Overview
Early-career researchers are often expected to publish before anyone has explained how the system works: what editors look for at desk review, how open access and article processing charges fit in, why reviewers ask for what they ask, and what to do after a 'major revisions' decision. Workshops fill that gap efficiently for individuals and groups.
Each workshop combines short explanation with hands-on tasks. Participants analyze a journal's aims and scope against their own manuscript, rewrite an abstract, practice triaging reviewer comments into a response table, or review a short sample paper using a structured template. We use participants' own work where they are comfortable sharing it.
Workshops are available as stand-alone sessions or a series. For one-to-one help with a specific manuscript, see response to reviewers support and other publication services.
Who it’s for and the problems it solves
This is for you if you are…
- Doctoral candidates preparing first articles or a thesis by publication
- Postdoctoral and early-career researchers building a publication record
- Researchers from fields or regions where publishing in international English-language journals is new
- Research groups that want a shared understanding of authorship and submission practice
- Researchers invited to review for the first time
Common problems we help with
- You do not know how to choose between journals or recognize a predatory one
- Your manuscripts are desk-rejected without review
- You find reviewer comments overwhelming and do not know how to respond
- You are unsure how authorship order and contributions are decided in your team
- You have been asked to review a paper and have never been taught how
What’s included — and what isn’t
Included
- How journals work: editors, desk review, peer review models (single-anonymized, double-anonymized, open, transparent) and decisions
- Choosing a journal: aims and scope, article types, audience, indexing, open access options and article processing charges, and checking legitimacy with Think. Check. Submit.
- Structuring a research article (IMRaD and field variants), titles, abstracts and keywords for discoverability
- Cover letters, suggested reviewers, data availability and ethics statements
- Responding to reviewers: triage, point-by-point response letters, and disagreeing respectfully
- Becoming a reviewer: a structured approach, confidentiality and writing constructive reports
- Publication ethics: authorship criteria (such as ICMJE and CRediT contributor roles), duplicate publication, text recycling, AI use and disclosure following COPE guidance
- Preprints, open access routes and research visibility basics
Not included
- Writing or rewriting participants' manuscripts during workshops
- Promising acceptance by any journal
- Accredited or credit-bearing awards; certificates confirm attendance or completion only
What you receive
- Workshop program
- Session plan tailored to the group's disciplines and publishing experience.
- Hands-on exercises
- Journal comparison, abstract rewrite, response-letter triage and a practice peer review, with discussion.
- Templates
- Journal selection worksheet, cover letter structure, response-to-reviewers table and peer-review report template.
- Materials and certificate
- Slides, reading list, and optional certificates of attendance.
How it works
Needs check
We ask about participants' disciplines, experience and current manuscripts.
Program design
We select modules and prepare examples relevant to the group's fields.
Delivery
Interactive sessions online or in person, with exercises on participants' own work where possible.
Follow-up
Materials shared; optional follow-up clinic to discuss manuscripts in progress.
Workshop modules and a sample outline
- Module A: Choosing where to publish (90 min)
- Reading aims and scope; matching article type; indexing and metrics used cautiously; open access and fees; spotting predatory journals.
- Module B: Writing for journals (2 hours)
- Article structure; the abstract as a mini-paper; titles and keywords; common reasons for desk rejection; cover letters.
- Module C: Peer review from both sides (2 hours)
- How reviewers read; triaging comments; writing a response table; practice reviewing a short sample paper with a template.
- Module D: Publication ethics (90 min)
- Authorship and contributor roles; disputes; duplicate submission and text recycling; data and image integrity; AI tools and disclosure.
- Sample one-day program
- Modules A and B in the morning; C and D in the afternoon; closing Q&A on participants' current manuscripts.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the core program, participants should be able to act on the next step for their own manuscript.
- Shortlist suitable journals and check their legitimacy
- Diagnose the structure of a manuscript against journal expectations
- Write an abstract and cover letter that make the contribution clear
- Turn a set of reviewer comments into a response plan and letter
- Write a fair, constructive peer-review report
- Explain authorship, disclosure and text-recycling expectations in their field
Peer review as a skill
Researchers are rarely trained to review, yet reviewing well improves one's own writing. Our practice review uses a short sample manuscript and a template that separates major issues (design, analysis, claims) from minor ones (clarity, presentation), and asks participants to phrase each comment as something the author can act on.
We also discuss reviewer responsibilities: confidentiality, declaring conflicts of interest, and not uploading manuscripts under review into public AI tools, a restriction many publishers now state explicitly.
What the work can look like
Illustrative example — fictional data
Illustrative exercise: triaging reviewer comments
In a workshop exercise, participants receive a set of invented reviewer comments on an invented manuscript and sort them into a response plan.
Comment
Reviewer 2: 'The sample is drawn from a single region, which limits generalizability. The authors should discuss this or collect additional data.'
Triage
Category: major but addressable without new data. Plan: acknowledge in limitations, explain why the region was chosen, soften generalizing claims in the discussion, and state politely why new data collection is outside the study's scope.
Response table entry
Comment summary; our response; change made with page and line numbers. Participants draft this entry and compare versions in discussion.
Illustrative exercise with invented comments; not taken from any real manuscript or client.
What you’ll need to provide
- Participants' disciplines and publishing experience
- Optional: draft abstracts, target journals or anonymized reviewer comments to use in exercises
- Preferred format, length and dates
- For groups: a coordinator for enrollment and logistics
You don’t need everything ready to ask for a quote — tell us what you have and we’ll say what’s missing.
What affects price and turnaround
Price depends on
- Number of modules and total duration
- Group size and whether individual feedback on participants' work is included
- Discipline-specific tailoring
- Online or in-person delivery
- Follow-up manuscript clinic
Turnaround depends on
- Lead time for scheduling and preparing field-specific examples
- Receiving participants' materials if exercises use their own work
Every project is quoted individually. How we price our work.
Questions people ask before starting
Can I bring my own manuscript?
Yes. Where participants are comfortable, we use their abstracts, target journals or reviewer comments in exercises. Detailed feedback on a full manuscript is a separate one-to-one service.
Will this help me get published?
It will help you make better-informed decisions and avoid common mistakes. Acceptance depends on your research, the journal and reviewers, so no one can promise it.
Do you cover open access and fees?
Yes: gold, green and diamond open access, article processing charges, institutional agreements and how to find out what your institution covers. We do not recommend specific paid services.
Is this suitable for humanities researchers?
Yes, with tailoring. Humanities publishing has different norms, such as monographs, edited volumes and longer articles without IMRaD, and we adjust the modules accordingly.
Is there a certificate?
We can issue certificates of attendance or completion. They are not accredited qualifications.