Lena's erroneous zone

PRELIMINARIES:

1. Make sure that your computer has a standard software program. Most writers in the humanities use Microsoft Word or Word Perfect. Use a laser printer for the work you submit. Avoid use of unusual type fonts or small type.

2. Obviously your submitted manuscript should be meticulously formatted. Never staple the pages together. Never put notes at the bottom of the page. They should always be separate (and double spaced) at the end of the manuscript (endnotes). Some journals state they want two paper copies of the text. When you submit your paper copies usually state that the text is also available on diskette, and in what format, but don't send a diskette unless asked for or the journal instructs you otherwise. They will become interested in the diskette only if the text is accepted for publication.

3. Always write a polite cover letter to the editor in which you also state that the article is not being simultaneously submitted to another journal and that the text has not been previously published.

4. Don't send a manuscript that is too long. Be sure to give your full address together with your office and home telephone numbers, your FAX number if you have one, and your e-mail address. Check in the journal for instructions on how to submit a manuscript. Most journals have websites nowadays, with specific information on formatting, submission, length, etc.

5. If you receive a rejection slip, send your manuscript out again soon to another journal with some adjustments especially if reasons were given for the rejection. Rejection doesn't necessarily mean that an article is a poor one; it may simply indicate that the journal has another article on a similar topic in the works or that the article's literary genre does not match the journal. Most articles that are accepted for publication will be "re-writes"; the editor typically asks an author to resubmit the piece with some indicated changes, shortening of manuscript, etc. Then the editor will do some copy-editing for stylistic elegance, punctuation, capitalizations, etc.

6. Write for a specific journal within a spectrum of journals that you read regularly. Choose from among the list of journals that you presumably read regularly or at least follow closely. Note its range of interests and any peculiarities of their formatting, especially of book titles and journal articles. Consult your department professors about which journals to envisage. There are obviously different levels of journals, and the more specialized the more difficult they are to get published in.

WRITING:

7. When you compose be prepared to rewrite many times to create prose that reflects easy flow, clarity, etc. Write out your "first thoughts" in no particular order, then compose a flexible outline of what you want to do. Write your introductory paragraph last. Read your semi-final text out loud so that your ear can be attuned to judge whether the prose is smooth.

8. Have a good dictionary such as Merriam Webster's Tenth Collegiate Dictionary (not just for spelling but for standards on hyphens, etc.). This dictionary is available through the MARQCAT system (via Britannica). Also have a good thesaurus, and a work such as Webster's New Dictionary of Synonyms. Consult The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers 14th ed. (U. Chicago P., 1993) and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers (See below). Use American spelling unless you are writing for a British journal. Use the style favored by the journal you are submitting your manuscript to. (English Students: some literature journals use MLA; many use Chicago.)

9. Use a good book on matters of style, even a simple one such as Strunk and White's The Elements of Style 4th ed. (Allyn and Bacon, 2000). (Also available online.) Also very good is Joseph M. Williams, Style: Ten Lessons Toward Clarity and Grace 6th ed. (Addison-Wesley, 1999). Note especially what they say about eliminating "dead wood," "avoiding passives," not using dummy subjects such as: it is, there is, one finds, etc. Be careful to distinguish between the proper use of "that" and "which." Most publishers, especially book publishers, are purists in this regard. Same with split infinitives. Avoid like the plague the word "we" or "our" because you can not presume to know whether there is a bond between you and the reader. If you are talking about yourself say "I" or "me" and avoid the use of the Victorian, polite "we." Use inclusive language.

10. Get a colleague, friend, spouse or agreeable professor to read your semi-final draft. Organize an informal writers' workshop with other graduate students where you exchange and critique essays.

11. Writing attractive prose is not easy. You learn to recognize good prose by reading good published works, especially by British authors who frequently have a better command of the written language. Note especially how good writers compose the opening paragraphs of their essays and how they conclude. Read works (even fiction) by recognized authors. Read a major newspaper every day, especially the editorials, the "op-ed" columns, the reviews of books, plays, films, etc. A magazine that has high standards ofwriting (such as Harper's or The New Yorker) also attunes your ear to attractive, clear, idiomatic prose.

12. Good prose should never be dull. It can and should draw upon other areas of creative intuition, especially the fine arts and literature. It should appeal to your life experience and to that of your readers.

13. Remember Aristotle's golden rules: Every piece of writing should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning should "render the reader benevolent, attentive and docile." The "divisio" (after the introductory paragraph) should state baldly how you are going to proceed: points a, b, c and d. Then in the "conclusio" repeat what you have done. Your first draft should read: "In this essay I will do a, b, c, and d. " and "In this essay I have shown a, b, c, d" but then in subsequent drafts disguise the obvious character of the divisio and conclusio.

14. Write for a specific audience with a designated level of competence. This will be in function of the journal chosen. Remember the audience will be intelligent but not always familiar with your data. Haute vulgarisation (high class popularization) is another level of publication, and at this level you can make use of more general weekly periodicals.

15. Use endnotes to inform and to provide follow-up information or source location especially if you are "borrowing" someone else's original insight. But don't overdo the footnotes to try to impress. This is a common North American fault.

16. At first write shorter pieces. They are easier to get published. Even a factual account of a professional conference you attended is worthwhile.

17. Historical pieces or surveys of literature (or book reviews) are easier genres to begin with since they rely heavily on the work of others. If you use these genres be careful however to include your own insights.

18. Have a clear idea of what you are doing, in terms of bringing your field of learning "forward." Remember that every discipline publishes material according to different functional specialties. Remember that your task is not complete if all you do is provide "oratio obliqua" (what others have said) without the specialties peculiar to "oratio directa" (what you yourself judge to be the case).

19. Present what the Germans call the "Stand der Forschung" regarding the topic about which you are writing. In other words, show a command of the secondary literature in books and articles at least for the last five years. This will require bibliographical searches via the various bibliographical tools available in your discipline.

20. Don't underestimate the book review as a literary genre. Nonnally you should be invited by a book review editor to review a books. But if you have special competencies, e.g., command of other languages: Spanish, Polish, Russian, German, Italian, Dutch, etc., or special competence in a period or author (because that is the area of your dissertation) you might want to write to a book review editor and volunteer your services. A book review should not just summarize the book, but should incorporate personal judgments. You should be polite even if you disagree with the author (and especially if you are just beginning your writing/teaching career).

ONGOING DEVELOPMENT:

21. Keep an accurate list of your publications, and a file set of your offprints. Use offprints (or photocopies thereof) for publicity purposes or when being interviewed for a job.

22. Cultivate contacts at professional meetings of your field. Try to give papers at least at regional meetings of professional societies.

23. Try your hand at translation of shorter pieces from time to time, e.g., book reviews or editorials. It will help you better understand the genius of the English language. Try to devote at least 30 minutes a day to writing on your word processor.

Other Resources: Walter W. Powell, Getting into Print: the Decision-Making Process in Scholarly Publishing (U. Chicago P.); Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing (U. Chicago P., 1996); Jacques Barzun and Morris Philipson, On Writing, Editing, and Publishing: Essays Explicative and Hortatory, Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing, 2nd ed. (U. Chicago P., 1986).