Politics in surgical publishing

So far, this series has dealt with factors involving primarily the surgeon- cum-writer. These are the abcs, so to speak, of getting started: 'why' to p ublish an academic surgery paper, and 'what' and 'where' and 'how'. Despite the fact that these aspects of publication create the substance and 'guts' of any paper, they are not the only determinants of the success or failure of a publication effort. Beyond the individual surgeon-author's efforts or control is the real-world consideration of virtually every social interaction - politics. Politics h as been variously defined as 'the art and science of government' and 'intri gue and manoeuvring within a group'. Politics affects academic publishing w hen individuals, in one way or another, attempt to exert influence on polic y or outcome based on personal interests or biases. Politicking, as such, c an be manifest from the author's side of the publishing interaction or from the journal's.