OK, so Im a second semester senior.

I've been working on this little side project for a while. Its fairly mathy and stems from stuff I read in a biology/evolution type book, but its really more of a sociological or even poltical (analytical side) piece of work.

Im sure the standards are high, but I do believe I could put something together that is good enough to get published. Obviously, Im not going to be overly picky. Anything even remotely accredited that would take it would be more than I could ask for.

What is the best way to go about doing this?


Ive talked to a prof (GOVT) at school informally, and he liked it a lot. Should I go through him? Is there anyway to do this on my own as a senior without even a degree yet?


Any advice is appreciated

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Get advice from a few professors. They can pre-screen it to see what its chances are and where it should be sent and what the procedures are. A prof can relay it for you, but don't get a co-author (as bunny suggested) unless they contribute something that warrants their inclusion.

[John21]

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What is the best way to go about doing this?


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I'd start with getting this book: amazon - 2007 Writer's Market (http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Market-2007/dp/1582974276/sr=1-1/qid=1170123658/ref=sr_1_1/002-5170419-8034405?ie=UTF8&s=books)

[CallMeIshmael]

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What is the best way to go about doing this?


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I'd start with getting this book: amazon - 2007 Writer's Market (http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Market-2007/dp/1582974276/sr=1-1/qid=1170123658/ref=sr_1_1/002-5170419-8034405?ie=UTF8&s=books)

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Is that mainly for fiction/journalist type stuff?


Im talking about a scientific journal here

[John21]

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What is the best way to go about doing this?


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I'd start with getting this book: amazon - 2007 Writer's Market (http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Market-2007/dp/1582974276/sr=1-1/qid=1170123658/ref=sr_1_1/002-5170419-8034405?ie=UTF8&s=books)

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Is that mainly for fiction/journalist type stuff?


Im talking about a scientific journal here

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I'm sorry, I misread your post. When you said, "a biology/evolution type book," I thought that's what you were writing. There is a section on getting published in trade journals, but over-all probably not what you're looking for.

[Silent A]

Perhaps the most important thing a prof can do for you is suggest an appropriate journal. It's not uncommon for it to take as long as a year just to find out that the editor thinks your paper would be better suited for a different journal.

I second the recommendation that you nix any suggestions of co-authorship unless they contribute to your paper significantly. Having their name on the paper won't make that big of a difference and your paper will be judged on its merits regardless of the prof (unless, perhaps, he's literally some kind of Einstein in your field).

Finally, try to make your submission as formal as possible and follow all the journal's submission guidelines to the letter. You don't have to submit our C.V. with your article. There's a significant chance they'll assume you have a tenured position anyway, especially if you can submit your work with your University letterhead and have a campus address.

[gumpzilla]

I agree with others that, being outside the field, you're going to need some help being pointed towards the right journal. Solicit suggestions, then get online and find out what the author guidelines for those journals are. This information is usually available on the website for the journal. It will detail how it expects submissions to look, format, etc. Look at a couple of papers real briefly to see if it fits. Format your manuscript, and submit.

If the paper is good, I don't really see too much reason why it wouldn't get through. Not having any names on it could be a help, in some ways, as the referees have no reason to be involved in a bitch fest with you, whereas they might with some professors. Again, this is a spot where professors acquainted with the journal will probably be able to give you advice.

[Siegmund]

As the others have said... ask someone in the field which is an appropriate journal, and follow that journal's instructions to authors.

Also, be prepared that almost ALL manuscripts get sent back for revisions - some will be rejected outright but even the good ones need one or two rounds of changes before they get published ... if you're lucky you'll get some very valuable comments back from the referees, whether you get accepted or not. (If less lucky - well - hey - you've lost nothing.)

[AvivaSimplex]

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I've been working on this little side project for a while. Its fairly mathy and stems from stuff I read in a biology/evolution type book, but its really more of a sociological or even poltical (analytical side) piece of work.

[/ QUOTE ]
Is this an article or a book? Can you tell us more about what you've written? PM me the abstract if you don't want it public.

In theory, most journals will at least look at whatever is submitted to them. In practice, you'll have a very difficult time, being unknown and inexperienced. I'd suggest you find a professor who likes what you've written, take his/her suggestions for revisions, and then coauthor the paper.

[Rduke55]

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I've been working on this little side project for a while. Its fairly mathy and stems from stuff I read in a biology/evolution type book, but its really more of a sociological or even poltical (analytical side) piece of work.

[/ QUOTE ]
Is this an article or a book? Can you tell us more about what you've written? PM me the abstract if you don't want it public.

In theory, most journals will at least look at whatever is submitted to them. In practice, you'll have a very difficult time, being unknown and inexperienced. I'd suggest you find a professor who likes what you've written, take his/her suggestions for revisions, and then coauthor the paper.

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I concur that you'll most likely need a co-author that is respected in the field.

