Choose a title and a topic that have never been written about or published before. Search library databases and online compendiums such as WorldCat to assure your originality. Even entirely innocent writers can be accused of plagiarism, purely by coincidentally covering the same idea in a similar manner. This can be largely avoided by either writing about a recently released book or a culturally and historically new subject, or by using a recent phenomenon or release to study something older in a new light.
Give the manuscript of your academic article to a serious, competent editor. Often the best editors are people whom you do not know very well and have no plans to know very well, for their opinion will not be tainted by your friendship. However, honest friends can also be excellent editors. Most importantly, you want a person with a good understanding or both language and the subject matter of your article to respond critically.
Find a magazine, journal, online site or other academic location in which to publish your article. One great resource for writers attempting to become published is the Writers Market, an annual collection of listings from across the nation. This collection contains contact information and submission guidelines for journals and magazines both large and small, and includes publications circulating at nearly every level.
Publications look for certain types of writing; for example, one location may desire something related to 20th-century American literature. If you happen to have written about F. Scott Fitzgerald, you should consider submitting your paper.