Well, we’ve made it to Week 12. I have two more finalization activities from Week 11 (last week was super busy and I took the weekend off for some much needed relaxation and a bit of sightseeing), but am almost ready to get started on Week 12.

At the beginning of the Week 12 chapter, Belcher once again reminds us to finish the article; she notes that many people get caught up in either 1) not writing at all or 2) endless revision, which keeps them from, respectively, 1) having anything to submit 2) submitting ever, or in a timely manner. This book, she writes, aims to encourage people to do both so that they can become more productive, and make that productivity a habit. For me, the challenge of this week will be to follow her advice and just press that send button (with a few tasks between now and then, of course).

Week 12 tasks:

• Day 1: Read pages 272 to 275, start documenting your time, and write the submission cover letter
• Day 2: Read pages 275 to 276  and prepare any illustrations you have
• Day 3: Read pages 276 to 277 and put the article in your chosen journal’s style, paying particular attention to bibliography and notes requirements
• Day 4: Read pages 277 to 283 and prepare the final print or electronic version of your article
• Day 5: Read page 284, send, and celebrate your accomplishment!

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For all posts related to this project: Week 0 (Introduction), Week 1 (The writing plan), Week 2 (Getting started), Week 3 (Arguments), Week 4 (Choosing a journal), Week 5 (Literature review), Week 6 (Article structure), Week 7 (Evidence), Week 8 (Strengthening the intro and conclusion), Week 9 (Giving and receiving feedback), Week 10 (Editing), Week 11 (Finalizing the article)