Tài liệu Writing for Publication part 6 pdf

they are usually more honoured in the breach than in the observance

and there will be many a slip ‘twixt cup and lip. Eisenhower urged his

generals to have a cunning plan and execute it ruthlessly, but we don’t

think you can do that with publishing. So stay flexible and just make

sure that the plan becomes something to help guide you in the right

direction for you, not a stick to beat yourself with.

Here are some hints on how to plan for publication.

• Set yourself real deadlines for getting stuff done. One of the best

ways of doing so is to commit to giving a conference paper – you

have to at least do something that won’t make you look stupid

if you do this. Another good deadline technique is to work with

others and mutually commit to deadlines. Most people will let

themselves down before other people. If you are not like most

people, then this won’t work for you, of course.

• If you have something that you think will make a good journal

paper, then a classical genealogy for that would be to give the paper

at one or more conferences, get feedback and a feel for how/if it

works, then write it up for publication.

• Think about the lead times that can be involved in publication. If

you want promotion or are subject to a dreaded research review,

then don’t think that you can start sending things to publishers six

months before the crucial date.

• Try to develop a stream of work. Rebecca often gives colleagues the

analogy of a production line in a factory – once you have built up a

decent pace and are in the rhythm then the whole thing can become

self-perpetuating, with the finished goods rolling off the end of the

conveyor belt. A steady flow of parallel work will ensure that there

are no major peaks and troughs and, if something does go pear￾shaped, you know that there is always something else in the pipeline.

Don’t put all your publication eggs in one basket.

• That said, do bear in mind that people at the start of their career will

take some time to build up a steady flow of work. The thought that

there is nothing ‘in reserve’ or ‘nearly there’ can be quite scary but is

common and understandable. All academics, throughout their

careers, can experience some peaks and troughs in published and

publishable output. You might be working on a major project that

involves a lot of fieldwork, or putting all your efforts into one book;

or you may experience a personal crisis of some sort. It is not

reasonable to expect you to publish at an absolutely steady rate. You

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