As an early career scholar, I took publish or perish seriously.
I published as many papers as quickly as I could.
I was focused on ‘N.’
I didn’t realize what a mistake I was making.
I realized I was making a mistake when an assistant professor taunted me.
After publishing in a mid-tier journal, they came to my office & said, ‘you finally published in a place I can respect.’
I was stunned - too slow to be offended - I asked, ‘what do you mean?’
They said, ‘you finally published a paper in a place that good people care about.’
After a few snarky remarks, they left my office & left me worried.
I was a young parent & didn’t have a margin for error.
I needed every publication to count.
So I solicited advice from a mentor.
After noting that the peer could be a jerk, my mentor said there was some truth to the observation.
They suggested I had enough volume - I needed to focus on quality.
But.
I also needed to be me, so if a mixed volume-quality strategy made me feel safe, they told me to chase it!
So I set aside my concern & did for ten years.
To my regret.
Not paying attention to top journals was a terrible mistake.
I missed opportunities for building a reputation, earning high-quality citations, & securing better jobs.
So what would I have done differently?
First, I would have focused my initial submissions on top journals.
I sent several pretty good papers to B journals as a first stop.
I should have sent them to top journals first.
A few more early top papers would have built my reputation & helped me overcome the effects of a blue-collar PhD on my career trajectory.
Second, I would have been more attentive to understanding what top & near top journals were valued.
I was trained to publish in one top journal, then the rest of the journals - that were not predatory - were undifferentiated.
I was naive.
The truth was that there was a corpus of journals that mattered.
I just didn’t know it.
Third, I would have calibrated my target journals by where faculty at top schools published.
The difference between top & non-top schools is target outlets.
Why is that important?
Publishing in similar outlets means your work gets noticed & cited by those people & in these outlets.
This has a positive bullwhip effect on your career.
Fourth, I would have tracked which of my papers were cited more aggressively.
My early papers in less recognized outlets often went uncited at all.
My papers in recognized outlets were cited in good outlets.
I wish I had paid more attention.
I would have pursued a more mindful pub strategy.
Finally, I would have developed a pub strategy sooner.
Some thoughts on how to do so here: https://lnkd.in/dWqUnmz7
I only became known for my scholarly work after I refocused on top journals.
And inquiries about my availability started.
So aim high & good things follow.
Best of luck.
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