Publish an article in an academic journal

“The path to my first published paper has been so much longer and so much more of a pain than I ever anticipated. I'm now starting my third year- and this paper was from a study I completed in my very first semester. And what an awful semester that was. My study depended on an extremely expensive piece of equipment that broke for the first time ever, so I had to figure out a ridiculous workaround. When I could finally run the study, I worked 10-12 hours a day, every single day, for nearly a month straight- I only stopped the day before Christmas. [...] I didn't get accepted at the first journal I went to- it was a reject, with one reviewer getting uncomfortably personal and aggressive. I submitted it to another, and then covid hit. Six months went by without hearing anything. Then, finally, in June I received (again) two borderlinr worthless reviews. Did everything I could to appease them. And then sent it back for more waiting. I check my email an unhealthy amount, but I never expected to receive anything on the weekend. My advisor saw it first and texted me. Nearly two years after I did the initial study, finally. Accepted. It doesn't feel real, and I didn't expect it would feel as bittersweet as it does.”

“It all sounded terrific that my first paper gets published and the acknowledgement it gets, but it took us 18 months to get our work to see the light. [...] These 18 months was when I started learning about how to write a cover letter and a rebuttal letter to address the reviewers’ comments, how not to take reviewers comments personally ( trust me this is difficult), and the streamlined process of peer review. Different journals have different requirements. I have also learnt how to make our code available for peer review and to compile data in a reviewer-friendly format to enable the reviewers to inspect our data validity. Now breaking the surface of the dark paper submission period, there is a mix of emotions. I was too drained to feel excited, but I am proud of the work that is now polished to meet the public.”