Choosing Reputable Outlets for Academic Work

In academia, it matters where your present or publish your work. Presenting at conferences and publishing with presses that have established strong reputation in the particular field is important when it comes to hiring, tenure and promotion. Publishing with presses that are less then reputable does not make your academic credentials stronger; in some cases, it can hurt your reputation as a researcher.

Being able to distinguish reputable venues from questionable outlets is part of disciplinary knowledge, and sometimes it is difficult for novice scholars--or experienced scholars outside your field--to tell the difference. (That's why tenure and promotion cases often involve external reviewers who are experts in the field.) But there are some signs to help identify which venues are reputable or at least acceptable. Below are some questions to consider. (The greater the number of affirmative answers, the better; even the most reputable of outlets do not necessarily meet all of these criteria.) 

For conferences: 

• Is the conference affiliated with a major professional organization in the field? 
• Is the conference affiliated with universities or research institutes that have good reputations in the field?
• Is the conference being organized by well-established members of the field?
• Does the conference feature keynote, plenary and invited speakers who are well-established in the field?
• Does the conference have many sessions that are interesting to members of the field who are studying similar topics?
• Is the conference attended by active members of the field who publish on topics that are reputable?
• Does the conference either have a peer review process for proposals or invite only well-established or cutting-edge researchers?

For journals:

• Is the journal edited by well-established members of the field?
• Does the journal have editorial board members who are well established in the field? 
• Does the journal have an editorial review process that involves reviewers who are experts on the topic?
• Does the journal include articles by authors who are well-established members of the field? 
• Are articles in the journal cited frequently and widely in other reputable journals?

For publishers:

• Does the publisher have a booth at major professional organizations in the field?
• Does the publisher have a book series or a journal dedicated to the field or its subfields?
• Does the publisher regularly publish books written or edited by well-established members of the field? 
• Does the publisher solicit contributions primarily from established members of the field or people who are doing cutting-edge work that is being recognized by established members of the field?
• Does the publisher require an editorial review process coordinated by well established members of the field?
• Does the publisher involve well established members of the field in reviewing submissions?
• Does the publisher have an acquisition editor who specializes in your field and is somewhat knowledgeable about the field?
• Are publications from the publisher being cited in other reputable publications or mentioned in conference presentations? 

Here are some red flags to watch out for:

• The publisher emails you out of the blue to invite you to publish your conference papers, theses and dissertations as a book.
• The publisher emails you out of the blue to invite you to edit a book.
• The publisher offers contracts without an editorial review process. 
• The publisher actively solicits contributions from novice researchers and graduate students without a strong track record.
• The publisher does not involve well established members of the field in the editorial review process.
• The publisher has not published at least a few books or journals in the field. 
• The publisher (or journal) has not published at least a few works by well established members of the field. 
• The publisher may mention something along the line of "I can tell you are an expert" without mentioning anything specific or establishing their own credentials. 

These guidelines are only suggestive; there are some new publishers who are beginning to establish themselves in a new field, and doing so by building a system for rigorous editorial review involving experts in the field. Even the publishers that have a few of these red flags may be legitimate publishers and businesses—although being a legitimate business is not the same as being a legitimate or high quality venue for academic publishing. 

"Use your judgment" is probably not a good piece of advice because the judgment requires expert knowledge of the field that novice researchers often don't have. But if you are surprised to have received a solicitation email, that should tell you something. When in doubt, check with your thesis/dissertation advisor or other people who are well established in the field. 

If you don't know who they are, start reading everything.