From Elsevier's How to Publish in Scholarly Journals
The first question to ask yourself is, ‘do I have a story to tell?’.
Editors and reviewers look for original and innovative research that adds to their field of study, or immediately impacts patient care. This means that your conclusions must be sound and based on sufficiently robust data. Secondly, ask yourself, ‘is there an audience for my research findings?’. The more original and innovative your research, the more people will be interested. Consider whether your research is of interest to a local, regional or international audience. Identifying your audience is a major factor in selecting the right journal to submit your manuscript to.