Welcome and Information for Authors
Welcome to Writer’s Camp! Read on for essential information about the site, how you can become involved, and information if you would like to contribute to the site with a written article (or two or three!).
Mission, Purpose, and Audience
Writer’s Camp is an online community and resource center dedicated to supporting scholarly writing, editing, and publishing. Although the primary audience includes nurses and nursologists, the resources offered through Writer’s Camp are available to anyone interested in improving their ability to communicate scholarly knowledge.
The site features practical guidance, educational resources, and peer-reviewed scholarship published in The Writer’s Camp Journal, overseen by an editorial team of experienced nurse editors. Publications include instructional articles on writing and publishing, reflective essays on scholarly practice, editor and reviewer perspectives, and original research or commentary relevant to scholarly communication.
Together, these offerings are designed to help both novice and experienced authors, reviewers, and editors develop the skills and confidence needed to participate successfully in scholarly publishing.
By providing accessible resources, mentorship, and opportunities for learning, Writer’s Camp aims to strengthen scholarly communication and support the dissemination of knowledge across the health professions.
Articles Published at Writer’s Camp
- Writer’s Camp Feature
- The “bread and butter” of the articles posted at Writer’s Camp.
- Recurring practical pieces on topics such as editorial ethics, peer review, mentoring, journal due diligence, and revising/resubmitting. A wide variety of articles in this general subject area are published and will be considered for publication.
- Typical authors: Anyone interested in exploring these topics—from first-time contributors to experienced editors. Writers are encouraged to share lessons learned, insights from practice, or examples from the field.
- Length: 1,000–2,000 words; peer-consulted review and edit.
- Included in The Writer’s Camp Journal? Yes.
- Commentary
- Short, timely opinions or perspectives on issues in scholarly writing, editing, or publishing.
- Typical authors: The Camp Director and others, such as counselors, editors, and outside contributors.
- If you have an idea for a commentary, contact Leslie to discuss it.
- Length: 800–1,200 words; lightly edited; fast turnaround.
- Included in The Writer’s Camp Journal? Yes.
- Care Package
- Republished or evergreen articles—classic favorites from around camp or beyond—brought back to the forefront for new readers. These pieces continue to offer perspective, encouragement, or enduring lessons in writing and editing.
- Typical authors: Counselors and past contributors.
- Length: 1,000–2,000 words; reintroduced with updated context or reflection.
- Contact Leslie with ideas.
- Included in The Writer’s Camp Journal? Yes.
- Trail Pack
- Trail Packs bring together a curated mix of resources—a previously published article, a complementary audio or video feature, and a new article written expressly for Writer’s Camp—to create a cohesive learning experience. Each Trail Pack invites readers to follow a theme across multiple formats, discovering ideas that can be read, watched, or listened to on the go.
- The accompanying article provides context, commentary, and practical takeaways that connect the resources—helping readers apply what they’ve learned to their own writing or editorial practice.
- Typical authors: Counselors and contributors who curate and interpret high-quality materials from within and beyond camp.
- Length: 1,000–2,000 words; Embedded media (video, podcast, or both)
- Published on the first Thursday of the month–12 per year.
- Contact Leslie if you are interested in putting together a Trail Pack as there are multiple components that must be prepared. We will help you with the process.
- Included in The Writer’s Camp Journal? Yes.
- Wordcraft at Camp
- Bite-size language and style lessons with “Quick Definition,” “In Practice,” and “Counselor’s Tip.”
- Typical authors: Counselors or language lovers who enjoy clarifying writing nuances.
- Length: 350–800 words; consistent format and banner. Use a previously published Wordcraft at Camp article as an example template.
- Included in The Writer’s Camp Journal? Yes.
- Shh! Editor Confidential (coming in 2026)
- Q&A interviews with journal editors—covering article types, standout qualities, peer review tips, and campfire advice.
- Typical authors: Counselors or invited interviewers.
- Structure: Intro paragraph, core questions and comments, closing reflection.
- Length: Flexible; conversational tone.
- Included in The Writer’s Camp Journal? Yes.
- The Writer’s Camp Bugle
- News and announcements from around camp: calls for papers, badges, releases, site updates, and events.
- Typical author: The Camp Director (Leslie).
- Length: Short, focused updates; clear call to action.
- Included in The Writer’s Camp Journal? No.
