Getting your manuscript published (Open Session 28)

This was a great panel discussion about the details that give your manuscripts an edge in the eyes of the reviewers or editors. Marianne Mallia served as moderator. Her panelists were an author’s editor and journal editor in-chief.

Christine Wogan, MS, ELS, the author’s editor, from the UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, phrased her take-home messages for other author’s editors clearly:

• Pick your battles.
• Hook 'em.
• Give 'em what they want.
• Make it easy on them.

She provided a variety of tips for assisting authors. Read the paper thoroughly for spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Make sure that the paper is written at the proper level of understanding. By targeting the paper to a specific journal and following the instructions to authors, the manuscript’s chances for acceptance improves. She emphasized that manuscripts must tell a story in a linear fashion. She suggested writing the abstract first – but editing it last.