Hello all,

I've re-drafted my masters dissertation (which had an excellent grade) into a cogent 8000-word article and tailored it towards a specific and respected journal. I wrote the dissertation 6 years ago and have half-heartedly tried to get it published in less well-known journals a couple of times with no luck. This time, I've taken the re-draft seriously and think I have a good shot.

However, I'd like to get some feedback from experienced academics but getting time from them, unsurprisingly, is like getting a trickle of blood from an extremely large and intimidating stone. I've sent it to one member of my department who is not my supervisor, because the subject is quite different from my thesis topic and it's in his wheelhouse. He hasn't yet replied (it's been a couple of weeks) and I'm nervous to email him asking what's happening because he's under no obligation to help me.

I don't know who else to send the draft to. I don't know anyone else who has the time/inclination to help me. I'm too embarrassed to send it to other PhD students I know. Should I just send it off to the journal and hope for the best?

Send it to someone here. We are surrounded by scientists ;) but there's the odd humanities bod (like me: "very odd"! of course). Just remove your name. Then you receive the same anonymity as the peer-review process. If that's a concern, that is. Good luck!

Edit- sorry Nesrine I have just realised that you know exactly who we are!

Hi Eds,
Thanks a lot for the offer/suggestion! I'm a bit reluctant to send my work to someone or post it online because my subject is extremely niche. At the end of the day, I don't know who I'm sending my work to, and I'm quite paranoid about preserving my online anonymity. This is the only space I have to vent/ask questions/be indiscreet without feeling anxious. Sorry if that sounds a bit silly...it's just how I prefer it. But thanks again for the offer. I've just found that my uni runs writing workshops so that might be a good place to start.

No worries Nesrine I know what you mean. Otherwise, we might as well post our passports here ;)

Good luck with it though!

Thanks! Might be that my poor hubby is forced to comment on it despite being a 'lay' person. Sometimes I think 'PhD widow/ers' should get a qualification at the end too...