They're really going to print that???
Word came via email yesterday that the kind editors at Families in Society will in fact publish my very first academic journal article ever. My revisions were accepted and the article goes to press immediately for the April-June issue. While I can intellectually acknowledge that this is cause for celebration, emotionally I find myself in a sudden state of panic. Here are a few questions rumbling through my mind:
What if what I wrote was crap? (one would think the scrutiny of a co-author, two peer reviewers and an editor would quell this fear, but no).
What if I misrepresented something in the literature? (I don't think so...but what if someone I cite reads the article and says, "that's not what I said!" Unlikely?)
Did I get the story straight?
Did I do something wrong?
Oh my God!
Are they really going to print this?
Will anyone read it? (Irrationally, I find myself hoping not).
I'm thinking this is normal...is it?
Comments
Hey Congratulation! That's terrific. I had a milder version of all this on my first article, but it was quelled mainly because I knew no one would ever read it. It was in Social Science Computer Review--ever heard of it? Didn't think so!
Posted by: Dan Myers | March 21, 2007 04:48 PM
Thanks, Dan!
Posted by: self | March 22, 2007 10:36 AM
Sarah, okay, I want you to seriously breathe and enjoy this moment. This is the FIRST paper you have ever published and I know that you will immediately buy 15 copies of this particular journal, so everyone can relish your particular brand of geekdom. But seriously, CONGRATULATIONS, this is the first of many published papers.
Posted by: Jan | March 23, 2007 08:58 PM
Yahoo! That's wonderful Sarah. Now, when you talk with students or with fellow sociologists, you can reference the paper in an off-handed way that makes clear you PUBLISH.
Great job.
Posted by: brad wright | March 26, 2007 10:41 AM