- Freestanding Annoucments
- Editor Opportunities, Calls for Abstracts, Special Journal Issues with Calls for Papers, and Events of Interest will be posted periodlically on the site with their own special headings.
- Time-limited and deadline driven.
- Included in The Writer’s Camp Journal? No.
Specific Writing Instructions for Articles at Writer’s Camp
- The main type of article posted at Writer’s Camp are Writer’s Camp Features, written by our staff of counselors as well as others who are interested in submitting appropriate content for publication consideration. See above for the other types of articles that are published. In general, all articles should adhere to the following guidelines.
- Writer’s Camp Features should focus on aspects of professional writing, editing, and publishing. A wide range of articles will be considered. If you have an idea but are not sure if it is appropriate, use the contact form to send a query to our Camp Director, Leslie Nicoll.
- Articles are posted on Thursday at 7 am eastern time.
- Articles should be 1000 – 2000 words in length, written in a friendly, accessible voice for an international audience. First and second voice are fine–that is, write about yourself or to the reader. Avoid jargon, slang, and offensive words. If you have a topic that requires more than 2000 words, consider writing two articles. “Two-parters” are acceptable and published here at Writer’s Camp.
- References are not required but when appropriate, they should be included. Writer’s Camp uses AMA style for citations.
- Limited, ethical use of AI tools is permitted, but authors must ensure the originality of their work and disclose any meaningful AI involvement.
- Peer Review: All articles are reviewed by the Camp Director, who is the Editor-in-Chief of The Writer’s Camp Journal. Additional reviews are provided by the Associate Editors (Writer’s Camp Leadership Team) and the Editorial Board (Writer’s Camp Counselors).
- All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor-in-Chief of The Writer’s Camp Journal. Feedback from reviews completed by the Associate Editors and Editorial Board Members is carefully considered when making publication decisions. Decisions include accept, revise and resubmit, reject, and desk reject (review by Editor-in-Chief only).
- Editing is done by the Director and the Writer’s Camp leadership team. All articles are edited to conform to the style of The Writer’s Camp Journal.
- Authors will have the opportunity to review the final draft before publication.
- All content posted at Writer’s Camp seeks to be diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Please review and consider the language you use to meet this standard.
- Writer’s Camp uses a CC-BY-ND 4.0 Creative Commons license. Authors will be asked to sign a license to publish agreement, which gives Writer’s Camp permission to publish and distribute the article, but the author retains rights to the publication.
- DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers) will be assigned to articles.
- The article citation will be included at the end of each article as a convenience to readers who might like to cite the article in another work.
- The Writer’s Camp Journal is be published quarterly (Jan-Mar; Apr-Jun; Jul-Sep; Oct-Dec).
- ISSN: 3068-4056
- Articles with DOIs will be compiled into the appropriate issue of the journal.
- The journal is an online publication with a continuous publication model. Articles published on the site are added immediately to the issue in progress. Issues close on the last day of the month of each respective quarter and a new issue opens.
- Articles at Writer’s Camp are open access; there are no article processing charges (APCs) to publish at the site or in The Writer’s Camp Journal.
- Other types of articles are also be published on the site. See above for the types of articles that are presently published. Stay tuned as new ideas are regularly being developed.
- The Nursing Journal Directory is posted as a resource on its own page.
- The Writer’s Camp Bugle will be posted as needed with announcements, news, and information.
Manuscript Submission Process
- Please use the Manuscript Submission Form to submit an article for consideration for publication here at Writer’s Camp.
- Please submit your manuscript as a Word document.
- As noted above, references are not required but if they are needed and included, please format in AMA style.
- Include in your manuscript file:
- Article title (maximum of 12 words. Shorter is better).
- Your name, with credentials as you want them listed.
- One sentence to introduce the article. See articles posted here at Writer’s Camp for examples.
- Article–1000 to 2000 words maximum.
- When submitting:
- If you are a Counselor, search and select your name from the list.
- Guest Counselors/Authors: type your name in the appropriate box.
- Guest Counselors/Authors: write a brief bio (2-3 sentences) that will be included with your article.
- Upload the manuscript file.
- Upload a signed License to Publish Form (see below for the form, which can be downloaded).
- Thank you for your contribution! We will be in touch regarding publication.
Please reach out if you have questions or need more information about what we are up to here at Writer’s Camp.