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Can Lay Summaries Help Expand the Audience for Scholarly Journals?
Scholarly publishing has undergone many evolutions, but heavy technical writing and detail have always been some of the major defining differences between scholarly journals and trade publications. While both trade and scholarly publications tend to be...
Quality, Not Quantity
Most young authors—including, but not limited to, authors of scientific and scholarly articles—have one main goal in mind: Get published as much as possible. But this way of thinking is just not always helpful for someone who is looking to establish a favorable...
Technica Attends the 18th Annual Bookmarks Festival
Early on September 23, Andy Hill, Claire Lee, and I headed to Winston-Salem for the 18th annual Bookmarks Festival of Books and Authors on behalf of Technica. Bookmarks, a literary arts nonprofit, was established in 2004 in tandem with the annual Bookmarks Festival of...
ISMTE Recap: When It Comes To Preprints, Trust, but Verify
With the open science movement growing in popularity in the last decade, preprints have become a bigger and bigger part of the publishing industry. They’ve also, in some ways, become a bigger and bigger problem for the publishing industry as well. ISMTE’s recent...
Navigating Reviewer Fatigue
Peer reviewed journals often try to promote timely publication as a selling point to potential authors. An efficient publication process is crucial for scholars who are publishing time-sensitive research and who are required to publish in many disciplines for career...
ISMTE Recap: Is It Time To Pay Peer Reviewers?
It’s been this way for decades, but one of the biggest hurdles in peer-reviewed literature is waiting for peer reviewers. Yes, at the end of the day, no matter how good or important an article is, its processing time and publication date will ultimately be controlled...
Technically Speaking – Part 1
If you’re not a technical expert, the terms “technical writing” and “technical editing” can be intimidating—but they don’t have to be! Editing this kind of writing isn’t all about having an advanced degree, because the purpose of editing isn’t to be a subject matter...
Writer’s Digest Conference Recap
I attended the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference at the Hilton Midtown in New York City from July 28–31, 2022, and it was a very interesting experience. There were numerous intriguing sessions, and I will share common refrains that I heard throughout the weekend...
Technicast: 2021 CSE Annual Meeting Recap
This podcast features a roundtable discussion on highlights from the recent CSE Annual Meeting that took place May 3-5, 2021. Special thanks to Nathan Taylor, Grace Taylor, and Hayes Simpson for joining me to discuss their experiences at this virtual conference.
Technica Celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month
It's been a hard year for many people. The stress and isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has put strain on the mental health of all of us but particularly those who were already suffering from mental health issues. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and in...
Technicast: IBPA Publishing University Conference Recap
The Technicast is back in 2021! This podcast features a roundtable discussion on highlights from the recent IBPA Publishing University Conference that took place April 7th-10th, 2021. Special thanks to Nikki Lazenby, Kayci Wyatt, and Rachel Wright for joining me to...
Effective Communication in the Publishing Industry
One of the aspects I love most about the publishing industry is the diverse group of professional backgrounds that it attracts. A number of my colleagues were English majors, but there are also plenty of publishing experts who studied history, journalism, or language arts. I even know several people in my line of work who have backgrounds in the sciences,...
So You’ve Been Rejected, Now What? On Appeals in Peer Review Publications
Getting rejected stinks. Wouldn’t it be great if we could appeal people’s decisions in life? Imagine asking someone on a date and getting rejected. What if you could submit an appeal letter explaining your argument with data to back it up? If only. Well, in science, you can. As an editorial assistant, I’ve seen quite a few appeal letters submitted to my...
Nimble Abstracts Best Inform a Variety of Media Consumers
Abstracts are the most read section of any manuscript, and they can decide readers’ stances on your manuscript before they even read your Introduction. Thinking of your abstract as a marketing tool for your manuscript can be daunting. Not only is this important bit of text a self-contained description of the manuscript, it is also used in numerous...
The Top 10 Reasons Acceptance Is Delayed
You, a prospective author, open your inbox eager to receive that long-awaited acceptance email, only to find a request for additional revisions from the editorial office. Waiting to hear from a journal office about your manuscript can be a grueling experience; the last thing you want after meticulously revising your paper is to be asked to revise it again....
A Professor’s Guide to Better Scholarly Writing and Manuscript Preparation: Why Simplicity is Always the Best Option
Sitting down to write a scholarly research paper can be a bit of a challenge. Take it from someone who is currently working on his first research paper since Undergrad and is dreading an eventual dissertation. I tried to get some advice from someone who knows a thing or two about scholarly writing. Enter Dr. Chad Morgan. Dr. Morgan is a professor in the...