It is a truth universally acknowledged that a graduate student in possession of a good paper must be in want of time and energy for publishing it. For those of us in the Humanities the mere act of jumping through required hoops proves plenty to keep us distracted from extraneous considerations such as PUBLISHING. Whether in the process of reading,
researching, and writing for classes; reading, researching, and writing for exams; or reading, researching, and writing for dissertations and theses, we are busy folks. Many of us are also teaching, doing service for our departments, and/or balancing relationships to families, friends, pets, and non‐graduate work. The thought that we should (even must) cram more work into already overfull schedules, just so we can face a daunting job market, makes many of us want to lie down and take a nap instead. However, publishing is important—as graduate students and as professional scholars. It’s what separates the smart kids from the closers. I’m here to say it’s also less daunting than it initially seems to be.
I have had a fair bit of experience with various aspects of publishing as a graduate student. During my master’s program at Utah State University I worked on the journal Western American Literature (WAL) and learned firsthand the intricacies of copy‐editing and the ins and outs of accepting/rejecting essays for publication. I also wrote entries on four authors for a literary encyclopedia. In the last two years of my PhD program at the University of Oregon I have written a book review on a collection of essays on May Swenson and placed two essays for publication—one in the online, graduate journal Watermark and another in the peer‐reviewed Willa Cather Newsletter and Review. Finally, I have had three essays sent to multiple journals roundly rejected, damned with faint praise, or encouraged to resubmit with substantial revisions. Thus I do know a bit about what (and what not) to do to publish during graduate school, and I can offer a few points of advice:
1. Take heart! We have unique opportunities to publish during graduate school because we are regularly churning out papers for seminars (and dissertations/theses). In forcing us to produce, and in giving feedback on that production, professors and mentors provide us with an institutional level of scholarly and creative support we will never receive again. Take advantage of this opportunity, particularly if you are proud of a piece of work and you know it addresses new and interesting ideas about the topic.
2. A seminar paper is not a journal article; you will need to do some work to prepare it for publication. To begin, incorporate your professor’s suggestions and consider talking to her about what she thinks would make it publishable. You may also need to do some of (possibly all) of the following: fill in research gaps, expand or clarify ideas, fulfill the requirements of the journal to which you’re submitting (check websites), write a cover letter (make sure you correctly spell the names of the editor and the journal), and copy edit— seriously. Go over it yourself, enlist a friend, but clean your prose like you do your teeth before visiting the dentist.
3. Publications, particularly at the beginning of your career, are never a waste so there’s no reason to lose sleep over whether or not PMLA or Fourth Genre will accept your essay (they probably won’t—yet). It is perfectly acceptable to start out with book reviews or “notes,” to work outside your main field/focus, or to publish in grad student/online/ less prestigious publications. These venues help you build a publication record, as well as enhance your experience and confidence. Having said that, I’m not “sorry” I wrote encyclopedia articles because I learned a lot about writing and researching during the process, but sometimes these types of publications can be a great deal of work for very little gain. Book reviews are not independent, original work and, as such, are not, in the long run, going to impress many; whereas, encyclopedia entries can require a great deal of research and time to write, especially if they are not directly related to work you are already doing. The best tactic is to do enough of these to establish a record, and once you’ve done one or two of each, your time may be better spent on more relevant publications.
4. Once you’ve paid your dues, don’t remain content with less prestigious publications. As you progress in your abilities and your knowledge, do place work in more prominent venues and/or in locations that will have more bearing on jobs you’ll apply for. This is another great place where professors in your specialization can advise you on not only the biggest journals, but also the ones respected within your shared field, the one in which you plan to research, teach, and be paid (i.e. Medieval studies, critical theory, or pedagogy and rhetoric). Publication says to a hiring committee: “She can complete work.” But publication in a relevant journal or book says: “Her work is important, interesting, and thorough.” In searching for “relevant venues” you can also look to societies or associations that connect to your work and may have their own journals, as well as examining “works cited” lists from books and essays that you have used to see what places publish in your area.
5. You’ll never publish anything if you don’t send it out. Daunting. Time consuming. Overwhelming. Necessary. Again, you have a great resource in professors who know the field so ask where they recommend trying to place your essay. You can also peruse the MLA bibliography and JSTOR for journals that seem to publish similar things; examine the texts on your own “works cited” page for where they appeared; regularly check University of Pennsylvania’s CFP’s site (http://call‐for‐papers.sas.upenn.edu/), which mostly has Calls for Papers for conferences but also for books and journals; search online for societies focused on specific authors or fields, which frequently have publication information; and check your department’s pile of CFPs (ask the office staff if it’s not obviously located). (Hint: You improve your odds of acceptance if you respond to a specific CFP.) Make a list of possibilities. Then check the journals’ websites (which most have now) and the journals themselves for approach, content, and requirements that match your essay. Making sure your paper fits a particular journal before sending it out is simply professional; it also increases the likelihood that it will be accepted.
6. Use your connections. For example, my book review was written for WAL (where I’d worked for two years), and they reviewed the book in part because professors at USU were its editors. As with most other professions, networking is part of the business. Your professors are a resource for advice and information, but also for connections. Enhance those connections yourself. You can network at conferences, with visiting professors/speakers, and with fellow graduate students that you meet or who preceded you in your program. If it’s relevant at all, remind editors of how you’re connected to them when you submit your essay, abstract, or proposal. This can appear in your cover letter, an email, in person, or all of the above.
7. Be professional and patient. Remember that academic business frequently moves slowly. In general, do not submit your essay to more than one venue at a time. Simultaneous submissions are rarely acceptable, especially in scholarly research. You should hear promptly that they’ve received the essay, but it may take longer to receive a final decision. It will likely be 3–6 months until you know if it has been accepted/rejected. If it takes longer to hear back from them, feel free to email or call in a request for information about your essay’s status, but don’t pester unnecessarily. If the journal rejects the essay, or even accepts with requested changes, try very hard not to take it personally. Incorporating other people’s opinions is something you will have to do for your whole career, not to mention the next years of school. If it’s a rejection with advice and encouragement to resubmit, huzzah! This means they find merit and relevance to your essay and want you to improve it before re‐sending to their (likely) welcoming place. Do not pass this opportunity up.
8. Publication of dissertation chapters poses its own unique complications. I’ve heard most commonly that publishing 1–2 chapters of the diss before going on the job market is wise, but not more. Ideally, your dissertation will become a book and book publishers will want to see that you’ve proven yourself but still have something new to say. You also want to keep in mind time, here in particular but also in general. Just to prepare an essay, send it out, and have it accepted by a publication takes time, while its appearance in the journal or book can take months to more than a year. Preferably, you want to apply and interview for jobs with the ability to say part of your dissertation is “forthcoming,” if not already published. Ultimately, you should organize these decisions in consultation with your dissertation chair.
9. Lastly, when you achieve your first, fifth, or fifteenth publication, update your CV! You can even list a work as “forthcoming.” The only thing more satisfying that adding to your professional record is seeing your work in print.
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