Journal of Singing (JOS) Mentored Writing Initiative

The NATS JOS Mentored Writing Initiative pairs an expert writer from the JOS editorial board — a mentor — with an author whose initial submission may receive negative reviews or be rejected outright by the JOS editorial board, but whose ideas contained therein merit mentorship to bring them to fruition.

Candidates for the JOS Mentored Writing Initiative are revealed through the regular submission process and appointed by the JOS editor-in-chief (EIC) after members of the JOS editorial board have completed their reviews.

Common flaws in academic writing include:

• Academic writing style: unorganized structure; lack of cohesive introduction, clear argument throughout and appropriate conclusion; and idiosyncratic, vernacular or casual tone (including the overuse of personal pronouns and personal opinion), all of which suggest unfamiliarity with academic writing style.
• Sources: Derivative or inferior sources; lack of acknowledgment or accounting for the knowledge base of the field (i.e. sparse citations).
• Grammar: significant grammatical errors; for example, authors for whom English is not their first language may have excellent ideas but struggle to express them clearly or grammatically correctly.

Authors whose manuscripts contain excellent ideas but nevertheless suffer from any or all of these flaws may benefit from the assistance of a seasoned mentor. The mentor’s role is defined as providing assistance in all of the following areas:

• Writing: clarity of expression, cogency of argument, and adherence to academic writing conventions.
• Research: reference to and use of the extant knowledge in the field
• Mechanical Requirements: proper citations in the Chicago Manual of Style and adherence to all other requirements as delineated in the NATS “Guidelines for Contributors”

Pairing and Agreement: The JOS editor-in-chief (EIC) will pair the mentee with the mentor and request agreement in writing from both.

Timelines and Deadlines: While there is no set deadline for completion of the project, the sooner the mentor/mentee team completes their draft, the sooner the article can be put in the queue for publication, if it is accepted. The editor-in-chief reserves the right to dissolve the agreement in consultation with the mentee, the mentor, or both.

Final Submission and Review: The mentor and mentee should send the final draft, as a team, to the editor-in-chief via email. Final acceptance for publication is contingent upon the author’s substantive interaction with, and successful incorporation of, their mentor’s suggestions and is ultimately the decision of the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Singing.

Post-Acceptance: If accepted for publication, the submitting author shall receive position of “first author,” with the decision to list the mentor as senior author (appearing last in the citation) left to the discretion of the editor-in-chief, in consultation with the mentor. The mentee is responsible for adherence to all requirements as delineated in the NATS “Guidelines for Contributors” regarding the required abstract, author bio, author headshot, plus uploading any tables or figures.