An important reminder for new(er) authors: even those of us with a long publication record get rejections. This piece (https://nationalinterest.org/feature/can-the-great-america-india-team-survive-past-obama-16852) started at WOTR, but wasn't quite the right fit. The WOTR editor shared it with DefenseOne, which received no response. We then pulled our submission from DefenseOne and sent to The National Interest, where it was published nearly immediately.
A bit of advice on what worked: a) submit a clearly written draft; makes it easier to find the right home if your initial pitch doesn't work; b) be kind and courteous to every editor you work with--they want you to succeed, even if not at their publication; and c) be both patient and persistent.
I wrote a paper on gray zone deterrence while in grad school that I eventually submitted to STRATCOM for an essay contest that I won. Thinking I wrote an awesome paper, I submitted it to a peer reviewed journal to basically learn that I had submitted trash, to include one peer reviewer making a comment about my writing needing a native English edit. Anyways, after 1.5 years of rejection at 6 different journals, I finally figured out how to get the article published:
My piece “Ending the Churn” (https://mwi.westpoint.edu/ending-the-churn-to-solve-the-recruiting-crisis-the-army-should-be-asking-very-different-questions/) was rejected from the first publication that I submitted it to. I was frustrated, because it was clear the Subject Matter Expert who had reviewed the article had not seriously considered my arguments and supporting evidence. I angrily typed up a response highlighting the evidence I presented, but then I had my wife review it, she told me to cool off a bit, which allowed me to write a less emotionally charged reply thanking the editor for considering the article.
The SME’s comments actually motivated even more to get it published, because it demonstrated how blind the army was to the problems of its centralized personnel system and how “experts” could not see how any alternatives could work. I then sent it to MWI, who loved it, and the article received incredible engagement.
About to submit my first (co-written) and find this encouraging. I’ve got a few things written that have sat on the “hard drive” for a couple years. I need some chum for rejection so maybe I’ll offer them up!
I submitted an essay on the recruiting and retention crisis to MWI for the competition last year. After reviewing, one of my friends with experience publishing with MWI indicated there was no way they would be able to publish it due to political considerations, but I still had hope. Whether he was right or it just wasn't good enough I can't know for sure, but he was kind enough to work with me to find an alternative outlet to publish. I went with what he and I thought would be the best fit after some back and forth and they picked it up. https://americanmind.org/salvo/solving-the-militarys-recruiting-crisis/
An important reminder for new(er) authors: even those of us with a long publication record get rejections. This piece (https://nationalinterest.org/feature/can-the-great-america-india-team-survive-past-obama-16852) started at WOTR, but wasn't quite the right fit. The WOTR editor shared it with DefenseOne, which received no response. We then pulled our submission from DefenseOne and sent to The National Interest, where it was published nearly immediately.
A bit of advice on what worked: a) submit a clearly written draft; makes it easier to find the right home if your initial pitch doesn't work; b) be kind and courteous to every editor you work with--they want you to succeed, even if not at their publication; and c) be both patient and persistent.
I wrote a paper on gray zone deterrence while in grad school that I eventually submitted to STRATCOM for an essay contest that I won. Thinking I wrote an awesome paper, I submitted it to a peer reviewed journal to basically learn that I had submitted trash, to include one peer reviewer making a comment about my writing needing a native English edit. Anyways, after 1.5 years of rejection at 6 different journals, I finally figured out how to get the article published:
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/jss/vol10/iss3/2/
My piece “Ending the Churn” (https://mwi.westpoint.edu/ending-the-churn-to-solve-the-recruiting-crisis-the-army-should-be-asking-very-different-questions/) was rejected from the first publication that I submitted it to. I was frustrated, because it was clear the Subject Matter Expert who had reviewed the article had not seriously considered my arguments and supporting evidence. I angrily typed up a response highlighting the evidence I presented, but then I had my wife review it, she told me to cool off a bit, which allowed me to write a less emotionally charged reply thanking the editor for considering the article.
The SME’s comments actually motivated even more to get it published, because it demonstrated how blind the army was to the problems of its centralized personnel system and how “experts” could not see how any alternatives could work. I then sent it to MWI, who loved it, and the article received incredible engagement.
If the centralized personnel system is a problem, then an SME on the centralized personnel system is almost certainly a part of the problem.
About to submit my first (co-written) and find this encouraging. I’ve got a few things written that have sat on the “hard drive” for a couple years. I need some chum for rejection so maybe I’ll offer them up!
I submitted an essay on the recruiting and retention crisis to MWI for the competition last year. After reviewing, one of my friends with experience publishing with MWI indicated there was no way they would be able to publish it due to political considerations, but I still had hope. Whether he was right or it just wasn't good enough I can't know for sure, but he was kind enough to work with me to find an alternative outlet to publish. I went with what he and I thought would be the best fit after some back and forth and they picked it up. https://americanmind.org/salvo/solving-the-militarys-recruiting-crisis/