Editing our way through to the end

It’s been a challenging process to see the end of several writing projects happening at the same time. As an academic, I know many others have struggled through the editing process to gain the acknowledgement of a peer reviewed publication. I now have a new respect for those academics who publish multiple papers, book chapters, and book reviews while still managing to conduct additional academic and scholarly work including conference presentation proposals, conference presentations, conference reviews, and peer reviewing publication papers. I recognize that this is often a solitary effort but can recommend from my recent experience that it is best not to go alone.

The proposal for the paper was written in August, 2020, the draft was co-written in late October to mid November. The final version of the paper was written and due at the end of November, and was submitted on time. The initial draft edits were sent back in mid December. These were substantial and needed to address several systemic issues with our paper. The edits were completed in early January, 2021. This was followed by weeks of back and forth editing monitored and reviewed by a copy editor. Luckily, when I was ready to give up and give in to defeat, my co-writer was willing to pick up the gauntlet of editing the next list of issues. Together, we managed to see the writing project to completion.

The final copy-proof has just been submitted for publication and we now await the release of this special edition of the journal where our hard work will be revealed. While this was one of several items of academic writing I have managed to complete and see published, this one, by far, garners a feeling of success through trial and error. It also brings a renewed commitment to writing with others since each author brings their unique strengths and insights to a publication, making it better in the end.

Now on to the next proposal, call for papers, and call for chapters. There are many that come across my view but many more that I’ll never see until they become fully published documents. Academic writing never ends until the editing is done.

Image attribution: Photo by hannah grace on Unsplash