to publish or not to publish

[yank in the M20]

I was hoping for a little advice. I gave a paper at a conference in January and they're now attempting to make a book and are seeking chapter submissions from conference participants. I'm trying to decide whether to submit mine for consideration. The qualifications: I'm finished with my masters hoping to get into a PhD in 2012 so I assume a published piece will look good on my applications but, at the same time, it'll mean less time spent applying to PhDs because of all the time spent on the paper (they have a predicted deadline of Dec. 1 for papers, we'll know if we've been chosen in August). Also, my paper is not on the time period in which I'm planning to study so I can't use it as my critical writing sample and I also don't know if that's a problem for committees who might wonder why I'm publishing in another area (it's the area I wrote my MA dissertation on). There are some minor thematic linkages, but that is all. The other negative about the piece is that it might be something that I am not as happy with in five years' time, after I've done more high quality research. What would you all do?

[lyonessrampant]

Grrrr. . .I had this more thoughtful reply I was typing when my computer freaked out and it went away The gist of it was: 1) why is this paper and your MA thesis not in your proposed subfield? It seems like a radical change might necessitate some discussion in the SOP. I would also say that one's MA thesis usually generates the writing sample, since theoretically it is the best piece of scholarship produced in the MA. Your writing sample should be in your proposed subfield, so if you're having to signiciantly revise another piece of your writing, I think you might want to put your time into that. 2) If your conference presentation is a part of a longer paper (as mine have been), then you have a chapter-length paper that you could spend a bit of time on and submit. If that's the case, and IF you're happy with the conference paper and got good feedback, I certainly don't think the publication can hurt. You can always leave it off your CV if you decide later you don't like it. Best of luck on your applications!

Edited May 9, 2011 by lyonessrampant

[yank in the M20]

Grrrr. . .I had this more thoughtful reply I was typing when my computer freaked out and it went away The gist of it was: 1) why is this paper and your MA thesis not in your proposed subfield? It seems like a radical change might necessitate some discussion in the SOP. I would also say that one's MA thesis usually generates the writing sample, since theoretically it is the best piece of scholarship produced in the MA. Your writing sample should be in your proposed subfield, so if you're having to signiciantly revise another piece of your writing, I think you might want to put your time into that. 2) If your conference presentation is a part of a longer paper (as mine have been), then you have a chapter-length paper that you could spend a bit of time on and submit. If that's the case, and IF you're happy with the conference paper and got good feedback, I certainly don't think the publication can hurt. You can always leave it off your CV if you decide later you don't like it. Best of luck on your applications!

Thanks for the well thought out reply. Well, the paper was in my MA field, but not my proposed PhD field because, having been away from university for some time, I didn't figure out what field I wanted to work in until the end of my MA and we had to submit MA proposals only halfway through the year when I'd not yet come to that decision. I've always been interested in British lit, but it was really hard for me to pin down a time period (from 18th cent to cont). So I will have to revamp another piece of writing as my critical writing sample or, as one of my professors actually suggested, consider saying on my apps that I want to study the time period I've already studied and then just change it when I get in. I applied to a few (3) Unis last year and didn't get in and my one piece of feedback was that my critical piece doesn't match my time period so I've been planning to adjust my critical piece when I guess I could just adjust my time period for the purpose of the application. I don't really want to do that, but it's a quick fix solution, I guess...

[lyonessrampant]

