Overview, benefits and contact details
Insider's Guides to Getting Published are based on our experience of working with the editors of more than 300 journals and provide insight to help new or potential authors give their papers the best possible chance of acceptance and publication. Given by Emerald editorial staff, journal editors and other representatives, they can feature presentations and question and answer sessions. As part of our commitment to actively supporting our authors – existing and future – Insider's Guides are aimed at helping authors progress successfully through the various stages from pre-submission of the manuscript, to revision and, finally, publication.
How the guides developed
The current Insider's Guide format has evolved over several years, based initially on large-scale research projects undertaken in 1994-1996 and subsequently published in a number of formats (Day, 1996; Day and Peters, 1994; Whitfield and Peters, 2000). The very early Insider's Guides were offered as part of Consortia deals to groups of university libraries. Emerald directors travelled to South Africa, Mexico and the USA as consortia selling became an increasingly important side of the business. And when the UNAM consortium in Mexico insisted another Insider's Guide be included when they renewed their subscription, it became apparent exactly how useful institutions were finding the guides. The Insider's Guide programme has subsequently been expanded so that both Emerald editorial staff and journal editors could give presentations.
Why are Insider's Guides important?
- They encourage novice researchers to publish and assist university research co-ordinators in this respect
- They allow us to discuss emerging issues in publishing and research with more experienced groups
- They can be run as pre-event workshops at conferences worldwide
- They support efforts to bridge the gap between the practical and academic worlds and inform prospective authors from commercial and public sector organizations how to get published, often introducing them to the whole publishing process.
Ultimately, the aim is "to inspire [attendees] to believe they could now write a paper based on their research and practice".
So what do you get?
The main part of the session is the presentation. Guides have so far been variations on the theme "A guide to writing and publishing research in management". This includes:
- background information on Emerald
- what being published means to the author
- the people (editors, their advisors and reviewers, publishers and authors themselves) involved throughout the process
- advice for authors on preparing and submitting articles
- the review process in detail
- how to get involved with your publisher.
It is common for the presentation to be tailored to the audience (particularly if it is to take place at a conference) or reflect the subject coverage of a journal or range of journals if an editor is to give the presentation. The presentation will always include a question and answer session; they have occasionally (where the presenter has experience of journal editing) featured a clinic for a handful of one-on-one consultations with students or delegates. We also supply a memory stick, preloaded with useful resources, for delegates to take away. These are customized to suit either audience or presenter and aim to back-up some points made in the presentation and broaden others. Certificates of attendance can also be provided as required.
Why would you present or host an Insider's Guide?
Emerald is aware that, even for seasoned authors, publishing can be an opaque and uncertain process. The Emerald website has a number of resources designed to help turn research into writing and make publishing more transparent as a consequence. But we also believe in getting out and meeting as many of our contributors as possible. Insider's Guides give new authors the chance to meet journal editors or representatives of Emerald and find out exactly what we're looking for, greatly increasing their chances of getting published. Insider's Guides have been extremely well received. They show that everyone involved is seeking to develop authors not exclude them. Researchers may be compelled to publish as part of their tenure and the thought that journal editors or publishers may not care for them or even be working against them can make it a daunting prospect. That can also put off people not compelled to write but who have always wanted to, particularly practitioner authors. But it is not the case at Emerald and Insider's Guides prove it. They also show that a host organization/institution is committed to help and encourage its researchers and staff. You can see what previous attendees have said. A number of published papers have resulted including most recently:
- "Management decision making and ethics: practices skills and preferences" by Rosalie Holian (Management Decision)
- "Which room is the virtual seminar in please?" by Deborah Holley (Education + Training)
We can also help you promote your guide.
References
Day, A. (1996), How to Get Research Published in Journals, Gower, Aldershot.
Day, A. and Peters, J. (1994), "Quality indicators in academic publishing", Library Review, Vol. 43 No. 7.
Whitfield, R. and Peters, J. (2000), "Quality in scholarly publishing", Managing Service Quality, Vol. 11 No. 3.