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Publish a paper

Publishing starts with finding the right venue for your work.

Find a venue and deadline

Look at where the papers most relevant to your project were published. A good venue should attract readers who understand and care about your research question.

I maintain a list of upcoming conferences in AI, robotics, HRI and XR here:

Browse upcoming research deadlines

Use this to explore possible venues, but always confirm the deadline, time zone and submission requirements on the conference's official website.

When choosing a venue, consider:

  • whether your topic fits its scope;
  • the type and maturity of contribution it expects;
  • its reputation and review process;
  • paper length and submission format;
  • publication, registration and travel costs; and
  • whether the work can realistically be ready by the deadline.

Prestigious venues are competitive and expect strong work. However, the answer is not to submit to a questionable pay-to-win venue that promises easy or rapid acceptance.

Read the author instructions

Every venue has different rules. Check:

  • page and reference limits;
  • anonymisation requirements;
  • the required LaTeX template;
  • supplementary-material rules;
  • ethics, data and code requirements;
  • generative-AI policies; and
  • preprint policies.

Do not assume that last year's rules still apply.

Use the exact template linked by the venue. IEEE provides an official template selector, while ACM maintains its Master Article Template. A particular conference may still require a specific version or document option.

Before submitting

Confirm that:

  • every co-author has reviewed and approved the paper;
  • the author list and order are agreed;
  • ethics and participant requirements have been met;
  • the paper and supplementary files are correctly anonymised;
  • page and file-size limits are satisfied;
  • figures and references render correctly; and
  • the uploaded PDF is actually the version you intended to submit.

Submit earlier than 11:58pm on the deadline day!! Please. Trust me.

Many submission systems are overloaded at the last minute, and a late submission is usually rejected without review.

What about arXiv?

arXiv is a free preprint repository commonly used in AI, computer science and robotics. It allows work to become publicly available without waiting for a conference review cycle, which can be valuable in fast-moving fields.

However, an arXiv preprint:

  • has not necessarily been peer reviewed;
  • is not the same as an accepted publication;
  • remains publicly accessible, including its earlier versions; and
  • may affect anonymous review depending on the venue's policy.

If the work is later published, update the arXiv record with the revised version and publication details.

What happens after submission?

The paper will normally be assessed by reviewers. Depending on the venue, this may take weeks or months.

If the paper is rejected, read the reviews carefully once the initial disappointment has passed. Rejection may mean the evaluation needs more work, the contribution was unclear or the venue was simply a poor fit. It does not automatically mean the entire project is worthless.

Some venues allow a rebuttal or require revisions. Respond to each substantive point, explain exactly what changed and use evidence when you disagree.

If the paper is accepted, you will prepare a final camera-ready version. This may require adding author details, applying revisions, completing publication forms, validating the source and registering for the conference.

Read the acceptance instructions carefully. The review PDF being accepted does not mean you can upload it unchanged.