Not to contradict your advisors, but I wouldn't misrepresent myself, per se, because places may make you offers to work with particular advisors, but you may want to go to work with a different advisor and yet they brought in another applicant for that advisor and it could get confusing! It's true that a lot of people do switch their subfields, and that's okay, but I think if I were you and knew what I wanted my research interests to be, I'd focus on generating a writing sample in line with those stated interests. This is a lot of work, but it is really an AWESOME opportunity. You can craft your writing sample to invoke the work of scholars at all the schools you're applying to, and the fit between your SOP and writing sample will be PERFECT because it's something you're intentionally directing, not retroactively contriving. I think if I were you, I'd focus on that writing sample and SOP. I've got a couple publications, and they didn't get me in to my top reach schools like UChicago, Stanford, Harvard, and the schools who did give me offers (Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas, Utah) didn't say those lines on the CV had anything to do with it. I had conversations with the DGS at both UWashington and Duke, where I was very close, and their reasons for why I ultimately didn't get an offer were no apparent advisor (Washington) and in a handful of strong early modernists but could only take two (Duke) and it was more fit that determined the lucky two not objective qualifications like CV/GPA/GRE. I share all this only to say that I don't think having the publication will make a huge difference, but what will make a difference is a beautiful SOP and writing sample that match your interests and the institutions you are applying to. Best of luck!!!

[yank in the M20]

Not to contradict your advisors, but I wouldn't misrepresent myself, per se, because places may make you offers to work with particular advisors, but you may want to go to work with a different advisor and yet they brought in another applicant for that advisor and it could get confusing! It's true that a lot of people do switch their subfields, and that's okay, but I think if I were you and knew what I wanted my research interests to be, I'd focus on generating a writing sample in line with those stated interests. This is a lot of work, but it is really an AWESOME opportunity. You can craft your writing sample to invoke the work of scholars at all the schools you're applying to, and the fit between your SOP and writing sample will be PERFECT because it's something you're intentionally directing, not retroactively contriving. I think if I were you, I'd focus on that writing sample and SOP. I've got a couple publications, and they didn't get me in to my top reach schools like UChicago, Stanford, Harvard, and the schools who did give me offers (Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas, Utah) didn't say those lines on the CV had anything to do with it. I had conversations with the DGS at both UWashington and Duke, where I was very close, and their reasons for why I ultimately didn't get an offer were no apparent advisor (Washington) and in a handful of strong early modernists but could only take two (Duke) and it was more fit that determined the lucky two not objective qualifications like CV/GPA/GRE. I share all this only to say that I don't think having the publication will make a huge difference, but what will make a difference is a beautiful SOP and writing sample that match your interests and the institutions you are applying to. Best of luck!!!

You're right. I think my advisor was just trying to offer me another option as she knows how much work it is to craft a new piece, especially when I'm working full-time and planning a conference paper (in my field this time). But I'd have a hard time trying to show enthusiasm for advisors I didn't really want to work with and when I met the fellow grad students, I'd want to talk about my current literary interests. I'm passing up the publication--I'm probably also best publishing in my field before branching out to others. Thanks for your advice; it confirmed what I was thinking but you know how hard it is to pass up any opportunities and I didn't want to think that my choice to concentrate on my PhD apps was laziness or inability to multitask. Good luck starting at Minnesota in the fall!

[lyonessrampant]

Thanks Good luck to you on your fall apps! It's a lot of work, but I'm sure it will pay off!

[rainy_day]

The advice I received on publishing early in one's career was: Don't. It's not expected, and your interests and perspective can change, sometimes drastically, and your skills improve, often dramatically. You could wind up regretting the words published more than the publication as a fact was of help to you.

[runonsentence]

The advice I received on publishing early in one's career was: Don't. It's not expected, and your interests and perspective can change, sometimes drastically, and your skills improve, often dramatically. You could wind up regretting the words published more than the publication as a fact was of help to you.

I can see the logic behind this, but I've also heard "a publication is never a bad thing for a graduate student." And adcoms aren't going to be as picky about it as job market search committees (or tenure appointment committees). Though maybe the assumption behind the advice I heard was, 'I'm speaking to a room of PhD students...'.

[rainy_day]

I can see the logic behind this, but I've also heard "a publication is never a bad thing for a graduate student." And adcoms aren't going to be as picky about it as job market search committees (or tenure appointment committees). Though maybe the assumption behind the advice I heard was, 'I'm speaking to a room of PhD students...'.

Yes, the advice I received was specifically regarding publishing as an MA student; I should have clarified. So I think that makes both pieces of advice valid and not mutually exclusive, perhaps.