When to Submit

Student-edited journals are generally open for submissions in August through October and again from February to April. Peak submission time for student journals is between February and March when new editorial boards are looking for content for the next volume and August as school starts. Student editors generally do not review submissions over the summer but start their review around the beginning of the fall semester. Although you may submit at any time, it may be harder to publish because some journals will have already filled their issues. Some experts say the spring “season” is the best time to submit your publication. More information on publishing schedules is available below. 

Supplementary Materials

Provide a cover letter with a short summary of your article and let the editors know why they should publish your paper. Pertinent information may include the timeliness of the topic covered, special qualifications or authority that may have been used and whether the article falls within the purview of that journal. Most journals also require a resume or CV with your submission, but even if they don’t require one, it is a good idea to include one.

The Paper

The article should be in final form, with complete footnotes, accurate citations and an abstract. Follow the guidelines as to page length and form that each journal provides. 

Expedited Review

If you receive an early offer of publication but still want to wait to hear from other journals, you can usually negotiate additional time with the first offering journal before you have to accept.  You may then ask for an expedited review from your preferred journal.  Make it easy for the editor/expediter by attaching an electronic copy of the paper with your request for expedited review.

Submission services ease the administrative burden of submitting multiple copies of an article to multiple law reviews. Through these services, authors upload manuscripts to a website and select the law reviews to which they would like their manuscripts submitted. WCL subscribes to Scholastica. You will not be charged for your submissions to Scholastica as long as you use your AUWCL email address and comply with the requirements listed below.

Note the following requirements:

• The Pence Law Library will pay for no more than 25 submissions per student article
• Students must have a faculty sponsor who confirms that the work is of publishable quality and agrees to work with the student to identify appropriate journals
• Students are required to direct-submit where available
• Students should only submit to realistic journals and must confirm that the journals accept student submissions
• If a student chooses to submit to more than 25 journals, they are expected to reimburse the law library for the additional cost 
• WCL graduates are eligible to use the law school’s Scholastica account for 2 calendar years following the date of their graduation

Online Journals

Colin Miller, Submission Guide for Online Law Review Supplement, Version 7.0, (July 22, 2013), available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1410093.

Contains information on submitting essays and articles to general online law review supplements—covers 49 general law reviews.

Calls for Papers

Calls for Papers are announcements by journals, editors and conference organizers when they are seeking papers on a giving theme. Calls for papers can be found on the Legal Scholarship Blog, http://legalscholarshipblog.com/.

Writing Competitions

Writing competitions may offer guaranteed placement in particular publications. Writing competitions are available at http://wcl.american.libguides.com/competitions

WCL Digital Commons

Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law is an electronic repository of the school’s research and scholarship. The repository contains works from over 176 disciplines and hundreds of scholars and authors. It has a large readership and audience and recently marked over 1 million downloads of WCL scholarship.

Certain student papers can be submitted to Digital Commons. Currently Digital Commons accepts submission of the following student papers:

• Any paper or article published in an American University Publication (AULR, ALR, AUILR, any of the Briefs, etc.)
• Upper Level Writing Requirements that have been marked by the professor for submission to the library
• Papers and articles published in non-WCL journals (with the proper copyright permission)
• Distinguished Student Research Papers
• Papers submitted to writing competitions
• Student Blogs