Publishing in International Journals

Our Tasks in Evaluating and Submitting the Manuscript

KENPRO Research Team is involved in the following:

• Determining the right journal for your manuscript.  We evaluate your work critically.  Peruse the publications and their Web sites to determine the best that fits your manuscript. Before we send your work to any journal, we consider the following: topical emphasis, rejection rate, and average length of time from submission to publication.

• One journal at a time.  We submit your manuscript to only one journal at a time.  If it is rejected, we look for a second journal.  Submitting a manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously can cause embarrassment and lead to copyright problems. As such, the manuscript you send to us should not be published else where.

• Thesis grounded in the current historiography. Our team ensures that the manuscript has strong background / historical debates that inform the thesis.  The historiographical material provides the reader with an insight into the origins of the thesis.

• Editing: Manuscripts that are poorly prepared suggest sloppy scholarship.  Our editors check spelling, syntax, word use, passive voice and repetition.  We read, read and read your manuscript.

• Formatting and style.  Different journal have guidelines for authors. We adhere strictly to the provided authors’ guidelines provided in different journals. For instance, if the journal uses footnotes rather than endnotes, we conform to that style from the beginning.  The same applies to the font, type size, and page organization etc.

• Submitting the Manuscript.  We find out the number of copies required by the journal. We also determine whether the manuscript can be sent electronically?  We provide the author’s contact information, including a postal address, e-mail address, and telephone number. In case of change of address, we upgrade the account.

Our Role in the Publication Process

Once the manuscript has been submitted, expect the following:

• Acknowledgement.  Once the manuscript has been submitted, the journal’s editor or editorial staff will acknowledge receipt with a card, letter, or e-mail.  We make a follow up in case the journal has not acknowledged receipt within 10 days.

• First reading.  Some journals send everything out for review, others do an in-house read to determine if the manuscript fits the journal demands.  If the journal does an in-house reading, you may receive a second notice that the manuscript has been sent out for review.  If the journal rejects your manuscript on an in-house reading, the editor will inform you of the decision and may offer an explanation for the rejection.  If the rejection letter offers suggestions for improving the manuscript, consider the advice carefully.  Your feelings may be hurt, but incorporating the counsel may enable you to place your manuscript elsewhere.

• Referees.  The editor will send your manuscript to several referees.  Editors select referees on the basis of the manuscript’s subject matter and the needs of the journal.  The referee process usually takes 6 to 8 weeks.  Review of manuscripts is a double-blind process.  The author does not know who reviewed the manuscript, and the referees do not know who wrote the article.

• Feedback from the referees.  Referees advise the editor that the manuscript is suitable for publication, with major or minor revisions, or unsuitable for publication.  No matter the determination, referees are expected to provide commentary on the manuscript.  Referees are chosen because they are familiar with the literature and anxious to see good scholarship published.  Their comments can provide helpful guidelines to improving your work.  As an author, it may be difficult to accept the criticisms offered on a manuscript you viewed as exceptional. 

• Revisions. Once the work has been refereed, our team at KENPRO takes up the recommended revisions.  Most manuscripts that are accepted for publication require some revision.  If we deem a particular revision is not needed, we explain our decision to the editor when re-submitting the revised article. We adhere to the deadline the journal’s editor provides for returning the revised manuscript.  In case we cannot meet the deadline, we inform the editor immediately. 

• Images, maps, and tables.  If the manuscript being submitted has images, maps, or tables for publication, we check for permissions to publish (in the case of images and historical maps) and provide captions and attributions. 

• Copyediting.  Your revised manuscript will be copyedited by the editor (in the case of small journals) or by a separate copyeditor (in the case of larger international journals).  Copyediting is intended to remove spelling, syntax, or grammatical errors and make the manuscript conform to the print requirements of the journal.  The copyedited version will be returned to the author with a quick return to the editor required.  We at KENPRO ensure that we read the copyedited version carefully to be sure that editing and formatting changes did not alter the meaning or misplace the footnotes (or endnotes).  We then return the copy according to instructions and within the deadline. 

• Publication. A this point, we can afford to sit back and enjoy the accolades that OUR hard work and careful scholarship have produced.

Special Note

Please note that the journal holds the copyright to your article.  Many journals now require that you sign a contract acknowledging their copyright.  See sample Journal Copyright Form.  If you use the material from your article in a monograph or other publication, you must receive permission from the journal’s editor.  In most cases, permission is granted without charge or for a small fee.