Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks, Second Edition: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) Second Edition

This book’s intended audience encompasses graduate students who are first learning to write and publish papers. It starts with the scenario in which a graduate student wrote a work for a class and needs to revise it for publication in an academic journal. It walks through a twelve-week process to spruce it up for publication. Its approach leans heavily towards the humanities and social sciences, but it attempts to address those of us in the sciences and other quantitative fields as well. Author Wendy Laura Belcher, literature professor at Princeton University, seems to teach lessons she conveys to her graduate students. She does an excellent job in communicating high-quality insights for a large readership.I, however, do not fit her mold as an ideal reader. I have self-trained in my academic field after leaving medical school because of a disability. Although not aspiring to faculty status, I want to publish the results of my technological work. I appreciate the benefit of learning from someone in the humanities because prior experience has taught me that they possess a deeper understanding of human perspectives. The process of publication in any field has human hands all over it. Some of what she wrote frankly doesn’t work for the sciences, especially in my field of biomedical informatics. Fortunately, she explicitly recognizes this, too, in the book.In a short appendix, She addresses those who are starting an academic work from scratch. Another appendix explores how to revise an article after it comes back from peer review, a time fraught with emotion. Reading this book cover-to-cover, I did not follow the author’s advice to practice its writing procedures while I read. I did so because I already have a good discipline of writing and rather need to understand the larger view of how to accomplish this. Her task-analysis helped me see how I need to organize myself over coming weeks. She also helped me fight through some of the inevitable emotions that will come my way. For that, I am grateful. Now, it’s off to polish my looming work before submission…

I haven’t wanted to write, let alone publish, any of my academic writing for years. Wendy Belcher’s workbook makes me want to change that. Based on her years of experience helping both students and professionals write academically, Belcher provides a detailed and comprehensive plan for turning that random essay into an article that will actually get published. Literally a workbook, Belcher provides helpful exercises and daily assignments that move you toward completion.I originally picked up this book as a guide for other students in my writing program, and intend to use some of Belcher’s exercises in class as well. She includes helpful assessments like determining how you know you have an argument and good supporting evidence; ingredients of a good abstract; how to keep up to date in your field (including a journal-reading club, fun!); and how to give and receive thoughtful feedback about your work. I intend to assign and use this book regularly, both to teach students how to write and publish, and to get some of it done myself.

Thanks for your excellent book. Everything excellent as what described and when delivery aimed (prompt and efficient).

In my role as Reader and Chair of an International Jury to award Scholarly Articles, I have seen a great need for both editions of Dr. Belcher's book over the years. Her writing is masterful in both and this second edition isn't a retelling of the first. One of the beauties of her workbook is a timeline of 'tasks' that not only encourages rigor (e.g., claims for significance and analyzing evidence) but does so with a tone of humanity, humor and ease of telling stories all writers will recognize! For example, a story from one of her students (paraphrasing), "I was writing and then somehow I found myself sweeping the kitchen floor!" [I am still laughing as I write this review!] Another example is the story of a seasoned writer who literally takes off his belt and ties himself to the desk chair! Oh my goodness ... while I love writing and teaching, I consider both endeavors "giving blood," but these two stories are priceless! A terrific book for all scholarly writers as well as undergraduate students to Masters and Doctoral students. Highly recommend.