Publishing during candidature
Submit your first papers without losing months to the wrong journal
Publishing during candidature often means several papers, several journals and a thesis clock that keeps running. This kit gives each submission the same careful process.
Months disappear when a paper goes to a journal outside its scope, to a journal that turns out to be questionable, or with a package that bounces back at technical check.
What you work through
- Know your paperThe contribution, article type, audience and the tier you can realistically aim for.
- Build a candidate listA discovery sweep cut to a shortlist of five to eight journals.
- Check aims and scopeCompare what each journal says it publishes with what your paper is, before spending more effort on it.
- Score the shortlistScope, audience, standing, cost and speed, with measured turnaround where it exists.
- Screen for legitimacyEditorial practice, indexing claims and fees - a method, not a blacklist.
- Work out fees and rightsCharges, waivers, institutional agreements and the licence you sign.
- Meet the author guidelinesFormatting, word limits, references, figures and required statements.
- Assemble the packageEvery file, statement and metadata item before you open the portal.
- Write the cover letterWhy this paper fits this journal, in a letter built per submission.
- Submit and trackThe submission, the stated timeline and your next follow-up date.
- Route the decisionWhat to do next with an acceptance, a revision request, a rejection or an offer to move to another journal.
The Submission Tracker
The workbook that goes with the worksheets, for Excel or Google Sheets:
- Fit Matrix — weighted scores and a rank for every shortlisted journal
- Package — every required item, marked ready or not, with a single submit-or-wait verdict
- Tracker — time under review, time left before your own deadline, and what to chase
- Decisions — a plan for every editorial outcome
Look inside
Low-resolution, watermarked previews of four pages.
Is it for you?
- Candidates publishing chapters as papers, including those doing a PhD by publication.
- Candidates with several possible journals and no settled way of choosing between them.
No editing, analysis or submitting is done for you - the kit organises the decisions and paperwork that are yours to make.
Free to use alongside it: Guide: publishing during your PhD.
The Journal Submission Kit — $9, one-time.
Kits for your other milestones
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Proposal, ethics and confirmation
The Sample-Size Justification Kit
Worksheets and a calculator log for the sample-size section your committee and ethics board will question: a sourced effect size, a number and the paragraph.
$12 -
Literature review chapter
The Scoping Review Protocol Kit
A protocol, search log, screening record and charting form for a thesis scoping review - so the chapter can be examined and the review published.
$12 -
Throughout the thesis
The AI Use & Disclosure Kit
Record, verify and disclose how you used AI tools in a thesis: your institution's rules, a data gate, a verification log and a disclosure statement.
$9 -
Examination
The Defence & Viva Kit
Prepare for your viva or thesis defence: a question bank by type, examiner dossiers, mock-viva scoring and a corrections tracker for after.
$15
Frequently asked questions
Is it useful for a PhD by publication?
Especially. When the thesis depends on papers being accepted, a wrong-journal submission costs you calendar time you do not have; the fit and legitimacy steps are built to prevent that.
Should my supervisor be a co-author on the submission?
The kit does not decide authorship, but the package checklist makes you settle it - with contribution statements - before you submit rather than after.
Does it tell me which journal to choose?
No. It gives you a scoring matrix and the checks to make, so the choice is yours and defensible to co-authors.
What if my paper is rejected?
The last worksheet routes each decision type, including reject-and-resubmit and transfer offers, so the paper moves on within days rather than weeks.
What do I get, and in what format?
One ZIP download: the kit as PDF in both US Letter and A4, and a workbook that opens in Excel or Google Sheets. Fill the PDFs in on screen or print them.
How do I get the files?
The download page opens as soon as Stripe confirms payment, and a copy of the link arrives by email. A link stays valid for two weeks and ten downloads, and a replacement can be requested below whenever you need one.
Who processes the payment?
Stripe. The receipt and download email come from the author's publishing imprint, GradSummit, which delivers the kits for this site. Your card details are never seen by us.
What if the files will not open?
Email us within two weeks of buying and we will fix it or refund you in full. A refunded purchase can no longer be downloaded.
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