Preparing to Prepare a Manuscript

Manuscripts have their origins in scholarly initiatives such as clinical improvement projects, protocol development, research studies, policy initiatives, and school-based assignments. Colleagues, administrators, and faculty members are among the voices encouraging advanced practice nurses to publish their clinical work outcomes. Dissemination of clinically focused works adds to a body of knowledge about nursing practice; encouraging publication is a positive overture. However, many clinically focused manuscripts are developed by new authors who lack a mentor, that is, someone with experience in preparing, submitting, and publishing scholarly works, which places the novice author at a decided disadvantage. The work itself may have merit, but finding the right perspective, audience, tone, and emphasis takes finesse. In 2025, this journal published an article by Leslie Nicoll1 in which she discussed considerations in publishing an academic paper. Many of the same considerations addressed in that article apply to publishing clinical initiatives. Like a school assignment is designed to meet specific learning objectives, clinical initiatives are conducted to address a defined problem in the context of a practice setting. The purpose and process of a clinical initiative may differ from the requirements of a journal article. And too often clinical initiatives begin without a written proposal as clinicians have a habit of “starting in the middle.”2 Without a guiding proposal, a clinician author considering a manuscript needs to first create an outline and ensure that all necessary information is available, such as baseline data, percent questionnaires returned, instrument reliability reports, and so forth. Having not planned well in the beginning, some information may not be retrievable, and without data, it is not possible to convince readers that a project was successful. Most importantly, institutional review board approval must be obtained when human subjects data is obtained from patients, family members, staff, and protected data sources. A clinical initiative may have been a success in the context of an employment setting, but it may or may not make a good manuscript. A mentor can help frame the work and create an outline. The next step is to select a journal that fits the topic. Editors are looking for manuscripts that are of interest to their readers. The fastest way to rejection is to submit a manuscript on a topic that does not fit the journal. Do some investigation before deciding on a journal. The International Academy of Nursing Editors (INANE) maintains the Directory of Nursing Journals, a vetted list of 275 journals that have been reviewed for appropriateness for nurses (available at https://airtable.com/app1QbygMN23wigqu/shrjqveaKHtS9xku8/tblNXTxmTr18CC1If). Also consider interprofessional journals when the topic fits. For all journals, spend some time reviewing recent issues to assess topics, style of writing, and recently published articles. Once a target journal is identified, review the author guidelines. Every journal publishes author guidelines that include information about manuscript preparation and submission. This step is vital to success. The author guidelines will include the details of submitting a manuscript. The guidelines will include information about editorial purpose, sending query letters, criteria for authorship, the manuscript review process, and types of manuscripts such as research, quality improvement, evidence-based practice, systematic and scoping review articles, and case studies. Instructions for submitting content for a standing column and other journal features will be included in the guidelines. Read and follow the directions on how to prepare a manuscript for submission. Take time to prepare to write a manuscript. Here are some examples of what new authors miss. Don’t let this be you. FORGETTING THE COVER LETTER OR SUBMITTING AN INCOMPLETE LETTER Most journals require a cover letter, the content of which is listed in the guidelines. Cover letters may require attestation that the work is original and not previously published. Assure the editor that permission has been obtained for reprinting or adapting any tables, charts, illustrations, or other previously published content. Provide permission to include any documents that are the property of a health care organization, such as patient education materials or medical record forms. Declare support from any publication or editing service and a statement explaining the use of any artificial intelligence tools. Conflict of interest must be declared. Each author may be asked to identify contributions to the manuscript to ensure each one meets the International Committee on Medical Editors (ICMJE) author criteria. INCLUDING AUTHOR IDENTIFYING INFORMATION IN THE MANUSCRIPT Many journals use a blind review procedure, meaning the reviewers are blinded to the authors and the authors are blinded to the reviewers. The guidelines will describe the information required about each author, such as credentials, affiliations, and contact information. The online submission procedures are designed such that the author's information page will not appear in the manuscript. Yet, it happens that the author's information is incomplete, or the author's information page is submitted with the manuscript text. This error leads to rejection as the manuscript cannot be sent for peer review. In addition, authors will sometimes include other types of identifying information in the manuscript, such as National Institutes of Health (NIH) study numbers, which are discoverable, or personal information that can be linked to individuals associated with the author affiliations. When identifying information is embedded in the manuscript, it will be discovered by the editor or upon scrutiny by a reviewer. Don’t leave tell-tale clues in a manuscript. SUBMITTING A REVISED MANUSCRIPT WITH AUTHOR CHANGES Should an author be invited to revise and resubmit a manuscript, don’t change the order of the authors, add authors, or delete authors upon resubmission. Deciding who is an author and the order of authors is best settled before manuscript preparation begins. It is unethical to add authors who did not meet the criteria for authorship, and equally unethical to omit or delete authors who did meet the criteria. Editors cannot make author changes. FAILING TO ADHERE TO THE ABSTRACT REQUIREMENTS Keep within the guidelines for the number of words and any specified structure. Sometimes a fixed abstract structure can be awkward, depending on the topic. Should the structure be too difficult, maybe the topic is not a good fit for the journal. Or consider contacting the editor and suggesting an alternative. Either way, be respectful of the word limits and structure. Submit the abstract to the system as directed. Sometimes it is a separate document, other times it may be the first page of the manuscript. SUBMITTING COLUMNS WITHOUT AN INVITATION Many journals have standing columns on selected topics that are managed by designated column editors. Guest contributors are usually welcome and frequently invited by the editor or column editor. When the author guidelines are silent about submitting a column, ask the editor before submitting. Guest authors for columns should be coordinated by either the journal editor or column editor. When invited to submit, consider the column requirements such as format, word limits, and tone. These questions can best be addressed by the editor or column editor when not specified in the author guidelines. FAILING TO ADHERE TO THE REQUIRED STYLE The two most common style formats used in nursing publications are American Psychological Association (APA) and American Medical Association (AMA). These formats include guidelines for setting paragraphs and sections, labeling tables and figures, referencing items in the text, creating reference lists, in addition to many other style requirements. Nursing programs tend to require students to use APA style, but other styles may take less space, and printed pages are expensive. Don’t write the editor complaining about the journal’s use of a style other than APA. Yes, it happens. NOT ATTENDING TO DETAILS Pay attention to the little details. The guidelines may specify that the title be limited in words or characters; the manuscript pages are numbered, or not; lines of text are numbered, or not; or a running header is required, or not. Each journal has multiple small details that can easily be overlooked. When a project or initiative has been summarized for internal distribution in a clinical setting, such as an executive summary, or was part of a school assignment, avoid a “cut and paste” of that information into the manuscript. Highly likely that an internal document or school paper is formatted differently from the journal’s requirements for a manuscript. Formatting a manuscript is not a creative exercise; it is best to follow the directions. Disseminating reports of clinical initiatives is a valuable contribution to the advancement of nursing practice. Matching the topic with the journal and submitting a manuscript according to the author guidelines helps ensure that the manuscript will be reviewed and ultimately published. Novice authors are encouraged to work with a mentor or someone experienced in publishing clinical works. Should the author guidelines be confusing or provoke additional questions, reach out to the editor. Better to understand than to guess. Recently, I was left wondering about an author’s due diligence in choosing a journal when I received a cover letter addressed to Dr Pauline Beecroft, Editor. Dr Beecroft was the journal’s founding editor who retired in 2002. This was an unnecessary error that could have been avoided with more attention to details.