Here are few thoughts about how you might minimize editing costs. Take them with a "grain of salt". They may work for you, or they may not.
On the first edit, don't include the Methods
Most clients send me the entire paper (including Methods) for the 1st edit. AND, because papers are rarely accepted on first submission, those clients often send me the entire paper again after review. I might not include the Methods in the first edit simply because I have never seen ANY paper rejected because the Methods section was poorly written! To me, the worst scenario is that a reviewer or journal editor will ask you to revise the Methods. So to save money, I'd check the Methods only when the paper is nearing acceptance. Read the Instructions to Authors section of your journal FIRST FYI, if I know your journal name I also read these guidelines, but things might go more efficiently if you do before you send me a draft. Craft the Discussion AFTER you finalize the Results section Discussion sections can be difficult to write. When I wrote my own papers, I never even attempted to write the Discussion until the Results were finalized. But as an editor I often revise the Results and Discussion in a single reading. This may be inefficient because I often advise clients to move interpretive comments from the Results to the Discussion, to decrease speculation. I have often thought that if we had finalized the Results before starting the Discussion, the manuscript might have taken less editing time. I have never suggested to a client that we apply this strategy, but if you want give it a try--let me know. I'm flexible. I would love to see if that makes the editing process more efficient. |
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