A Guide to Writing and Publishing NT Articles

Last updated on: October 9, 2008 at 6:58 pm by Nijay Gupta

A Guide to Writing and Publishing NT Articles 2008-10-09T18:58:18-08:00 Nijay Gupta

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In the field of NT academia, books, essays, and articles are our currency. The desire to build academic credit, though, is just one of a whole constellation of reasons why we publish articles. Others reasons would include that you are responding to issues in another article or book, you are working on it for a particular funded project, you have material unused from a book, you made a new discovery of some sort, or you just like to research and write.

Unfortunately, there are no guidebooks for how to enter this world. So many questions come to mind when beginning this adventure: who do I submit an article to? What about formatting? How long does it take to hear back? How long should it be? Who reviews it? How do they decide? And so on…

I hope, here, to offer some basic answers and fill some knowledge gaps for others who are new to the process.

THE BASICS

There are scores of biblical studies journals and many of these have their own rules and guidelines for submission. But, a few things are given or are extremely common. Here are some basics you should know:

1. Length – an article for a NT journal is usually between 3,000-10,000 words. I tend to aim for about 5,000-7,000 words which seems about average. Most journals are reluctant to take more than 8,000 words unless the article really needs it and is really ground-breaking.

2. How to submit – Look the journal up on the web and the host site should have a document or page ‘instructions for authors/contributors’ or something like that. In there you will find details about who to send it to and formatting instructions. Traditionally, you would have to print out a couple of hard copies and post them to the editor (who is named on the journal itself and/or the webpage). Nowadays, more and more journals are accepting electronic (emailed) copies. The website should tell you, but I am in the habit of emailing the editor and asking if they take electronic (email) even if they say on the web they do not.

3. Time-line – This varies quite a bit, but most journals take between 3-6 months to assess. The more prestigious the journal, the longer you should expect. The time considerations is based on the availability of reviewers and the number of submissions. For a journal like NTS or JBL, 6 months is pretty good – it might be longer. Some journals, like Biblica, can assess very quickly and get back to you in a few weeks!

4. Reviewer(s) – How an article is assessed is also pretty standard. Each journal has a panel of reviewers from various sub-fields in the discipline. Normally your article is sent to two (or sometimes three) reviewers who make independent judgments. Most journals have a ‘blind peer review’ system meaning that your article will be anonymous so they will not be biased for or against you personally. I have a feeling, though, the senior editor (whom you have been in named contact with) also weighs in sometimes on the final decision. The results go back to the editor who then contacts you.

5. Results – You will either receive a letter in the post or an email with an assessment. If they choose not to publish the article, you should be informed why – this is a courtesy to you and if a journal does not give you any feedback, you have the right to ask for it. I once sent an article to a journal and they rejected it without offering any other information. This is poor practice and I will never submit to them again. If they accept your article, you will be given the reviewers’ notes on what they would want to improve in the argument. Journals vary in terms of whether or how much they require you to make the corrections. Some journals offer it more as ‘suggestions’, others seem to be more insistent that you incorporate the feedback of the reviewers. A third response may be that the journal chooses not the accept the piece, but gives feedback for improving it and suggests you re-submit to them when you fix it up. Time-wise, there is no rule for how long you have to correct the article, but it seems like they will tell you if it needs to be fast (to meet an issue deadline). I have taken up to two months to correct an article. If your article has been accepted and you correct the article in line with the assessment, it goes back to the editor who then prepares ‘proofs’. These proofs (usually pdfs, but sometimes not) are almost in their final form (as you would see it in the journal). Here you have one more chance to catch typos and to make sure the Greek/Hebrew came out correctly. Then you send a list of any fixes back to the editor. They will inform you, then, when you article will appear.

6. Freebies – typically you will be given a free issue of the journal you appear in, and also you get so many ‘off-prints’. These are copies of just your article and you may be sent between 10-25 free ones. If the journal is really basic, they may just send you a pdf to save money…or nothing at all. Off-prints are pretty standard. These you can save, frame, give to family or friends, or send as ‘writing samples’ when applying for a new job or grant or whatever.

