Interlude: Plot Twists, Manuscript Story Structure, and Open-Access Publishing Fees
Rejection is common in scientific and medical writing. If you've submitted manuscripts or grants, you've likely faced rejection—sometimes more than once. And no matter how many times it happens, it's never easy.
I think I can safely say that we’ve all been there: the sting in your chest, the feelings of frustration and devastation, the “Maybe I’m not cut out for this” whisper.
You might even believe that the rejection is the end of the story.
But what if we reframe that story—as a plot twist.
Plot twists aren't endings. They're moments when the story gets interesting.
When you reframe rejection as a story development, you can spark curiosity and possibility about what comes next. You can start looking at the next chapter rather than dwelling on the previous one.
The end of one chapter becomes the start of another.
So the next time you face rejection, turn "My paper got rejected. What now?" into "Plot twist: my paper got rejected. What's next?"
Same event. Different momentum.
Now onto this week's round-up...
💌 Round-up
💻 From My Desk
The Built-In Story Structure of Research Papers
Did you know that original research papers have a built-in story structure that helps you tell a compelling narrative? In this video, you’ll learn how the classic IMRaD format (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) of original research manuscripts maps directly onto a common story structure. And you’ll discover a handy framework to remember the five essential elements of a story in research manuscripts.
👓 Reading
What scientists need to know about sharing—and protecting—their published work
"NIH’s policy will require that a peer-reviewed version of any paper resulting from agency-funded research be available in a free public repository upon publication—a shift from a previous policy allowing a 12-month delay. . .paid open access typically comes with a Creative Commons (CC) license that delineates how others can use the content of the paper. The most common, dubbed CC-BY (referring to “by attribution”), allows wide reuse, provided users credit the author. Other variants can restrict commercial use, or any adaptations of the work."
Seeing the full picture: the RIVA-C checklist for research infographics
"The full checklist comprises 10 items across 3 categories: (1) study characteristics, (2) results, and (3) conclusions/takeaway message—each accompanied by detailed explanations and examples to aid practical implementation. The checklist was piloted over a 6-month period to evaluate its clarity, relevance, and usability."
NIH Proposes Five Strategies to Cap Open-Access Publishing Fees
"The proposal outlines five options for reducing costs, the first one being eliminating all publication costs. Another option would be to set a limit on allowable costs per publication, and a third option would do the same but increase the average amount by about $1,000 to compensate peer reviewers. A fourth and fifth option would involve setting a limit on the total amount of an award that can be spent on publication costs, or to do that and also limit the per-publication cost."
🖥️ Watching
Harvard Professor Explains The Rules of Writing — Steven Pinker
In this episode, Steven Pinker, author of The Sense of Style, shares his thoughts on why there is so much bad writing, what makes writing harder than speaking, why academics are terrible writers, why AI writing feels so bland, and so much more. Although you can also listen to the podcast episode, I highly recommend watching the video so that you can see Steven's joy as he shares his thoughts.
Thank you so much for reading.
Warmly,
Crystal
