As a young researcher in astronomy whose advisor has just told you to write a paper to present your first results, you are thrilled but also worried, because you realize that the quality of your publication is crucial for your career. This Guide to Effective Publishing in Astronomy is for you. It gives you the practical information for publishing your article in one of the major research journals in the field of astronomy and addresses all aspects of the process. It also explains how a good scientific paper should be written and gives you both an overview of the refereeing process and recommendations on how to avoid common mistakes when writing in English. You will also find: detailed information on the peer-review validation system, a brief history of the major journals in the field of astronomy, their requirements and the ways they are run, information on services offered by astronomy libraries and databases such as the Strasbourg CDS. Along the way you will find lots of useful information for your career as a researcher.