I recently presented a conference session entitled ‘Writing for Publication’. The conference was attended by students, clinical midwives and allied health professionals, all of whom had an interest in writing. Some didn't feel that they had anything to offer, while others were unsure of how to get started. As a midwife, you already have a good idea of what would interest you so that's a great starting point. As a reader of journals, you are also able to do a quick assessment of how long a paper might need to be to hold your attention and the style it might be written in.
Why should you publish? This was one of the initial discussions we had—in light of low morale in the profession and staff shortages, midwives feel that they just don't have much free time. However, there was a feeling that midwives wanted to communicate with peers and other professionals so that best practice could be shared and networks formed. In fact, this might help improve working conditions and reignite some passion. If you are undertaking research, conducting an audit or working on policies and guidelines, it's good to get feedback from others. Publishing the details of the processes you went through, any challenges you experienced and how the project was evaluated can help make sure others learn from you. So here are my tips for novice writers to encourage you to get started with your writing for publication.
As midwives, we don't all have time to read the hundreds of studies that are published each year, so preparing a literature review or reflection would be a relatively straightforward initial project and would provide a significant amount of up-to-date information for others to read in an easy and quick format. Alternatively, you may choose to start with a smaller project, such as a contributing to a local conference or even organising some in-house training. This will help build your confidence and give you some feedback on what your colleagues might want to read about.
‘Midwives wanted to communicate with peers and other professionals so that best practice could be shared and networks formed’
If you have a topic for publication in mind, then the initial step might be to identify a suitable journal and speak to the editor. Editors can be under used in this way and if you are unsure of your writing ability, the editor will be able to support you to help make the article more readable—that's their job. If you have questions, look for author guidelines on the journal's website (each one might be slightly different) or again, ask the editor, who will be able to advise on the suitability of the piece, the format, the word count, deadlines, and how to submit your work.
One thing that can put potential authors off is peer review. Research and some professional and clinical articles are subject to peer review, when someone with an interest in the field reads the paper and makes comments for the author and editor. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, and there are four possible decisions: accept, accept with minor revisions, revise and resubmit and reject. Don't be put off by these. It would be unusual if a paper did not need a little refining and it might just be that the article in question isn't right for that journal's readership. Look at any suggestions, make the changes (these are best done quickly so your enthusiasm doesn't wane) and then resubmit it. If it's a reject, then again, look at the recommendations. It might be that your piece was not right for that journal, and so you can submit to a more appropriate one for the topic.
Another tip is to look at websites such as Royal College of Midwives and British Journal of Midwifery for conferences. There will usually be calls for abstracts for presentations or poster presentations. A poster is a great way to communicate your ideas and findings without standing in front of large groups of people. Your poster should be attractive, colourful and contain a good mix of words and pictures. You can then, at times defined by the conference organisers, stand with your poster and answer any questions from passers by. This also allows you to network with those with an interest in your topic.
Students: you might also want to kick-start your writing for publication. September marks the start of most courses, and is when students progress from year to year. Do you have a good piece of work that your lecturer thinks will be of interest to others? Chat to them and get their help to turn your essay into a journal article. Student views are important to the profession and for self development.
Finally, be confident! If the subject is worth writing about, it will be of interest to readers somewhere. You've already made a start in reading this journal and article.