 Sounds simple? It really is!  What are you interested in or maybe curious about?  Is there a process in your ED that works well and you feel sharing it with others could help them?  Did you change a practice or process based on some evidenced-based research? Did it work or not? Do you have recommendations for others?

 What is already out there you can either use as a foundation or further enhance upon?  Older references are good if the studies are considered ‘classic’ but most research should be within the past 5 years.  Make sure whatever you review, it meets certain standards:  Peer reviewed publication  Reliability and validity are reproducible  Limitations are not significant enough to impact the information

 Who are you writing for? Is this for education, research, general practice or something really specific?  Will staff nurses, educators or administrators be the ones to receive your message? You need to tailor your writing to your audience!

 If you choose to write in JEN, there are often little notes at the end of the different sections that give you ideas of what that section editor is looking for with future publications.  Example: in the recent JEN, Dr Criddle explains at the end of the section the way submissions for case studies should be submitted.  If you choose another professional journal, send a well-written letter to the editor inquiring as to interest in your proposal.  If the letter is written well enough, the editor might be kind enough to even give you initial feedback!

 A descriptive but catchy title is always a sure way to entice someone to read further!

 Start by outlining what areas you want to cover  Helpful hint: after you have reviewed the literature, you can begin to extract meaningful information and then put that information together in similar groupings  Make sure each section smoothly transitions into the next section…if it is too sudden or choppy, readers lose interest!

 Once you have your outline complete, start to put your manuscript together with an introduction and conclusion.  The introduction should draw the reader in while the conclusion should leave the reader feeling all questions have been addressed.  Helpful hint: Say what you are going to say, say it, and then recap what you said!  Make sure you follow the journal’s rules for typesetting, font and pitch, and proper format for references! Each journal has information on how to submit information and in what format/guideline.

 Seek assistance from others to review your paper before you submit it formally  Throughout CO ENA, there are several people who have either been published in JEN and/or are JEN reviewers. Seek them out…we are all here to help each other!

 Once you feel your paper is well-written and you have sought other input as you felt you needed, now you get to formally submit to the journal of your choice!  Keep in mind that it is unusual for any well- respected journal to accept submissions without revisions so be prepared for minor or major revisions.  While frustrating, many journals cannot publish every submission received; the volume is overwhelming!  If your paper is not accepted, consider sending it to another journal or maybe see if the editor can help steer you in another direction!

 Whether or not your paper was published, the experience can often be very educational and even enhance your own nursing practice!  It is not a simple process to be published, but it is certainly rewarding if you take the time and invest it into making a stellar paper.