The Write Way: A Writer’s Workshop

Linda Laskowski-Jones, MS, APRN, ACNS-BC, CEN, FAWM, FAAN

Editor-in-Chief, Nursing: The Journal of Clinical Excellence

Why Write?

• Share knowledge / information• Professional growth• Personal growth• Long-term impact / immortality

Oh, no! I have to write something!

Value of Publication

• For the hospital / health care institution Recognition / mark of excellence

• For the health care community-at-large Clinical practice application / system

change / new knowledge or approach Sharing outcomes of innovations & ideas

• For the general public Health care / illness & injury prevention

information

Finding Time to Write

Finding Time To Write

• Schedule writing into your day• Make use of “down-time” for writing

when the mood is right• Keep an informal notebook to record key

points or topics to write about• “Burn the midnight oil” only when

absolutely necessary to meet a deadline

Selecting a Topic

• Clinical innovation• System change• Review article on a specified topic• Case study • Research• Opinion / Letter to the Editor• Clinical scenario / story / exemplar

Authorship Considerations

Authorship Considerations

• Single• Joint / multiple

Intra-disciplinary vs. Inter-disciplinary• If publishing with co-authors, discuss:

Order of author names on manuscript Responsibilities of each contributor Timeline for completion of drafts Editorial or writing style

Editorial Style & Scope of Subject Matter

Format for Publication Consider target audience & type of

journal or publication General interest topic? Specialty practice topic? Research / Scientific / Academic

orientation?***Review publication’s author guidelines!

Contacting Potential Publishers

• Informal—verbal – Telephone contact with editorial staff– Discuss ideas regarding content, key

points, expectations, editorial style– Establish a timeline for submission– Note: Not all publishers will respond to

this form of contact

Contacting Potential Publishers

• Formal—written – Query letter– Outline ideas– Request review by editors / determine

interest in topic– May be via e-mail or snail mail (refer to

author guidelines)

Ethics of Submission• Submit to only one journal at a time!

Copyright belongs to publishing company• Agree to a timeline for submission & adhere

to it!• Establish / maintain trust & an excellent

working relationship with the editors / publisher

• Sign a contributor agreement as required

Writing the Manuscript • Literature review - references < 3 - 5 years

old unless “classic”• Discuss topic / collaborate with colleagues

& experts as needed to further refine focus• Outline - organize the manuscript before

writing • Obtain any necessary permissions from

institution for use of content, photos and data that may be proprietary.

• Is IRB review necessary?

Writing the Manuscript • Be consistent with your writing style (even

with multiple co-authors)!• Pay attention to correct spelling, grammar

& punctuation (final product should be your personal best!)

• Use subtitles to organize your content• Consider using pictures, graphs, tables

and/or figures to illustrate content• Refer to publication’s author guidelines for

reference format

Submitting the Manuscript• Follow manuscript preparation &

submission requirements• Send hard copies, upload file or e-mail

file as specified• http://www.editorialmanager.com/lwwe

submissions/default.asp• Be prepared to wait 6 weeks to 3

months for a response!

Editorial Process• Initial review by Editor-in-Chief; may be

rejected outright• If manuscript shows promise, sent for

internal review by department editors• If significant revision is needed,

manuscript will be returned to author(s) for rework with recommendations

• If manuscript is accepted, Editor-in-Chief will select peer reviewers

I’m your peer reviewer…

Peer Review

• Anticipate “blind” peer review by 2 - 4 “content experts”

• Receive feedback from reviewers (typically online critique forms)

• http://lwwesubmissions.edmgr.com/l.asp?i=81236&l=SPJ5S2T7

• Revise - use your own judgment Adhere to deadlines!

• Re-submit revised manuscript according to established timelines

Acceptance for Publication• Review galleys / proofs carefully prior to

publication (especially drug dosages!)• Celebrate!• Compensation

– Journal articles– Textbook chapters / books

• Document publication in resume / CV• Reprints• Copyright considerations / ethics

A Deeper Dive into Publishing• Expectations of being a peer reviewer• Editors & peer reviewers as

information “gate keepers”• Use of “ghost writers”• Tools/tactics to identify and address

plagiarism• Open access publishing

Peer Reviewers

Peer Reviewer: Tips for Success• Peer reviewers may be compensated and/or

receive continuing education credit if review meets expectations

• Establish accurate profile with journal• Respond quickly to review requests• Disclose any actual or potential conflict of

interest with the topic / author• Offer constructive, diplomatic feedback in

sufficient detail (include narrative!)• Complete review by deadline

Information Gate Keepers

Information Gate Keepers

• Who are they?– Editors– Peer reviewers

• Is there any conflict of interest?• Ethics & the role of the editor-in-chief

– Responsible for the integrity of the content & correcting any ethical violations

Ghost Writers

Ghost Writers

• Who are they?– Professional writers hired to author part or

all of a manuscript, yet remain anonymous• When are they used?

