Disciplines vary, but the following types of articles are often not accepted for publication
Rewrite of a Report or Dissertation Chapter
Runs a higher risk of rejection as it may not share the targeted scope or address the specific audience of the journal.
Articles Based on a Published Conference Paper/Report
May be seen as previously published work. Check your target journal's webpage ("author instructions") for their policy on published conference papers and reports. If information is not available online, contact the journal for clarification.
Previously Published Articles or Research Results
Articles published in a journal must contain new information, i.e. information that has not been published elsewhere. If your article builds on previous work or data that has been published already, contact your target journal for clarification before you submit your article.
In addition to the strength of the content, an article's acceptance by a journal depends on whether the article fits with the journal's mission or scope. You also must ensure that your article meets the journal's requirements for length, formatting and citation style.
Before you submit your article, review the following questions:
Send your article to one journal at a time. Virtually all journals require that articles submitted to them are not being submitted to any other journal at the same time. Publishers and reviewers do not want to invest time and effort into an article that could be published elsewhere.
Most journals and publishers offer article submission via an online form, but for other journals, you'll need to write a cover letter to accompany your manuscript.
The advice below from the Springer Author Academy * is applicable to many academic publishers.
All cover letters should include these sentences:
Additional Common Phrases:
* Quoted with permission
From a journal editor . . .
Kenar, J. A. (2016). Dear authors: We do read your cover letters. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, 93(9), 1171-1172. doi:10.1007/s11746-016-2889-3
We asked a journal editor to tell us what bothers them most when reviewing submissions: