For those involved in scholarship, especially at an early career period, Nijay Gupta has a helpful list of 10 Lessons Learned About Publishing As An Editor. By the way, if you’re not subscribed to Nijay’s blog yet, I would recommend doing so. As I’ve said previously, most of his posts save me time in one way or another. Here’s an abridgement of the 10 lessons he shares:
1. Rejection is extremely common and happens to everyone regardless of stature.
2. Send an article that is representative of your best work and professional identity.
3. Creativity and originality are extremely important.
4. Clarity and simplicity are undervalued authorial virtues.
5. Comprehensive footnotes are not as important as they used to be.
6. Stay focused. Most articles could lose about 10-30% of excess baggage by just sticking to the main concerns.
7. Interact internationally (and beyond English-language literature only).
8. Be patient in the review process.
9. Do not expect your article to be accepted “as is.”
10. Celebrate every article you publish.