Instructions for Blog Authors
Getting Published on Bioethics Today
Our blog is a space for commentary and analyses on bioethics and ethical issues related to health care, professionalism, biotechnology, medicine, public health, nursing, health professions, health policy, health law, research, health humanities, and related fields. The blog features posts from noted bioethicists offering a variety of perspectives and disciplinary lenses. Successful posts are written using everyday language in a conversational manner that will appeal to a wide variety of readers. Posts should be written to make complex ideas understandable to those within the field as well as those for whom bioethics is a passing interest or who are unfamiliar with the field.
The Bioethics Today blog accepts submissions for potential posts using the online submission form (see submission instructions below). All submitted posts are reviewed by the bioethics.net editorial staff for relevance, originality, timeliness, topic, style, and focus. Submitted posts are not subject to peer review. Not every submission will be posted. We do not accept posts under consideration elsewhere or those already published elsewhere. With very rare exceptions, we do not post pieces written by students alone. Before being posted, editors will collaborate with authors to edit the piece.
Before submitting a post, we encourage potential authors to review recent content from our blog to understand our style and the type of content that is appropriate. You may also contact the editors, Drs. Ray and Burgart at blog@bioethics.net
IMPORTANT: We do not accept sponsored posts
Guidelines for Authors
Blogs should be written concisely, using an OpEd style and the inverted pyramid—the most important ideas should be on top—people do not always read all of the way through. A strong blog provides a clear explanation of the issue (rather than assuming a reader knows about the issue), has a clear thesis, and takes a compelling perspective. When claims are made, evidence is provided. A good blog should have an intended goal such as encouraging a reader to take action or to consider a different perspective.
Please keep in mind the following reminders
- Be concise. Blogs should be between 600 and 1,200 words.
- Blogs do not use traditional references (endnotes, footnotes, or parentheticals), but rather use hyperlinks to articles, news pieces, studies, etc. (In Word, a hyperlink is created by holding Command/Control + K and then copying and pasting the full URL). If you cannot embed hyperlinks in the text, then provide the URL in brackets after the text where it should appear.
- Avoid footnotes
- Use simple language and words whenever possible. We have a transdisciplinary readership at all learning levels and want pieces to be accessible to all. If you use technical language, please explain what it means.
- Blogs should be single-spaced with no spaces before or after paragraphs
- Please single space after each sentence
- Blogs should present an ethical perspective, a call to action, or guidance on how readers should think about a bioethical issue
- Include any financial conflicts of interests
- Include your position and affiliation
Getting Published on Bioethics Today
- Our blogs are widely read, largely because of their short and concise nature and because of the reputation for quality work we have developed over the years
- Many times authors use blogs to develop their preliminary thoughts on a larger research project
- Blogs can encourage authors to turn their work into an article for an academic journal
- Posting the blogs on social media can help users get feedback on their idea
- Because of the accessible, easy-to-read nature of the blogs, many instructors use them as teaching materials in their high school, undergraduate and graduate courses
- Journalists for popular new sources, including podcasts, oftentimes reach out to authors for interviews based on blogs they’ve read
- Other academic blogs repost our blogs (e.g The Hastings Center)
What to Submit
- Blogs should be submitted in MS Word (.doc or .docx)
- Include a title (editorial staff has the right to change the title)
- Include name(s) of all author(s) and their degrees at the top
- At the end of the blog include author(s) position (e.g. associate professor, postdoctoral fellows, etc.) and affiliations, and author(s) Twitter handle (if you have them and want this information included)
- Indicate if the submission is time-sensitive. We can turn around submissions fairly quickly, but if we receive a large number of submissions in a short period, we may not get back to you for several days.
- Please indicate that this manuscript is your original work, not submitted elsewhere, and has not appeared elsewhere.
- Conflict of interest—Please indicate whether you have a conflict of interest (financial, affiliation or otherwise) related to the material in the blog. For example, let us know if you were paid to write the blog, or have a grant from a company or foundation to write on this topic, or you have a position with a company in which you profit.
- If your blog includes information about a patient case, please include documentation that the patient, family, and attending physician have been notified and given permission for the case to be presented here.
- If you have an appropriate image for your blog, please attach it (.jpg, .png, .psd at 300ppi, approx. 500MB). If the image is not yours, please include signed permission from the creator for us to post this image. Editorial staff has the right to use, or not use, any submitted graphic images and may post the text with an image of their own choosing.
- Blogs should be submitted using the online submission form
Other Information
Bioethics.net blog holds the right to post the submission on its website and maintain it there in perpetuity, to post excerpts from the submission on social media and newsletters, to use the post for marketing purposes, and at its discretion, to be considered for the American Journal of Bioethics editorials. The author maintains all posting and publication rights beyond these. If the author wishes to post or publish their piece after its initial appearance on bioethics.net, the author has that right as long as the note is made that the piece first appeared at bioethics.net. However, the piece must first appear at bioethics.net. All responsibility for accuracy remains the responsibility of the author.
At times we are asked if posts can be re-posted at other sites. The decision to do so remains with the author. We will pass along any requests to the author.