How to contribute online

People often ask: You have published articles. Is it related to magazines? I said positively, "I don't know anyone in the magazine. As long as your article is of high quality, there must be a place to publish it. " Some people say that there are many reasons why my article was not published after it was put out: the quality of your article is not high; Although the quality is high, it is used in the wrong place. If you don't believe that you will submit a paper about middle school chemistry teaching to the Journal of Organic Chemistry, and see what the result is, this is the wrong place. Combined with the author's own experience, how to improve the hit rate of submission is discussed.

Most newspapers and magazines have relatively stable author groups and manuscript sources. We must win in the fierce competition for manuscripts, win a place for ourselves, make our own works into types as much as possible, let our research results be recognized and benefited by more people, and let everyone share the joy of success with you. Pay attention to the following five questions when submitting a manuscript:

1. Submission should be on the right track.

Every newspaper and magazine has its own specific policy and purpose (periodical) and its own readers. Before submitting a manuscript, we should understand this and find out whether its publishing cycle is bimonthly, quarterly, monthly or bimonthly or weekly. If it is a newspaper, it is a daily newspaper, a Tuesday newspaper, a weekly newspaper or a bimonthly or monthly newspaper. Next, we need to know which columns have been published in various newspapers and what articles have been published in each column. If possible, you should also learn about the history of newspapers and periodicals, see what articles have been published in recent years, compare your research questions with your papers, whether anyone has studied and written them before, what is the current research situation, from what angle you have published such articles before, and whether your articles have been innovative and developed. In addition, we should also study the trends and trends of newspapers and periodicals, and what kind of hot manuscripts will be next. Finally, it depends on which newspapers and columns your article is suitable for. When submitting a manuscript, it is best to indicate the column name on the envelope so that the editor can handle the manuscript timely and accurately. In order to do this, we must read more newspapers and periodicals at ordinary times, at least know the latest catalogue, so that we can be targeted when submitting articles, and we will not send the manuscripts of chemistry teaching in middle schools to newspapers and periodicals suitable for primary school students.

For example, Chemistry Education, the authoritative magazine of middle school chemistry teaching research, is a comprehensive academic monthly magazine sponsored by chinese chemical society. The column introduction of "Chemical Education" and the essay on "Chemical Education" are often published in the first issue of each year. If you want to contribute to this magazine, you must study these two articles carefully. Other magazines such as Middle School Chemistry Teaching Reference and Middle School Chemistry will also introduce their readers, submission requirements, magazine columns and so on.

Step 2 pay attention to the timing

Teaching and research papers can be divided into two categories according to timeliness: one is time-sensitive and coordinated with teaching progress (for example, chemistry teaching in middle schools refers to new teaching materials and various synchronous exercises, etc.). ), the other is not effective and has nothing to do with the teaching progress. The latter can contribute at any time, while the former must master a certain amount of advance payment. In the end, how long to contribute in advance, the general newspapers and periodicals will remind readers and authors through newspaper enlightenment. Under normal circumstances, if there is no provision in the newspapers and periodicals, the bimonthly and monthly manuscripts should be 4-6 months in advance. Generally speaking, the more timely the news articles, the better. The shorter the publishing cycle of newspapers and periodicals, the smaller the advance payment. "Monday morning quarterback" is the most taboo and generally not a very good manuscript. Monday morning quarterback is difficult to publish. For example, manuscripts related to the content to be learned at the beginning of next semester are generally distributed during holidays at the end of last semester at the latest to provide reference for teachers to prepare lessons. If you wait until you have finished teaching this part and then throw it out, it will be "Monday morning quarterback", and such a manuscript is not very valuable. This creates a contradiction, because most manuscripts related to teaching progress are studied and written after problems are found in teaching, and the opportunity to contribute has already been missed. What shall we do? The author's experience is that you can write it first, process it slowly and carefully, and then throw it at the right time next year, so that the cold-worked manuscript will be more mature. Some newspapers and periodicals have been used for several months or even half a year, even if it is only one month, because it is impossible to contribute more than one manuscript, and it is too late to vote for other newspapers and periodicals after receiving the reply. In this case, the above method can also be adopted, but it is best to keep the release record and write down the release time and target. What was the result? Know what to do when submitting again.

3. Pay attention to the standard format.

If the manuscript is handwritten, pay attention to writing carefully, neatly and clearly, without typos and accurate punctuation, and be sure to copy it clearly with checkered manuscript paper, indicating the number of words per page. If it is a printed manuscript, you should also pay attention to the fact that the number of words should not be too small. The general text should be the third or third word, and the number of pages and words should be indicated in the footer for reference when editing and typesetting. Editorial departments of newspapers and periodicals generally do not take back written and copied manuscripts. Many newspaper editorial departments have detailed and clear requirements on the format of manuscripts, so they should study them carefully before submitting them. The format of a formal paper should be the title, the mailing address under the title, the postal code enclosed in brackets after the mailing address, and the author's name after the space. A long paper should have a "summary" of 200-300 words, with no more than five keywords before the text, which can save time and understand the main points when editing and reading the manuscript. Usually, the "citation source" or "remarks" and the main bibliography should be indicated at the back of the text, and the title, publisher name, edition and author should be clearly written in the bibliography. If it is the first submission, it is best to add "author profile" at the end of the article, which is convenient for editors to understand the situation and establish the author file, which is also the need of self-improvement. Of course, the introduction must be realistic and not boastful, because the final adoption of the manuscript is not determined by your introduction, but the quality of the manuscript, and the fundamental thing to improve the hit rate is the quality of the manuscript.

