As a researcher wanting to get your work out into the world, you may often find yourself wondering, how long does publishing take? Well, there’s no absolute answer. And after all the time and energy you’ve invested in research and writing, waiting can bring uncertainty.
But knowing what to expect when you’re expecting to be published can make things much clearer, removing any doubts you may have about the publication process in general. In this blog post, we’ll seek to alleviate any uncertainties you may have surrounding the road to publication as an academic author.
How long does publishing take?
The internet is inundated with questions from authors asking how long it will take to publish their article or book. The reason why there are so many questions is because there’s no definitive answer. The publishing process is complex and nuanced, with many stages and checks. No journey to publication for an author is the same.
Despite this, is it still possible to approximate how long it takes to get published? Yes, to an extent. Let’s take academic journal publishing. A review of publishing speeds over the last decade shows that publishing has become faster. In 2011/12, it took 199 days on average for papers to get published. In 2019/20, the average time had dropped to 163 days. The gains were primarily at the production stage (about 23 days faster) and secondarily at peer review (about 14 days faster). The advancement of AI over the past couple of years is only set to reduce these times further.
Despite these average times, it is good to remember that each journal has its own average publication time and specific procedures. No average is a guarantee of the time it’ll take to be published.
So, we know a little bit more about academic journal publishing and its waiting times. But are there faster routes to publication?
Publication process for preprints
Preprints are a form of publication made freely available online prior to peer review and traditional publication through a journal. They are early or “in-progress” versions of academic articles.
The preprint model is designed to expediate the publishing process. Authors can disseminate their research quickly by foregoing traditional peer review, helping them get their preliminary findings out into the world when it matters.
The waiting time for preprints is significantly shorter than for journal articles. Typically, it takes up to around 24 hours after submission for your preprint to be screened and uploaded. With preprints, publishing does not take long. And when your preprint is out in the world, you can receive constructive feedback on your research from others, as well as benefit from increased engagement made possible by open access.
What you need to publish a preprint
But how do you publish a preprint? Crucially, it’s a simple process. You only need to have the following to hand:
- Subjects and topics
- Basic information
- Author list
- Declarations
- Manuscript files
Once submitted, a team of editors at Preprints.org will help with the process and post as soon as possible. For further information, see our Instructions for Authors.
How to improve your manuscript while waiting
Although ideally your manuscript should be in its best possible form before submission, mistakes can be made, and issues can go unnoticed. So, instead of wondering about how long publishing will take, here are some things you can do while you wait for a response on your submission.
Identify clunky passages
A good exercise to do is read through your manuscript again while trying to keep a steady reading pace. Sometimes your sentences may require more information, which may naturally slow down the reading pace. These instances are fine, but often clunky or convoluted sentences slow the reader down because they are struggling to understand the full sense of your writing. Check that instances like this aren’t holding back the meaning and flow of your argument.
Change the text formatting
This may initially seem pointless, but changing the text formatting of your manuscript can bring previously unnoticed errors or awkward phrases to light. You can become overly familiar with your manuscript the more time you spend working on it. Changing the font type and size rearranges where the lines and sentence endings fall, making you see your manuscript anew, which in turn makes you more alert to errors or weaknesses.
Make sure to change the text back to the relevant formatting required for your submission afterwards.
Get a second opinion
Another thing you can do while you wait is get a second opinion. While an expert’s opinion is invaluable in terms of making sure your research is theoretically sound and original, it’s also useful to get the opinion of someone who is less familiar with the subject matter.
This is because, while your research is primarily intended for other academics, the more accessible the language is, the better. Can someone who is not an expert follow your argument and its implications, even if they don’t understand certain particulars? Don’t forget that the findings of your preprint have the potential to be disseminated via news channels and social media. The easier it is for the general reader to understand your study, the higher the chances of it being shared and talked about, increasing your visibility and reach.
Publishing your research with Preprints.org
As an author, it can be frustrating to be met with uncertainty about publication times. After all the time and hard work you’ve invested into your manuscript, you might feel it’s only right for publication to come sooner rather than later.
At Preprints.org, we empower researchers to freely and instantly share their work with a global audience, helping you gain early feedback, boost visibility, and accelerate discovery. Join over 350,000 researchers advancing open science on our accessible, multidisciplinary platform. Ready to submit? Upload your preprint today and make your work quickly discoverable.
Just exploring? Browse over 100,000 preprints across disciplines and stay ahead of the latest research.