PREPARATION

As a general practice, I try to decide in advance where I am going to send an article before I write it. Why? First of all, from a formatting standpoint, it is easier to write it in the style the particular journal wants. Since journals vary in how paragraphs are indented, how block quotes are done, how to title sections, spacing, Greek font, footnote style, bibliography style, biblical references preference (‘Gen. 1:1 versus Gen 1.1 versus Gn 1,1), you are best off starting with one journal’s style. But, how do you decide? I would say there are three main factors: (1) the level of the article, (2) the subject matter and (3) the theological assumptions/positions. LEVEL – how technical is it going to be? Will you be researching extensively in German and French as well? Lots of Greek text? Some journals (like Biblical Theology Bulletin) transliterate Greek so this journal might not be best for an article that is Greek intensive. Obviously highly technical pieces should go in technical journals. SUBJECT – some articles may be especially suited for a sub-discipline journal such as Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus or Journal of Theological Interpretation. THEOLOGICAL POSITIONS: Will you be presuming Pauline authorship of Ephesians – this won’t bode well being sent to JBL or NTS. But, JETS would be more open to that. Now, NTS might not be against a well-constructed argument for the Pauline authorship of Ephesians, but when you just hold certain theologically-based assumptions, that is more crucial. That does not mean I think it is bad to make such assumptions. It is just that some journals may be more suitable depending on what things you are trying to say and where you are coming from.

TIPS

1. Be original – this should go without saying, but I see a lot of articles with really nothing new to say. Reviewers are looking for innovation and fresh insight. This often comes from a new approach or methodology.

2. Be simple and clear – don’t try to do too much. State your thesis in the introduction, follow it closely throughout and restate it in the conclusion.

3. Be directly critical without being antagonistic – In order to make a strong argument, you need to be clear that you find the scholarship on a particular issue lacking. So, you can highlight where others have gone wrong and why. But, when arguments become ad hominem, people stop appreciating the Spirit of your argument.

4. Keep the argument manageable – if you are making a world-shattering thesis, you may want to use a test-case as the basis for your argument rather than doing a NT sweep in 6,000 words and risk appearing too superficial.

5. Engage with international scholarship – I have been busted before for not enough German and/or French research. And, it has to be more than just a couple of German commentaries. But, don’t try to show off your knowledge with excessive German quotes.

6. Beware of research overkill – sometimes people feel the need to overcompensate for their scholastic intimidation by excessively footnoting and commenting on everything, and citing endless numbers of supporting texts. My supervisor called this ‘crushing an egg with a sledgehammer’ and it is to be avoided. When footnote citations get over the top, it makes you seem actually less confident about your own ideas.

FINAL THOUGHTS

1. Failure is inevitable – The first few articles I put out there got swiftly crushed and rejected. [If you are a reviewer or editor for a journal, take note – there is no reason to make rude and terse comments in your review assessment. Many of us are new at this!] Expect to be shot down, even if you feel like it was your best work. A friend once told me (who has a good publishing record), ‘its a crapshoot’. That means, you just can’t try to understand why an article got rejected sometimes. Sometimes the reviewer was just not having a good day. Other times, they were on the line and went for ‘no’. Getting published is as much about having longsuffering as it is about ‘intelligence’. Keep trying! My general rule is that for every article I have two journals in mind – a high-class journal (like JSNT or JBL) and a medium-journal (I have a previous post on the levels somewhere in the past). If the article is rejected by the high-class one, I send it off again to the medium-class one. If it is rejected again, I usually bench it. Once in a while I sent it off again to an even lower-rated journal.

You should know that most journals do not allow you to submit the article to multiple journals at once. You have to wait for the final assessment before sending it somewhere else.

OK- good luck and don’t give up!

Uncategorized

Previous Post

October 8, 2008

A Commendable New Intro to NT Interpretation Textbook

Next Post

October 11, 2008 Theological Interpretation of the NT....Book by Book?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category (Mis)Understanding Philippians 10 Things I Can't Live Without 2023 New Books 30 OT HB Scholars to Read and Follow 5 Books Series 50-2-Follow Academia Christian Theologians to Read and Follow Cruciform Scripture: Contributor Reflections Crux Sola TV Editors Behind Great Books in NT Studies Education Gendering the Holy Spirit Gupta FB Live Lectures In Faith and Doubt In Their Own Words Living the King Jesus Gospel My Top 6 OT Commentaries New Testament Resource Guide New Word Biblical Themes Nijay's A Very Library Christmas Shopping Guide Notes from an Editor Notes on New Books NTRG OT in the NT Paul Seminary Now The Bible in God's World The Word Felt Among Us SPENCER Translating Philippians Uncategorized Why I Use Accordance Women in Ministry

Select a Month March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz