Tips and Tricks for Getting Work Published in RSEQ and Other Professional Journals

Abstract This article explains the process of writing and publishing in professional journals and attempts to demystify the process as it related to the professional literature in special education and disability services. It offers a 21 step procedure to help beginning and novice writers in generating ideas to write about, planning and preparing the manuscript, and submitting the manuscript for publication. Each step includes insider tips and tricks for becoming a more successful professional writer and reaching the goal of seeing one's written work in print. Today's professionals working in the disciplines of special education and disability services are often faced with a need or have a desire to share thought-provoking ideas and opinions, successful programs and practices, and results of research and evaluation studies. But many people are unfamiliar or even intimidated by the professional publication process-a problem that prevents them from making valuable contributions to the field. After many years of preparing manuscripts for publication, editing the works of others, and assisting doctoral students and junior colleagues on the path to becoming professional writers, I have found that it can be helpful to regard publication as a competitive sport. As in all sports, the winning players are those who know their own strengths and limitations (lightweight wrestlers do not enter heavyweight contests), become familiar with the arena and judges (trainers scope out the track conditions before they race their horses), take the time to get plenty of practice (champion gymnasts work out many hours a day most days of the year), and start out with (major league baseball stars have worked their way through the minors). Here are some of my best time-tested tips and tricks to help you be a successful competitor in the sport of professional publishing in this journal as well as others. Generating Ideas Worthy of Publication Before you can be published or even submit work for an editor's consideration, you need to figure out what topics and issues you can write about and that someone wants to read about. It is not uncommon for doctoral students and even for early career faculty to wonder whether they have ideas worth putting into print and sharing with the professional community. Practitioners, whether teachers and therapists or administrators, typically feel that publication is something best left to those with advanced degrees and research skills. Most people undervalue their own experience and knowledge and believe that those whose work is published are somehow different from everyone else. Yet, the simple truth is this: everyone with any expertise in and commitment to the field of special education and disability services has something to offer, if only to those who have similar roles or interests. Here are some ideas for determining what information you may have that would be worth sharing with others and which journals would be willing to put into print. 1. Write about what you know and do on a daily basis. Your accumulated experience on some topic can be of great use to the field, especially if it is seasoned with reflection and connected to existing theory and practice. Everyone who is any good at their current or recent job, whether it is teaching students with disabilities, coordinating an early intervention program, or training prospective teachers to use direct instruction, has some knowledge that others would like to share. That knowledge may be in the form of a specific practice, a program model, or data collected through an action research project, and experimental study, or a program evaluation effort. You should ask yourself the question: what do I know a lot about that someone else would benefit from? 2. Address topics and issues that are current in the field. Publication is one way of joining the professional discourse on concerns that are common to a discipline at a specific point in time. …