A theme issue usually comprises 4 to 10 articles totaling 8000 to 15 000 words, plus a guest editorial of 500 to 1000 words.

Guest editors are encouraged to consider soliciting articles from authors outside Vancouver and Victoria, and to include articles of specific relevance to physicians outside the urban centres. It isn’t necessary that all articles be either long or academic. One or more short pieces on community services or allied health workers in the subject area, for instance, can complement academic reviews.

A theme issue can take a year or more to compile. Authors may assume, if they don’t hear from the guest editor for a few months, that the project has been abandoned; it is a good idea, therefore, to keep in touch with authors. It is often useful to give authors a deadline, and it is the guest editor’s responsibility to establish a schedule. Keep in mind that the Editorial Board meets on the last Friday morning of the month, and all papers go out for review at that time.

Normally, at least 6 months elapse between the time all papers are received by the Editorial Board and the publication date. Guest editors who want the special/theme issue to be published in a specific month are advised to submit the finished articles at least 6 to 9 months before the anticipated publication date.

All materials for the theme issue—all papers, with tables and figures attached, and the guest editorial—should be submitted together because the theme issue will be reviewed as a whole. An incomplete theme issue will not be sent out for review.

When the entire issue is in hand, submit one copy only to the BCMJ office for review by the BCMJ Editorial Board. Once all papers have been accepted, the managing editor will request the final revised version on disk or by e-mail. We would prefer them in a recent version of Word or Word Perfect.

Pages proofs will be sent to the guest editor after review, revisions (if required), copyediting, and typesetting are completed. Individual authors’ papers should be passed on to them for proofreading and should be checked by the guest editor before they are returned to the BCMJ.

The BCMJ reserves the right to make editorial changes to improve clarity and bring the papers into stylistic conformity with our publication’s requirements.

The basics

All parts of all papers must be double-spaced, including references and tables. Each paper must have an abstract, structured or unstructured, of up to 150 words. Preferred headings for structured abstracts are “Background,” “Methods,” “Results,” and “Conclusions.” Each paper must be accompanied by a “Competing Interests Form” and a “Release of Copyright” document, both of which are available on the BCMJ web site at www.bcmj.org (under the heading “Guidelines and Resources.”

The front page

The front page of each paper should include:

• Proposed title of paper.

• Author’s name as he or she wants it in the publication. The BCMJ has no preference regarding use of first names versus initials.

• Author’s degrees and accreditations, normally beginning with MD or MB. Degrees below the masters level are normally not included except in the case of non-physician authors without graduate degrees.

• Author’s practice information and academic affiliations, sufficient for a brief author note.

• Addresses for mail and courier, e-mail address, and telephone and fax numbers for the author and one co-author (as a backup).

• If the guest editor has determined an order for the papers, the ordinal number of each should be indicated on the front page.

• Number of figures and tables in the paper (e.g., “2 figures, no tables”).

Guest editorial

The guest editorial is usually written by the person who compiled the theme issue. However, if the guest editor is not a physician, it is suggested that the editorial be co-written with a physician contributor.

A black-and-white head-and-shoulders photo of the guest editor(s) is published with the guest editorial and should be included with the complete submission.

The guest editorial introduces the theme issue. It may be an overview of the papers, a historical survey of the subject from a BC perspective, or a discussion of the work of an institution. If you are unsure about an idea you have for the guest editorial, you should discuss it with the editor or the managing editor.

The editorial may be any length, but normally it runs between 500 and 1000 words.

Figures and tables

Tables are typed and included as part of the manuscript.

Figures fall into two categories:

• Graphs should be presented in the intended layout upon first submission. Once the paper is accepted, both the graph and the data it is built from must be submitted.

• Drawings, photographs, or other illustrative material may be submitted electronically (scanned at 300 dpi or higher) or as a print (5″ x 7″ or larger black-and-white glossy or a camera-ready laser print).

All figures and tables should be clearly numbered. Tables should be double-spaced and given descriptive titles. Drawings and photos submitted as prints should be labeled on the reverse with the figure number and the author’s name, and an arrow pointing to the top if there is any possibility of confusion.

A descriptive caption should be supplied for each figure. Captions for drawings and photos should be typed, double-spaced, on a separate sheet of paper (all captions can be on one sheet). The guest editor should make sure captions are accurate and that figures are clear and reproducible. Hardcopy drawings and photos for each paper should be enclosed in an envelope labeled with the author’s name and clipped to the original manuscript.

Any figure or table copied or adapted from another source must be so credited. Guest editors or individual authors are responsible for obtaining the necessary permissions from the original publisher.

Cover artwork

Guest editors are encouraged to suggest ideas for the cover, which will be considered by the production team.

References

All references should be double-spaced.

Authors should be reminded to check the sample references in the “Guidelines for Authors” (published in most issues of the BCMJ and available at the BCMJ web site at www.bcmj.org under “Guidelines and Resources”) and follow those formats exactly. This will save time and improve accuracy in the copyediting and proofreading stages.

It is always better to provide too much information about a citation than too little. Extraneous information can be deleted quickly; missing information must be looked up by the author.

Only citations to published (or accepted) material should be included in the reference list. Personal communications may be cited in the text as long as the communicant’s affiliation, the month and year, and the type of communication (written or oral) are included; these will not appear in the reference list.

Guest editors should make sure references in all papers are current. A preponderance of references more than 10 years old indicates that the reference list was probably compiled for a paper written several years ago. The question then is: is the paper of any use to today’s readers, or is the problem with the reference list only?

Checklist for guest editors

• Are all sections of all papers double-spaced?

• Are all front pages complete?

• Does each paper have an abstract?

• Are terms used consistently throughout the theme issue, or do some authors use one term and others another? Are abbreviations and acronyms consistent throughout?

• Are Canadian and BC statistics/studies used whenever possible?

• Are all tables and figures that are cited in the text included with the papers? Is the picture of the guest editor included?

• Is there a caption for each figure? Are all figures clear and sharp or at least 300 dpi?

• Has permission been obtained for any element of any paper that is being reprinted or adapted from another publication?

• Are the references complete and in the required format? Do the listed references correspond to the citations in the text?

• Looking at the theme issue as a whole, do you find redundancies? For instance, could the Methods section be combined for several papers? Again looking at the issue as a whole, are there any contradictions?

• Have you suggested an order for the papers?