You've got positive results—congrats! Now comes the next big step: publishing. Choosing the right journal can make a huge difference in the visibility and impact of your work. Things like accessibility, fees, impact factor, reputation, and formatting constraints all play a role in that decision.
It's also worth using preprint platforms like arXiv or bioRxiv to share your work before it’s officially published. Sharing your preprint on social media or other platforms can boost its visibility and help others find your research sooner.
And of course, publishing isn’t always smooth sailing. You might face rejection or major revisions—but don't lose hope! Take feedback seriously, improve your paper, and keep going. When your article finally gets accepted, that’s a major win—you’ve contributed something new to your field!
1) Choice of journal
Start by discussing with your advisor(s) where you'd like to publish. Different journals have different constraints: word limits for the article or abstract, page limits, whether they accept supplementary materials, etc. Keep all of this in mind when writing your draft.
How do you choose the right journal? Here are a few key factors:
- Accessibility: Do you want your article to be open access? That usually makes your work more widely available, but some journals charge extra for it. (More on alternatives below.)
- Fees: Yes, it sounds strange—we already pay to read articles, and now we have to pay to publish too? Some journals can be pricey. But don’t panic—your advisor may have a budget or institutional support for publication fees.
- Impact Factor: This metric reflects how often articles in the journal are cited. It’s not a perfect measure of quality, but it still matters—especially early in your career. For example, Nature has a famously high impact factor.
- Reputation: Some journals are prestigious because of their history and who has published there. In physics, Physical Review has been around since the 19th century and has featured work by Einstein and Feynman. Even if its impact factor isn’t the highest, it’s well respected.
- Format: Some journals have strict length limits (e.g. 2-page letters), while others allow longer, more detailed papers. Make sure your work fits the format. If you have too many results for a short format, don’t settle for hiding 2/3 of them in the supplementary material—consider a more flexible journal.
2) Preprint time
While your paper is under review, there’s a lot you can do to get it seen:
- Preprints & Open Access: Alongside your journal submission, upload your article to a preprint server. This helps make science accessible to all and gets your work out there quickly—much faster than journal publication, which can take months (or years!). For physics or math, use arXiv; for biology, bioRxiv.
- Social Media: Share your preprint widely—with a link to arXiv or your website—on platforms like Twitter (X), LinkedIn, ResearchGate, and more. More eyes = more impact.
Now, the journal process begins:
- The editor may desk reject your article (i.e. reject it without review). In that case, pick a new journal and adjust the formatting. This can take time, so choosing the right journal from the start can save you a lot of work.
- If accepted for review, your article will be sent to anonymous peer reviewers. After some time, you’ll receive feedback. Here are the usual responses:
- Rejected: Don’t lose heart. Learn from the feedback and submit to another journal.
- Major revision: Time to roll up your sleeves—lots to do, but still promising.
- Minor revision: Great! Just a few things to fix.
- Accepted: Congratulations, you did it!
3) Published time
Eventually, the editor will send you a DOI (Digital Object Identifier)—your paper's permanent ID. It’s sharing time!
Here’s what to do next:
- Add it to your ORCID profile (I explain ORCID, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate here).
- Share it on Twitter (short explanation + link), and maybe start a thread with more context.
- Put it on ResearchGate and link the DOI and abstract.
- Add it to your personal website and update your CV.
Some things are automatic: Google Scholar usually detects your paper via the DOI, and some journals update your ORCID for you.
And that’s it—your first publication is out. Now, time to start the next adventure!