1.1 Get your authorship position on your paper settled from the outset
One way to broach the sometimes delicate discussion on authorship and authorship positions with the key Co-Authors of a proposed paper is to draft the front page of the paper using the template shown in Step 1.7, and to send the text of that drafted front page in the body of an email to your key Co-Authors. In your email, ask your Co-Authors if they agree with your suggested authorship and authorship order, or whether they think a different authorship and/or authorship order would be more appropriate.
Once you have the authorship and authorship order for the paper that all key Co-Authors agree with, and once you have that agreement in writing (emailed agreement is fine – be sure to save those emails somewhere safe, along with a copy of the email printed to PDF – you could well need to refer back to them), you can decide whether your authorship position on the paper will give you a level of prestige you believe is commensurate with the amount of work you’re about to put into the paper.
If not, you may like to reduce the time you spend on the proposed paper, and instead turn your focus to another paper.
Getting your authorship position on your paper settled from the outset could save you a lot of time (and angst) in the end.
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