Write For Us
Attention, RNs! Nursing Spectrum is looking for authors and contributors for our award-winning magazine and website! We invite you to submit stories that are timely, relevant, and compelling.
More than 800,000 RNs receive Nursing Spectrum! Our articles are posted on our website at Nurse.com, where, along with our online-only articles, they are read by thousands of RNs in the US and abroad. Nursing Spectrum is led by RNs, so every word comes with a real-life passion for and a real-life perspective on nursing.
To begin the process, call or email the appropriate Nursing Spectrum office. Talk with the editor about your interest in writing for us and about your topic. Our addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses are listed below.
Next, follow these simple steps:
READY:
What to write
Write about what you know. Draw upon your own professional and personal experience.
- Clinical articles — What’s new in your practice? What could other nurses learn from you or your colleagues?
- Career Fitness® articles — What tips can help nurses excel in their careers?
- General articles — Rule of thumb: Is it timely, relevant, and compelling?
Accentuate the positive, but be realistic. Nursing Spectrum is here to remind RNs of the exciting, challenging, and heartwarming nursing moments and opportunities we all share.
SET:
How to write
Before you start, call the editorial director.
- Narrow your focus. “All You Ever Wanted to Know about Pediatrics” is much too broad a subject. Try “The Diabetic Child in the School Setting.”
- Brainstorm. Jot down all your thoughts about the topic and group them into categories — you just started an outline!
- Write in a “magazine” style. Use active, to-the-point language. Imagine you are talking to an RN — you are! Remember, you are writing for the broad spectrum of RNs, not just those in your specialty.
- Paint a complete picture. Is your article balanced and logical? Does the article stick to the main point?
- Back up statistics and other general information with up-to-date references.
- Make sure that quotes add substance to the article and are accurate and meaningful.
- Keep your word count between 600 to 800 words (about two pages, double-spaced).
GO:
When you’re done
- Double-check the spelling of all names of people in your article. Include their official titles, credentials, and organizations. Accuracy is important. Remember, your name will be on this article.
- Submit your article on a disk labeled with your name, article title, and the type of word processing program you used. You may also e-mail your article. Include a hard copy and a signed author’s agreement. Call our office to obtain these forms if they’re not attached.
- Don’t forget a short (paragraph) biography about the author — you! Include your phone, fax, and e-mail in case we need to contact you.
- Print and sign the Author Agreement and the Photo Consent and Release (if you will be including photographs). These will need to be included with your submission. If you are interested in writing a Continuing Education Module, please also refer to the CE Writer's Guidelines.
The most important step?
Send in the article! (See next panel for contact information) You will hear from the Nursing Spectrum editorial director soon. Congratulations! Now, encourage your colleagues to write.
Here are a few tips for preparing your manuscript:
TIP #1: Make your introduction pull your reader into the article. Think of the introduction as the appetizer to a meal — the promise of what’s to follow. You can do this by using a dramatic quote from your article (“Nurses will inherit the earth,” says Jane Doe, VP of nursing at….), posing a question (Did you know there are 50 uses for IV tubing?), or introducing an interesting or surprising fact (School nurses throughout the US recently received a 200% pay increase.).
TIP #2: The body of the article is the meal. Here you support your introduction and deliver the goods.
TIP #3: Ah, dessert. The conclusion of the article should leave the reader satisfied. Does the article answer the "So what?" question? The reader should walk away from the article feeling a sense of benefit from it — informed, moved, entertained, challenged, or ready to take action! Be sure your conclusion ends powerfully and doesn’t just drift off.
TIP #4: If you are having difficulty making sure that each paragraph flows logically into the next one, try this: In the left margin summarize each paragraph in one sentence. Now go back and read just the sentences in the left margin. Each sentence should flow sequentially into the next one. If not, you may need to move some paragraphs around, or (gulp!) delete a paragraph that doesn’t fit or support the article.
TIP #5: Be an editor for a day! Edit your own work before you submit it to an editor. Try reading your article out loud — it helps you find awkward phrases or words. Ask a colleague to read the article. Put the article aside for a day or two and then go back and read it.
TIP #6: Write another article! Like any other skill, such as starting an IV, writing gets easier the more you do it.
Please note that all manuscripts must have at least one RN as an author. Although we are grateful to everyone who sends us manuscripts, we are unable to publish all of them. All manuscripts are edited by an experienced editor. If your article is accepted and published, you will receive an honorarium after your article appears in print.
