Tim A, Winning the Publications Game—How to write a scientific paper without neglecting your patients, 3rd edn, Radcliffe Publishing Ltd, UK, 2011, 104 pp., ISBN 978-1-84619-247-0.

✍ Scribed by DR Helena Robbins

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 34 KB
• Volume: 25
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0749-6753
• DOI: 10.1002/hpm.1044

✦ Synopsis

Many junior doctors find the transition from studying to working time difficult and struggle with the balance between looking after patients and fulfilling the academic requirements needed to keep a competitive CV. With this in mind comes the 3rd edition of 'Winning The Publications Game', aimed primarily at healthcare professionals who are taking their first foray into writing a scientific paper. Its objective is to guide the reader through the process of getting a paper published, from the beginning thoughts to submitting a completed manuscript. Unlike many other books available on this topic, its focus is not on the technical aspects of research methods, statistical analyses and writing up, but rather on the planning, preparation and time management skills needed to be successful in both the writing and working worlds.

The book is divided into 10 short, easy-to-read chapters which are designed to be read as stand alone units as your project develops. Each chapter ends with a checklist which should be fulfilled before moving on to the next step. Throughout the book are bullet point sections revising essential information or highlighting pertinent points to the reader. There are also scattered suggestions for further reading with information given not only on the title and author, but also a brief summary of what you might gain from the text.

Chapters 1 and 2-'know the game' and 'know yourself' deal with the period before you start the huge undertaking of writing a paper. It asks 'why do you want to write', 'do you have the time' and gives advice on laying down a schedule for your writing.

The middle chapters deal with outlining a brief for your work and expanding it further. This incorporates a particularly useful segment on identifying where you would like to publish your article before you write it, making it easier to tailor your piece towards the style of that particular journal. The next few chapters look further at the writing process itself. Again, the main focus is not on the technical aspects of writing and the layout of a scientific paper but more on making your paper readable and what to do when you have writer's block. A section on macro-editing is particularly well written and of use even to the more experienced writer.

The penultimate chapters explore the processes of preparing the additional elements to the article and re-writing the piece. This includes a paragraph on writing a structured abstract and a separate section on writing a cover note to the editor. The book again focuses on how best to lay out these elements in order to get your work published in your chosen journal. The final chapter focuses on submitting your piece and dealing with the inevitable acceptance or rejection.

The books strengths are in its relaxed style and readability. Its concise nature means that junior doctors and working professionals may actually have time to read it as well as carry out their writing and clinical duties. It is well laid out and is packed full with snippets of wisdom concerning the practicalities of publishing an article.

'Winning The Publications Game' is also aware of its own limitations. It does not profess to tell you all you need to know about writing and should certainly only be read in conjunction with more traditional texts outlining writing techniques, statistical tests etc. Considering it is aimed at a beginner in the writing world, it may have been an idea to add in a chapter on the lay out of a scientific paper. Overall, however, the book achieves its aims of laying out in simple