4. Properly control the number of words

Different journals have different requirements for the number of words in their papers, and there are great differences. Some people like long stories, while others like short ones. When submitting a manuscript, we should study the articles published in various journals and sum up some rules, so that the manuscript can be targeted. Generally speaking, the articles sent to newspapers and periodicals should be as short as possible, the topics should be small, practical and operable, so that others can be inspired and educated or can use them; The papers participating in the selection should be more theoretical, with slightly larger topics and more words, so as to make the problem clear. Usually, when the department that organizes the topic selection of a paper gives notice or inspiration, it has clear requirements on the topic selection, format and number of words of the paper, and it should be paid full attention to when writing. If there is no requirement, the author thinks that the number of words in the selected papers should be 3000-5000 words, generally not less than 3000 words and not more than 7000 words. As long as the topic is discussed clearly, don't worry too much about the number of words. As far as published articles are concerned, the number of words varies greatly, which is mainly related to the nature of the topic, the capacity of newspapers and periodicals, some readers and other factors. Generally, the topics with strong theory can be slightly longer, the topics with strong application should be shorter, the manuscripts of magazines should be slightly longer, the manuscripts of newspapers should be as short as possible, the papers of teachers and researchers should be slightly longer, the works of students should be as short as possible, and the papers with big topics and strong academic characteristics should be shorter. Here, "slightly longer" or "slightly shorter" are relative, and there are no strict rules. In my opinion, a "slightly longer" article can be mastered in 3000-5000 words. Of course, it would be best if the word 1500-2000 could solve the problem. The article "slightly short" should not exceed 2000 words, preferably 500- 1000 words at most 1500 words can make the problem clear. No matter what kind of article, we should pay great attention to the scientificity and readability of the article while controlling the number of words. The so-called scientific nature means that the viewpoint of the article cannot be wrong, the cited argumentation materials must be accurate, and the argumentation process must stand scrutiny; The so-called readability mainly refers to the written expression that people like to read, and they want to read the content as soon as they see the title. They can't put it down when they see the content, and they have to read it all at once. Of course, this is not a day's work, it takes a long time to hone, and the writing skills are practiced.

For example, the column "Chemistry and Society" in chemistry education should be within 5,000 words, "Review Guidance" should be within 3,000 words, "Investigation Report" should be within 3,000 words, and "Experimental Teaching and Teaching Aid Development" should be within 500-2,000 words.

5. Pay attention to the submission strategy

People who have just started to contribute always hope to get a reply from the editorial department as soon as possible after contributing. In fact, because the editorial department has to deal with countless manuscripts every day, many publications often don't even bother to send a notice of acceptance after receiving the manuscripts, which has dampened the enthusiasm of many authors, and some even stopped contributing. There are also a few publications that take care of "relationship manuscripts" in large quantities and only pay attention to a few "celebrities", which makes many newcomers flinch. However, it should be admitted that any publication will consider its own reputation. A truly vital publication will adhere to the principle of recognizing manuscripts and not recognizing people. As long as the manuscript is right and the quality is excellent, there is no reason for any editorial department to give up the best. Based on this consideration, from the author's point of view, the author thinks that the following strategies should be paid attention to when submitting a manuscript: First, persevere, whether it is sent or not, that is, contribute frequently, don't think about it after it is finished, don't expect to be published, lower expectations and let the editorial department think about it. In fact, it is useless for you to think about it; Second, the more you fight, the more you win. After a long time, editors will be impressed, especially some publications with sufficient manuscript sources and high level. It is very likely that the manuscript you sent was put forward before you read it carefully. "Vote again and again" may touch God. If your manuscript is really good, it goes without saying that if you read it carefully, it may change your destiny, even before. Third, find the right path to the destination. As long as you think your manuscript is really valuable, you can vote repeatedly or switch to other similar publications. I believe that if it is gold, it will be discovered and recognized. Fourth, from low to high, step by step. Generally speaking, the lower the publication level, the smaller the distribution scope and the fewer the manuscript sources. If the manuscript of the same quality is submitted to such a publication, it may increase the chance of hitting. Newcomers who have just started writing should pay special attention to this. It is unrealistic to dream of becoming a blockbuster fat man. Fifth, strike while the iron is hot, that is, send it immediately after receiving the notification of the publication's adoption, and continue to develop while the editorial department is still impressed with your manuscript. Sixth, pay attention to grade, that is, when submitting a manuscript, pay attention to the consistency between the quality of the manuscript and the influence of the publication grade. This can be divided into two situations: the first situation is that the author who has published an article with a certain popularity can "write a good manuscript" to a "high-level" publication, which can expand his influence, build a brand, make a name for himself and improve his popularity. Of course, the work must be a "fist product". For example, the publication has published your manuscript for many times, which belongs to the "familiarity" in the second case. An author who has never published an article is not well-known and unfamiliar. You can use the method of "Tian Ji Horse Racing" to achieve the effect of "best of three games".

Finally, let's talk about "multiple contributions for one manuscript". Each periodical has its own regulations, which oppose "multiple contributions for one manuscript" and require that other periodicals be changed after the editing period. However, many manuscripts are very timely, especially those that match the teaching progress, which are often "there is no shop after this village". In this case, there are two ways: one is to do it according to the regulations, change it after the expiration or leave it until next year, and the other is to adopt a disguised form of "multiple contributions for one manuscript". Another method is to keep the contribution record and notify other publications immediately after receiving the adoption notice to avoid re-publication. Generally speaking, authors who are not well-known and just start writing, especially those with average quality, rarely use several publications at the same time, even if they contribute more than one article. From this point of view, from the point of view of safeguarding the author's rights and interests, the author is in favor of the second method, and it seems that the newspaper editorial department should not oppose this method. It is not easy for the author to write a manuscript. There is no need to inform the author in time, which will delay the opportunity to use the manuscript. The editorial department should bear the responsibility. I wonder if the author's point of view is correct.