The Elements of Professional Publishing

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The Elements of Professional Publishing

• Hal Pollard, ASHP
• To the U.S. Public Health Service
• Pharmacist Professional Advisory Committee
• March 3rd, 2005

Pharmacists helping people make the best use of
medicines
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Why Publish?

• Professional advancement
• Personal satisfaction
• Contribution to the profession

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Professional Advancement

• Potentially important for raises and promotions
• Enhances your name recognition and visibility
  within the profession
  
• Increased visibility may lead to speaking
  engagements, consulting agreements, other
  opportunities
  
• Opens the door for research funding
• Sharpens knowledge of specialty (and beyond)

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Personal Satisfaction

• Creates a real sense of accomplishment
• Broadens network of friends and colleagues
• Validates your work
• Generates opportunities for travel
• Develops writing and other skills (literature
  retrieval and review, statistics, computer
  skills)
  
• Some potential for income

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Contribution to the Profession

• Contributes to the improved health of patients
• Develops pride in profession amongst colleagues
• Encourages more research and writing
• Informs and educates colleagues
• Helps other health professionals and public
  better understand pharmacys role

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My Professionalism Soapbox

• Publishing spurs professions advancement
• Gaining respect from other health professionals
  is essential for collaborative work
  
• Way out of the professional basement
• Cant rely on industry to create all the knowledge

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Who is Publishing?

• Physicians
• Pharmacists
• Nurses
• Technicians
• Dieticians/Nutritionists
• YOU!

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Forms of Publishing

• Case reports
• Clinical pearls
• Letters to the editor
• Book reviews
• Editorials
• Poster/paper presentations
• Review articles
• Survey articles
• Monographs
• Original research
• Book chapters
• Books (electronic and print)

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Other Ways of Getting Involved

• Review book concepts
• Serve on editorial boards
• Peer review journal articles
• Review book chapters
• Serve as section editor for a book

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Common Barriers to Writing

• Finding the time to write
• Selecting a topic
• Finding colleagues to collaborate with
• Funding
• Intimidation by the publication process
• Following author instructions
• Internal review process
• Peer review
• Acceptance, modification, resubmission
• Rejection!

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Making the Time to Write

• Make it a priority
• Schedule time to write each day
• Outline your concept
• Create a schedule and stick to it
• Work with collaborators
• Get supervisors buy-in
• If you get stuck, talk with your publisher
• Dont bite off more than you can chew

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Plan the Process

• Have something important to say
• Understand the target audience
• Who cares?
• Select the right tone and model
• Delivery method
• Where to submit?
• Do your homework on background and references
• Pay attention to the submission guidelines

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Authorship Issues

• Select a lead author at the outset
• Decide how work will be divided
• Select co-authors based on what they bring to the
  project
  
• Plan regular contact with co-authors
• Avoid the ego trap
• Be professional, not political
• Writing is a commitment
• Acknowledge contributions appropriately

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Tips on Writing

• Work from an outline
• Dont kill your own creativity
• Use active voice
• Enlighten, dont anesthetize
• Have your work reviewed prior to submission
• Aim for an error-free final manuscript
• Have fun with it

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General Tips

• Read good writing
• Discuss your work, and the work of others
• Visit poster sessions
• Welcome your editors input
• Read and reread Elements of Style by William
  Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
  
• Write every day
• Did I mention have fun?

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Complete Proposals Should Contain

• Statement of scope and intent
• Physical specifications of the publication
• Draft table of contents
• Sample material
• Curriculum vita

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Statement of Scope and Intent

• Purpose
• Approach
• Subject
• Audience
• Timing Considerations
• Illustrations and Features
• Delivery Elements
• Competition

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Physical Specifications

• Trim Size
• Printed Pages
• Illustrations
• Other special design elements

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Anatomy of a Scientific Paper

• Title Descriptive, concise, and interesting
• Abstract Include all components of the
  manuscript
  
• Body
• Introduction State objectives, any questions,
  reason for writing
  
• Materials and Methods Provide details
• Results Stick to the facts, make sure it makes
  sense
  
• Discussion Draw conclusions from your data,
  compare to previous studies
  
• Conclusion Studies implications, supported by
  results, and related to objectives
  
• References Include retrievable sources, follow
  format
  
• Tables Do not imbed in text, follow guidelines,
  keep simple
  
• Figures Do not imbed in text, look professional
• Figure Legends Descriptive and concise

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Essential References

• Strunk, William, Jr., White, E.B., The Elements
  of Style. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ
  Longman/Pearson Education 2000
  
• Skillin ME, Gay RM. Words Into Type. 3rd ed.
  Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall 1974
  
• University of Chicago Press, The Chicago Manual
  of Style. 15th ed. Chicago, IL University of
  Chicago Press 2003
  
• Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed.
  Springfield, MA Merriam-Webster 2003
  
• Merriam-Websters Collegiate Thesaurus.
  Springfield, MA Merriam-Webster 1994
  
• Stedmans Medical Dictionary. 27th ed.
  Philadelphia, PA Lippincott Williams Wilkins
  2000

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Reference to Get You Started

• Huth EJ. Writing and Publishing In Medicine. 3rd
  ed. Philadelphia, PA Lippincott Williams
  Wilkins 1999
  
• Iverson C, Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB et al.
  American Medical Association Manual of Style A
  Guide for Authors and Editors. 9th ed. Baltimore,
  MD Williams Wilkins 1998
• Hamilton, CW. How to Write and Publish
  Scientific Papers Scribing Information for
  Pharmacists. Am J Hosp Pharm 1992 492477-84
  
• Miller LG. Research Guidelines for the Pharm.D.
  Practitioner. Pharmacotherapy 1994 14(6)740-2
  
• Zellmer WA. How to Write a Research Report for
  Publication. Am J Hosp Pharm 1981 38545-50
  
• Woodward DK, Clifton GD. Development of a
  Successful Research Grant Application. Am J Hosp
  Pharm 1994 51813-22
  
• Motheral BR, Jackson TR. Understanding and
  Evaluating Original Research Articles. J Am Pharm
  Assoc 1999 39759-74
  
• Scientific Writing Links. http//spot.colorado.edu
  /carpenh/links.htm
  
• International Committee of Medical Journal
  Editors. Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts
  Submitted to Biomedical Journals Writing and
  Editing for Biomedical Publication. Updated
  November 2003. www.icmje.org

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Thanks for Having Me!
Hal Pollard hpollard_at_ashp.org 410-669-2001
Pharmacists helping people make the best use of
medicines