The journal publication process: the perspective of the nurse author

This study's purpose was to describe the journal publication process from the perspective of the nurse author. A survey was mailed to 226 nurses who had published an article during the 1-year period. A variety of clinical, research, educational and administrative nursing journals were used to select the sample. Results suggested that authors: find communicating with editors helpful; think time from acceptance to publishing is too lengthy; publish to share their information and contribute to the body of nursing knowledge rather than for career advancement; generally do not use enquiry letters; and many did not know if the journal to which they submitted was referred. Further research on the views of authors who have had manuscripts rejected would clarify whether this process is similar for all authors.