How long does it take you to write a journal article (humanities)

[historyrocks]

So, if you were in the following situation, how long would it take you to write an article and submit it to a journal?

1 You have the majority of research done, but will need to go back to books and articles at various points.
2 You have a good idea of what you will be arguing and what sources you'll use, but not sure of exactly how you will structure the article and some parts are a bit hazy.
3 You have a month clear to write, apart from Christmas, (I have 2 DD's).

1. From mid-January, you will be teaching and coordinating 3 modules, team-teaching another big module, supervising 7 undergraduate dissertations, and 2 Masters dissertations.

4 No admin.

I'd get a clean draft over Christmas, let it stew, and then revise and submit to a journal over Easter. I couldn't get any writing done in term time with that teaching load.

Not before February and maybe even March. Depends how much prep teaching takes.

I'm not in humanities but at least I will bump your thread.

I'm so intrigued. In science, there are very definite templates for our articles. So the structure is there already. If I have 90% of results & just need to check some details & references & make sure I didn't think of any additional analysis to round it out, I'd be thinking 6-24 hours to write a decent first draft (at longest). 24 if I'm explaining something complex.

Would someone (OP?) link to an example of the type of article you could expect to write in 'humanities'? I'm genuinely intrigued how you guys manage without fixed structures to choose from (be expected to follow).

Thank you for the responses--pretty much as I thought.

The backdrop to this is my dean has demanded suggested I put my book project on hold and write an article over Christmas to have it finished by the end of March. My problem is that a) I'm a very slow writer; b) I have bipolar disorder and regularly have severe episodes that end up in sick leave of 1-2 months.

I have just got an article accepted, which I feel is the best thing I've written. But from start to submitting it to a journal, it took 10 months. However, in fairness to myself, I had 2 psychotic depressive episodes and a couple of other depressive episodes.

I'm really well at the momentthe most stable in 2-3 years, but I'm doubtful I'll meet the dean's request. Another senior colleague gave the same advicethat I could bash out an article in the month between semesters/over Christmas and then finish it off during teaching.

I'm so bloody stressed over this, which makes it more likely I'll relapse, but I'm going to have to try it.

@medschoolrat, here's an example:history.msu.edu/files/2010/04/Timothy-Tyson.pdf . Look at the chunky footnotes for an example of how much resarch and reading is required. The creation of research in my discipline comes in the writing. You can have the most amazing material, but it's meaningless unless you can turn it into a piece of writing that has a clear and nuanced argument that hasn't been said before.

Wow... how many words is that article? 30 pages, I see with photos, but still, seems like at least 26*500 = 13,000 words.

We find it very hard to get an article accepted with > 4000 words in it. Much of my writing art is how can I get something complex down to 2500-3500 words.

I don't think comparing science articles or even social science (clinical type) articles in terms of writing are similar to those in humanities and some of the social sciences like philosophy. They tend to be 8-12,000 words in length and rather than having one main idea (which you can bash out an intro/methods/results/conc fairly mechanically), they are often very intellectually complex and dependent on one person to deliver that rather than being the product of a bit of team-work.

I couldn't write an article like the one you are describing over Christmas, and it would probably have to wait til Easter next year for the main work to occur.

A couple of thoughts occur to me- is this to be 'REFable'? If so, it's worth doing, or if you will lose your job. If its just desirable/'everyone else has done one' then you don't need to do it quite so pressingly.

Also, I find doing a really small amount every day much better than leaving things then trying to immerse myself, so one hour a day starting after a week's Christmas break would be how I would approach this, do an hour most days except in the very intensive teaching time, and so by the time you really get to write (Easter) you have already structured the thing, gathered the references, started writing and so on rather than ignoring it and starting from scratch.

It is horses for courses though and everyone has a different writing style, I'm a plodder these days but I do get them out that way.

Also, you say your mental health is sometimes precarious, it sounds like you are worried about next term. I would come up with a plan of how to approach such an intensive term by ditching everything except the things that absolutely have to be done- and also have a plan for if you start to struggle (hopefully not but at least a way of alerting people if it starts to go wrong).

I don't have the ideal solution, it sounds like a lot of pressure. I probably should be pressuring myself over REF and perhaps my HoD is worried, but I can only do what I can do and keeping myself jogging along mentally and physically is important, one paper isn't going to make or break my career (or yours).

@orchiddingme is spot on with regard to the requirements of a journal article. It’s hard work trying to fit so much into 7 or 8000 words.

WRT my work, my dean has hinted very strongly that if I don’t have another article for REf, the research allowance in my workload model will be reduced. I had planned to have my book out for the REF, but I’ve had an awful couple of years health-wise and been hospitalised/off work many times. They’re OK with me not having the book, but it seems the deal is that I have another article.

I’ve been working my way back from the REF deadline to figure out when my deadline is going to be for submission. I’m going with a journal that’s been fast in turning things around before. I’m hoping that if I get it off at Easter and there isn’t a rejection of major revisions, it will be published online by the REF deadline.

Of course, this all depends on me staying vaguely sane and not being dragged admitted back to hospital

I am publishing in the first half of this year for REF, that isn't necessarily a recommendation as it would have been better to have had all REFable papers already done but needs must for me too. I think you can get a paper out by that deadline but only by jettisoning the book til afterwards.

You sound like you have so much to cope with, it does make work quite nail-biting at times. I am in awe of what you are doing already. Sounds like you have good support but ultimately, you can't always control MH.

In this scenario- given the stress that will come over Christmas/New Year and into the term if you don't do the paper, then I would have a go at getting a structure/a few paras started, outlining the argument at the very least so you don't have the blank page at Easter scenario.

Your teaching workload sounds high- is there a reason for that?

Sorry to just get back here and thanks orchiddingme for that advice. I've managed to write 2500 words so far--although it's more of an outline than polished writing. It's working out at 400-500 words over the morning. I can't write for more than 4 hours a day so I'm spending afternoons with getting some teaching prep out of the way so I will hopefully fit a bit of writing in during the semseter.

DH is (as usual) very supportive & is happy for me to disappear to a coffee shop to write over the Christmas holidays.

Sorry I missed the question about teahing loadit's worked out that I had very little teaching in semester 1 (only one 4th year module and a bit of PG teaching). So the majority of my teaching is in semester 2. TBH, I'm not sure how I'm going to fit all of it inboth PG modules are new.