One of the strengths of a scientist-practitioner organization such as the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (née AABT) is that many of its members, including student members, are actively involved in research and in publishing their findings in scholarly journals. Publishing your scholarly work can be one of the most fulfilling experiences in academia. It can also be one of the most frustrating. Indeed, diatribes have been written by embittered academics about the difficulties in getting their work published. These pessimistic (and generally unhelpful) perspectives are counterbalanced by optimistic and practical advice from successful academics (Darley & Zanna, 2004; Kazdin, 1998; Sternberg, 2000). In the present article and in the second article in this series, we will build on the optimistic advice of others to offer our views on how to be successful at the game of publishing. The choice of the term “game” is deliberate; we believe that publishing should be stimulating, if not fun. It should be viewed as a game or challenge, rather than a threat. Knowing the written and unwritten rules of
the game is important for successful publishing. The perspectives and suggestions we offer are based on our experiences as authors, editors, reviewers, and mentors. Collectively, we have published several hundred journal articles and book chapters, and over a dozen books. There is no single recipe for success in academic publishing. We offer some ideas for consideration. We hope this stimulates discussion from other readers of the Behavior Therapist.