Writing an editorial with an expert coauthor

Fancy writing an editorial for the studentBMJ? Editorials are your opportunity to discuss controversial or topical subjects in depth. Karen Hebert tells you how

Editorials are the showpiece of a magazine—like other journalistic pieces, they need to be hard hitting and accurate. The topic must be original, topical, and exciting—the more controversial the topic the better.

Before you write anything

Check that the idea is worth pursuing before beginning any writing. The studentBMJ is an international magazine for medical students. Consider whether your idea would be of interest to all these different readers and whether it is the sort of thing that you would expect to find in the studentBMJ. Check whether the idea has been covered before. The website (www.studentbmj.com) has a search engine and topic collection that allows you to check this. This might sound like a lot of hassle but prevents you from putting effort into an article that may never reach publication.

Ask the editor

At this stage, get in touch with either the student editor or one of the student advisers (see Contact us). They can advise you on whether they think that the idea is worth pursuing and may also be able to give you some pointers on how to progress further.

Experts

Most editorials need to be coauthored by an expert in the subject. This does not apply, however, if you are an expert in the subject yourself. An expert is someone who is well versed in the subject matter—someone who works or lectures in the field, has relevant personal experience, or has a special interest in the area. Most student authors will require an expert to coauthor an editorial.

If you do not already have an expert coauthor then you need to go about finding someone who would be appropriate and willing. Think broadly of who would be knowledgeable, and then approach them for their help. If you have no idea about whom to approach, it is worth typing the topic into Google or Medline. Relevant papers on the subject normally have correspondence details for the leading author. Also bear in mind that many large organisations have a press department that might be able to help you find a suitable coauthor.

Why have an expert?

The intuitive answer is that expert coauthors lend credibility to an article.Expert coauthors are an excellent source of information and should point you in the right direction with your research. Any medical student can do a Medline search—but experts will ensure that you are using the best, most credible, and most relevant references. They will be able to detect any flaws in your article. But possibly and most importantly the expert may have real life experience or insight into your topic which will be invaluable.

Competing interests

Ethical publishing requires all authors to declare competing interests. The BMJ defines a competing interest as existing when “professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as patients’ welfare or the validity of research) may be influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain or personal rivalry). It may arise for the authors of an article when they have a financial interest that may influence— probably without their knowing—their interpretation of their results or those of others.”¹ An editor must know about authors’ competing interests in order to make the best possible decision about an article. Competing interests are to some extent unavoidable and so will not automatically discredit an article. Rather an author’s competing interests are declared at the end of their article for readers’ perusal.

Coauthoring

A common misconception is that a coauthor is simply a fact checker and a reviewer. We do not want coauthors to simply lend their name to an article—they must have actually written some of the text. The expert will be listed as one of the authors and so it is essential that they do have input into the piece, are satisfied with the copy, and also feel responsible for the final product.

Check your facts

Fact checking is a foundation of good journalism. You must properly research your chosen subject. You must give a reference for any fact that is contentious or not widely known, but references are limited to 12. Editorials should be balanced—but can be concluded with a definite slant as long as you back up your opinion with fact, and differentiate clearly between the two. Bear in mind that although an angle is allowable, differentiating between an editorial and a polemic is important.

Keep it short

Be as concise and punchy as possible. Editorials in the studentBMJ can be no longer than 1000 words—the number of words that fit on a page of print. It follows that shorter editorials that fit easily on a page are more likely to be published than long unwieldy ones.

Layout is crucial

Define your argument in the opening paragraph. This paragraph should inform the reader about the rest of the piece. If well written and interesting then it will hopefully entice the reader to continue reading the rest of the article. Follow up your introduction with some background information and then lead the reader through your topic and argument in a logical structured manner. Break up your text with subheadings—this prevents the page from looking too text heavy. Your final paragraph should state the situation, tie everything together, and stimulate further debate.

Karen Hebert fourth year medical student, Bristol University
Email: kh9694@bristol.ac.uk

I thank Rajendra Kale, editorials editor of the BMJ, for his guidance and advice.

studentBMJ 2004;12:349-392 October ISSN 0966-6494

1. Smith R. Beyond conflict of interest. BMJ 1998;317:291-2.