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

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…

This book is so helpful it helped me through getting my thesis together thank you

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.

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.

Some second editions have new prefaces and a new chapter or two. But this new edition has so much new material that it really is an entirely new book--with all the virtues of the first edition. The first edition had about 320 pages, excluding notes, bibliography and index. This new one has 400 pages, excluding end materials, and the print is smaller, so it's really more than 100 more pages worth of new material. The changes come out of Belcher's experience of countless people who have used the original workbook. I love how she separates out some field specific advice--for humanists, for social scientists and for scientists (she's added material for scientists, who were not part of the first book). She's rearranged, reorganized and changed the topics for the twelve weeks in ways that look like they'll work even better. This is an even better resource than the first edition, and worth every penny of its hefty price.

I stumbled upon Dr. Belchers work because I recently graduated with my doctorate degree. As a doctor, researcher, and scholar... I feel it is very important to not only celebrate (yay!!!) the fact that I made it through such a rigorous process, but to in fact, add to my field. This is done by publishing peer reviewed journal articles. It is also, important to help strengthen a CV. Ok so, I got together a group of newly mented doctors, and we all needed direction. as well as guidance. I stepped out and purchased Dr. Belchers book. I am so pleased. My group have all purchased too. So, not only is it chocked full of very explicit instructions...it is clearly written and designed in a way that a student's mind can articulate. It is devised with weekly time tables/frames and helpful Appendices as well. This resource is very well coordinated to help take one from A to Z.

Good book. Terrible packaging!

De um jeito leve e estruturado, a autora vai orientando o passo a passo para construir uma boa argumentação e tornar seu texto publicável. A escrita é dividada em etapas menores e tangíveis para concluir a escrita do texto completo de forma mais efetiva. Também promove a construção do hábito de escrever. Estou adorando a experiência de usar esse livro. Gratidão à autora!

Bought the new edition even though I already had the first. Well worth it!

I have published about 20 peer reviewed articles before buying this book, so not ‘new’ but so many people rave about this book in the writing groups I belong to and wanted to check it out. For a ‘newbie’ I think this would be such a great guide. I have been using it to help with with parts of my writing process when I feel ‘stuck’, but haven’t systematically gone through the timeline as I am working to publish data from my thesis and I find my process is a little different. I’m looking forward to using the step by step approach in my upcoming research project. I’m in education/social science and find there is a good mix of discipline and methods specific advice.

Pity I discovered after buying that you cannot read it on my kindle. It can only be read on laptop or iPad.

Excellent book! Very easy to understand, breaks down the steps of producing your article in a clear and succinct way!