– By industry when “expert” is too busy to write

– By author when writing skills or time are challenges / factors

• Ethical issues!

Plagiarism• Definition: Wrongfully attributing another

individual’s work as your own; failing to acknowledge the information source.

• Self-plagiarism: “recycling” own work in multiple publications without proper attribution; example is publishing the same or similar content in multiple journals

• Considered academic dishonesty & a breach of journalistic ethics

• Can result in copyright violation, infringement on intellectual property rights

Plagiarism: How Big is the Problem?

• “The number of formal retractions as recorded on Elsevier's ScienceDirect platform has more than doubled between 2004 and today — in fact, for 2013 it looks as if we will have close to 200 retractions, which would be five times the number we had in 2004. I believe this is due to the ramp up of the pressure to publish and occasionally the pressure to take short-cuts…” (Seeley, 2013)

• Not all cases of plagiarism are equal: taking credit for research vs. not citing a passage correctly in text

Plagiarism: Consequences• Causes serious reputation / credibility

issues for authors caught plagiarizing• Legal / moral / professional consequences:

– Failing grade– Termination from employment– Official retraction / removal of article from

ALL media (eg, print, iPad, Web, etc.) with published notification letter

– “Black listing” of author with publisher• Discovered through plagiarism detection

software (ex. iThenticate)

Publication Ethics

• COPE: Committee on Publication Ethics

Open Access Publishing• Open access (OA) defined: “The free,

immediate, permanent, full-text, online access, for any user, web-wide, to digital scientific and scholarly material.” (Suber, 2013)

• Primarily research articles published in peer-reviewed journals

• Any user may link, read, download, store, print, use & data-mine digital article content

• An OA article usually has limited copyright & licensing restrictions

Open Access Publishing Growth• As of March 2013, the number of OA

articles published surpassed 1 million• 8,847 of the 25,000 peer-reviewed journals

globally, across all disciplines• Over 200,000 articles/year (excludes non-

English) in 2011; projected to be >350,000 in 2015

• 2,250+ OA repositories (university, government, subject based), growing at a rate of 7 new repositories/month

• 602 societies publishing 695 OA titles

Open Access Publishing • Estimated that 11% of the 10,853 journals

indexed by Thomson Reuters Web of Science (2012) are gold OA journals.*

• *A gold open access journal offers articles that are OA immediately upon publication; the author retains copyright.

• OA journals have an article processing charge (APC) to publish papers as open access; range from $500 to $5000

• Journals can be fully open access or hybrid

Open Access Publishing

Open Access Publishing

Open Access Publishing

“LIST OF PUBLISHERSBeall’s List:Potential, possible, or probable predatory scholarly open-access publishersThis is a list of questionable, scholarly open-access publishers. We recommend that scholars read the available reviews, assessments and descriptions provided here, and then decide for themselves whether they want to submit articles, serve as editors or on editorial boards. In a few cases, non-open access publishers whose practices match those of predatory publishers have been added to the list as well. The criteria for determining predatory publishers are here.”Jeffrey Beall: https://scholarlyoa.com/publishers/ (Accessed 11/1/2016).

Tips & Advice

• If you have an area of expertise, apply to be a peer reviewer for a journal / textbook

• Give writing a try - don’t be intimidated!• Find the time & just do it!• Don’t hesitate to ask for help from content

experts / those experienced with writing• The librarian can be your best friend: get to

know your library & Internet resources• Investigate the myriad of publication options

(but beware of predators!) • Best of luck in all of your publishing

endeavors!

References• Brent, N. (2011). Legal and ethical issues. In C.

Saver (ed.) Anatomy of writing for publication for nurses. Indianapolis: Sigma Theta Tau, International.

• Elsevier Reviewers' Update Issue 15; July 2013: Retrieved October 15, 2013 from http://www.elsevier.com/reviewers/reviewers-update/how-authors-can-publish-open-access.

• Gerber, L. (December, 2012). Narrative writing: Its role in nursing literature. Retrieved August 8, 2013 from http://www.nurseauthoreditor.com/article.asp?id=203.

• Mitiguy, J. (2011). Writing a nursing narrative. In C. Saver (ed.) Anatomy of writing for publication for nurses. Indianapolis: Sigma Theta Tau, International.

References• Morrison, H. The Imaginary Journal of Poetic

Economics, Dec. 31, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2013 from : http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com/2012/12/december-31-2012-dramatic-growth-of.html

• Oermann, M.H. and Hays, J.C. (2011). Writing for publication in nursing, 2nd edition. New York: Springer.

• Suber, Peter. Open Access Overview, August 12, 2013: Retrieved October 15, 2013 from http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/overview.htm.

• Seeley, M. Ethics in Scientific and Medical Publishing, Issue 40, September 2013, Elsevier's Editors' Update newsletter.

The End