## Writing for the American Journal of Nursing: Author Guidelines and Submission Checklist

Authors should carefully review these guidelines. AJN is a peer-reviewed journal that follows publishing standards set by the International Committee of AJN is a peer-reviewed journal that follows publishing standards set by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE; www.icmje.org). AJN’s mission is to promote excellence in nursing and health care through the dissemination of evidence-based, peer-reviewed clinical information and original research, discussion of relevant and controversial professional issues, adherence to the standards of journalistic integrity and excellence, and promotion of nursing perspectives to the health care community and the public.

AJN’s readers readers are experienced clinicians. Just over half are hospital based; we also have a large readership among faculty and nurses in community health. Most (3/4) have a BSN or higher degree; over 1/3 have a master’s or higher degree; and over 40% are certified in their specialty. AJN welcomes submissions of evidence-based clinical application and review papers, descriptions of best clinical practices, original research reports, case studies, quality improvement (QI) reports, narratives, commentaries, and other manuscripts on a variety of topics. AJN also welcomes submissions to its various departments and columns, including artwork and poetry that is relevant to nursing or health care. Guidelines on writing specific types of articles are available below. All accepted manuscripts undergo editing that includes fact-checking; reference checking; determinations of balance, bias, and accuracy; and editing to enhance the readability and accessibility of the paper. Submission of a manuscript implies the authors’ agreement to work on the manuscript with the editorial staff—on a continuing basis—during production. Poems and artwork are not edited. QUERY LETTERS LETTERS We strongly encourage authors to familiarize themselves with the journal in print or online at www.ajnonline.com. Query letters should include a paragraph describing the proposed manuscript, its projected length, an abstract and/or outline, and a short biographical sketch that includes the author’s qualifications for writing on the topic. Please do not send any e-mail attachments—all Do NOT send the manuscript with the information should be included in the body of the e-mail. query letter. Query letters should be sent to editor-in-chief Carl Kirton: carl.kirton@wolterskluwer.com. We do consider completed manuscripts without a prior query when submitted to https://www.editorialmanager.com/ajn. Although authors may send query letters to an unlimited number of journals simultaneously, it is not appropriate to submit a manuscript to more than one journal at a time. AJN does not consider manuscripts under review by other publications or previously published manuscripts. Authors who violate this standard of biomedical publishing will not be welcome to submit other manuscripts to the journal.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS We do not accept submissions via e-mail. Authors must submit all manuscripts online We do not accept submissions via e-mail. Authors must submit all manuscripts online at https://www.editorialmanager.com/ajn. This is a secure site; AJN editors control access to all