I have been a practicing clinical dental hygiene for 20 years and I also have a talent for writing. I would love to combine these and write for dental publications and to write CE courses. Could you give me some guidance on how to submit articles and courses for publication? I appreciate your advice and expertise.
2 Answers
I suggest that you review the guidelines for CE courses from respective journals. You need to choose a timely and interesting topic for it to be considered as CE. One way to get your feet wet is to do a case study.
Here are 10 steps to seeing your name in a journal.
- Find a journal that publishes the type of CE courses and articles that you like.
- Read the articles and CEs thinking about their structure, length, depth, and breadth. What makes them appealing to you or not?
- Find the journal’s author guidelines and review them.
- Come up with an idea for your first article or CE: What strikes your curiosity? What is something that you want to know more about? Chances are, your peers will too.
- Check the literature to see if your idea has already been covered. Maybe there is a new slant you can take, or maybe you will need a new idea.
- Read the literature about your topic. Go for papers that are evidence based and new.
- Once you have an idea, prepare an outline of your paper.
- Write a little every day.
- Once you think you are done, ask a friend to give you feedback. Revise and repeat.
- Submit to your journal and be prepared to have to revise some more!