Chapter 6 - How Should We Decide Target Submission Dates?

Summary

Before submitting a journal article for publication, it is important to decide the target submission date first. After presenting nine intuitive thoughts and three cases (Xiaofang, Lisa, and Seema), the chapter discusses how two core concepts, project management and project complexity, can be applied to determine a thoughtful target submission date. It ends with a few practical suggestions: developing our project management skills deliberately. Project management is strongly related to project success, especially for novice writers; choosing our target submission dates in a timely manner. We should consider from the perspectives of authors, journals, and readers how to choose a target submission date in a timely manner; choosing our target submission dates thoughtfully. We can determine the project complexity based on the research cycle, the publication cycle, and the impact cycle; choosing our target submission dates using some methods (e.g., backward planning and forward planning).