The emphasis should be on sites and special events or programs of interest to naturalists, including information on the area's unique natural features and wildlife. Each column should conclude with an address box detailing where readers can write or call for further information. The first step in checking out an article idea, therefore, is to make sure you are not reinventing the wheel. Explore what has already been published in the same subject area, especially by Nature Canada . If you find that the ground has already been covered in whole or in part, you had better abandon your idea or modify it to minimize overlap.
Originality is often just a matter of seeing familiar phenomena in a new light.
It can mean writing from a new angle, or coming up with a fresh synthesis of existing elements. If, because of its tone or the choice of its examples, the manuscript sounds too specialized, the editor is likely to reject it. While we know we can't make every article interesting to every subscriber, we do our best to see that most articles will interest most subscribers. The sharper your focus, the more deeply you can penetrate your topic - and the more lasting the impression you will make. As a first step, submit an outline or a short description of the article idea to the editor at Nature Canada .