Academic publisher Elsevier says that its journal editors reject between 30 and 50% of the articles submitted to Elsevier journals before they even reach the peer-review stage, and one of the top reasons for rejection is poor language. Journal editors make decisions at their desk before the paper even gets to reviewers.

Elsevier says journal editors don’t like:

• sloppy copy
• unclear messages
• inconsistency and inaccuracy
• unsuitability
• unclear impact or novelty.

No surprises there!

Tips to avoid the reject pile

• Take care as you write and type and ask someone else to read your paper.
• Use short sentences and simple language to focus on your message.
• Check once, check twice and check again.
• Check your manuscript is within the scope of the journal.
• Be clear about the findings, what’s new and the impact on the research field. But don’t overstate the impact.

See the article and more in the latest Authors’ Update from Elsevier at Authors’ Update.

A recent Society of Editors (NSW) meeting on 5 May highlighted the challenges in achieving consistency in multi-part documents written by many authors.

The use of house style guides and style sheets makes it easier to achieve consistency in style issues such as spelling, hyphenation, capitalisation, dates and numbers. A house style guide sets out the preferred style choices for an organisation’s publications. A style sheet is similar but is developed for a specific publication, with specific terms used in that publication often listed in alphabetical order for easy reference.

Tips for achieving consistency with multiple authors

• Check if there is an existing house or organisation style guide.
• Develop a simple style guide for common decisions.
• Let all authors know about the style resources and how to use them.
• Review and update the style resources regularly.

Editors also use style guides and sheets to ensure consistency in their editing decisions on multi-author works and to reduce the use of personal preference.

Useful starting points are the Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers (6^th edition, 2002), discussed in a February 2014 post, and the Macquarie Dictionary for accepted Australian spelling, hyphenation and capitalisation.

But even the most comprehensive style guide won’t have the answer to every editing question. Editing choices should always reflect the purpose and audience of each document.

Someone asked me recently if there is a right font size to use for text. The right font size depends on the purpose and audience for a document. Arial or Times New Roman in 11 point is a good starting point for a clear, easy to read report. But 11 point won’t be right for everything.

A business card can use a small font size such as 8 or 9 point for some details, but a name badge the same size needs a larger font size to stand out. A letter or report may use a larger font size such as 11 or 12 point, while an eye-catching brochure or leaflet may use an even larger font size for text such as 14 or 18 point.

The choice of font size depends on the overall spacing and layout of the document such as

• the page margins
• the length of lines
• the space between lines
• the space between paragraphs
• the size of headings
• the choice of font.

All these elements affect the look and readability of your page. There are some guides about the preferred number of words or characters per line, but experiment to find what works best for your document and audience. You can adjust the font size for formatting purposes – to fit all the text on one page or to stretch it out to fill a page.

Writing with passion

Recently, I was pleased to see a letter I wrote published in the Sydney Morning Herald. I wrote it with passion because the issue of the usefulness of the five yearly Census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics was important to me.

People recognise and respond to enthusiasm and passion, whether it is demonstrated in writing or in person in presentations. A fellow newspaper reader even looked up my phone number and phoned to agree with me and talk about the issue.

When writing with passion,

• do a first draft quickly, then leave it and review it later to get the tone right
• support your position with arguments and evidence
• direct your enthusiasm and focus on your message
• use the right language to convey your enthusiasm to your specific audience.

The acknowledgements section is the place to recognise and thank people who have contributed to your document. Who you recognise and the tone you use to express appreciation varies depending on the type of document. A thesis should always recognise supervisors, while a novel might thank agents and editors, and a government report might refer to other agencies.

Consider these contributors:

• supervisors who provided academic or professional guidance
• organisations who provided financial or in-kind support
• individuals and organisations who provided helpful information, data or advice, or specific services
• family and friends who provided personal support.

Consider these tips:

• put the most important and significant contributions first
• keep the tone consistent with the style of the document
• keep the length in proportion with the document
• convey a professional image.

Acknowledgements usually appear at the beginning of a document, but there is an increasing trend to place them, together with other preliminary pages, at the end of the document.

Spelling in Australia includes both acknowledgement (with a middle “e”) and acknowledgment. Remember to be consistent throughout.

If you are having trouble writing a complex or important idea, sentence or paragraph, a good tip is to say out loud what you are really trying to say, then write those words down.

For instance, what I really want to say is… “This problem is complex with many causes and many solutions”. This gives you a starting point which you can then modify by replacing words, rephrasing, rearranging and expanding. Sometimes you may replace simple words with more formal words, or you may expand a word into a phrase or a whole new sentence.

But you may be surprised – often what you first write down when you say “what I really want to say is”, is good enough to stay, particularly if you have been thinking about the words and ideas for a while.

The “What I really want to say…” technique can be used for a range of written material from sympathy notes to speeches to summary or conclusion paragraphs.

What I really want to say is… Writing can be difficult, but write down something simple to start with. It also gives your editor something to work with.

The third edition of The Australian Editing Handbook, released in mid 2014, is a valuable companion to the Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers. The Style Manual, last updated in 2002, was reviewed in a February 2014 post.

The Australian Editing Handbook has 3 main sections:

• Introduction to publishing
• The basics of editing
• The production process.

The Appendices include sample briefs, editorial checklists, a sample style sheet and proofreading symbols.

Over 400 pages, authors Elizabeth Flann, Beryl Hill and Lan Wang have many helpful tips for both professional editors and writers who want to understand editing and publishing processes to edit their own work. The third edition has updated information on editing in the digital age including a detailed chapter on ebooks.

Recommended retail price is A$49.95, but look online for a better price. You might be lucky enough to find it under the Christmas tree.

Academic publisher Elsevier has released their latest Authors’ Update enewsletter. One of the articles, How to overcome obstacles to publishing in English, has great tips for publishing in the English language.

Elsevier takes a closer look at the challenges researchers from developing and/or non-English speaking countries face when trying to get their work published in journals and determines what they can do to overcome them.

There are seven recommendations for researchers to increase their chances of publication success including linguistic editing. Most tips are relevant to researchers in both English-speaking and non-English speaking countries.

Read this article and more at www.elsevier.com/authors-update

My tip for successful journal publishing is to meet the journal’s requirements in both content and formatting style. If the journal has a specific word limit for articles, make sure you meet it. Don’t make it easy for a journal to reject your article simply because it doesn’t meet the word limit and style guidelines.