Academic journal publication is the currency of University faculty. It
can go without saying that publications play an important role in
securing an academic appointment and research grants, achieving
promotion within the University, and more importantly, advancing
knowledge, which is to me the primary purpose of any academic pursuit.
Despite its importance, academics seem to receive little or no formal
training in how to prepare a manuscript for publication or how to
respond to reviewer criticism1. Quite
often, such skills are acquired through mentorship during graduate
training. Unfortunately, it is often the case that graduate students do
not produce enough manuscripts during their training to develop
expertise in how to translate completed research or scholarship into a
published report. As an editor, I often see manuscripts that are
diminished by how they are written, which often causes confusion in the
reviewer, resulting in a recommendation for rejection. I do not profess
to be an expert on writing for an academic audience. I have no idea
exactly how I learned to get my work published (I assume it was through
practice and good mentorship), nor do I have any idea if I am skilled at
it – I am left to assume my level of expertise from my successes and
failures. However, from reading several manuscripts each day, I have
picked up on some common errors and have developed an appreciation for
what editors and reviewers expect in a published manuscript. In what
follows, I present a bit of what I have learned in my, albeit it short,
time as an editor.2