(I'd like to see it too if you're OK with that)

[CallMeIshmael]

All,

thanks for the sugestions

I was def. going to send it to a few people on here to get feedback (rduke, madnak and boro were three that def. came to mind). I'll def throw avia on that list

Im not quite done yet, but should be within a few weeks to a month... once Im done, I will send some PMs

[disjunction]

First of all this is awesome for a second semester senior.

You were very vague so this response is a little vague too...

The thing you're probably going to run into is that most fields have their own language. They have their own topics of interest, and their own formula for what they consider worthwhile work and not. Think of someone new who comes on to twoplustwo and posts a poker thought. Even if it's worthwhile, usually they just don't talk right, and they get ignored. Or they repeat what others have said.

So the most important thing you're going to have to do is do a literature search (of journals) for similar papers to your own. Take the book you have and look up the references, see what they are doing lately.

Talking with a professor is obviously the right idea. Most would love to hear from you. If you know one, talk to him. If he's a jerk, and you are a student at the university, it is perfectly appropriate to find a professor who you think is a match for the work and email him, even if he doesn't know you. Don't be afraid of them thinking you are dumb, professors don't expect anything out of undergrads except enthusiasm.

Finally, I thought most journals have blind reviews (i.e., the reviewers don't know who you are). So I don't know what to make of the other replies, everyone is weirding me out. Anyway, my field (Comp Sci) has blind reviews and I can't imagine other "mathy" journals are different. So at least you don't have to worry about having a name. But, like I said, if you don't do a literature search it will quickly be apparent that you don't speak the language. And it's a small world so sometimes blind reviews aren't so blind.

[AvivaSimplex]

The reviewers may be blind, but the editors are not. An author's reputation will consciously or unconsciously affect how they weigh the reviews.

Perhaps more importantly, most journals have editors read the papers first to see whether they even deserve to be reviewed. If they get a paper by Random College Senior, they will be much more skeptical than for a paper by Established Professor.

What disjunction says about language is absolutely true, and is probably the biggest obstacle you face. Almost every undergrad paper I've read fails to use the conventional terminology, which is a red flag that the author doesn't know the background literature very well.

When you describe your paper as "fairly mathy and stems from stuff I read in a biology/evolution type book, but its really more of a sociological or even poltical (analytical side) piece of work" that also sets off a BS detector. I haven't read it and I don't know you, so I can't judge, but the odds that you've correctly incorporated insights from 5 different fields are pretty low.

[thylacine]

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Finally, I thought most journals have blind reviews (i.e., the reviewers don't know who you are). So I don't know what to make of the other replies, everyone is weirding me out. Anyway, my field (Comp Sci) has blind reviews and I can't imagine other "mathy" journals are different. So at least you don't have to worry about having a name. But, like I said, if you don't do a literature search it will quickly be apparent that you don't speak the language. And it's a small world so sometimes blind reviews aren't so blind.

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Mathematics does not have blind reviews. You've got me curious as to which fields have this, or things like this.

[CallMeIshmael]

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When you describe your paper as "fairly mathy and stems from stuff I read in a biology/evolution type book, but its really more of a sociological or even poltical (analytical side) piece of work" that also sets off a BS detector. I haven't read it and I don't know you, so I can't judge, but the odds that you've correctly incorporated insights from 5 different fields are pretty low.

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Just to note about this topic...

The project involves using data collected from twin studies to measure the heritability of a trait, models a population using data estimates from america, and then assumes that an independent party (ie. government) has a set of resources to distribute to the population, and are able to distribute the resources to the population as a function of the trait.

Assuming several plausible goals of the government, the model seeks to find optimal resource distribution.


Obviously this is a really lame description since it doesnt go into really any detail, but I just tried to get a little more info


I def. see what you mean with regard to the comment I made about the so many fields, but, it def isnt a "math paper", as much as it just has math in it.

[Rduke55]

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Finally, I thought most journals have blind reviews (i.e., the reviewers don't know who you are). So I don't know what to make of the other replies, everyone is weirding me out. Anyway, my field (Comp Sci) has blind reviews and I can't imagine other "mathy" journals are different. So at least you don't have to worry about having a name. But, like I said, if you don't do a literature search it will quickly be apparent that you don't speak the language. And it's a small world so sometimes blind reviews aren't so blind.

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Mathematics does not have blind reviews. You've got me curious as to which fields have this, or things like this.

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The biological sciences don't either.

[AvivaSimplex]

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Just to note about this topic...

The project involves using data collected from twin studies to measure the heritability of a trait, models a population using data estimates from america, and then assumes that an independent party (ie. government) has a set of resources to distribute to the population, and are able to distribute the resources to the population as a function of the trait.

Assuming several plausible goals of the government, the model seeks to find optimal resource distribution.

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I see. That makes more sense and makes it much more plausible that your paper has genuine insight.