Instructions to Authors

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Corresponding authors, alternate contact authors, and equal contribution authorship

The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal throughout the submission, review, publication, and post-publication process. The corresponding author should ensure all requirements of submission and publication are met, including but not limited to ensuring all authors have seen the final version of the article and approve the submission to the journal, signing licenses to publish and paying invoice, and adhering to journal policies. For more information on the role of the corresponding author, see ICMJE’s description.

Authors may designate up to two people as corresponding authors. Authors should mark the co-corresponding authors in the main document file with asterisks next to each name and a footnote denoting corresponding authorship. Note that only one person can be selected as the corresponding author in the submission system; that person will be responsible for communications during the review and production process, including decision letters, licenses, and invoices.

A second corresponding author is different than the alternate contact author requested during submission (though it may be the same person if a paper has two co-corresponding authors). All submissions require an alternate contact in case the designated corresponding author cannot be reached. The alternate contact author is a backup contact and will not be listed as a second corresponding author in the published paper.

To avoid confusion on which authors should be listed on the final paper as co-corresponding authors, please indicate “co-corresponding author” in the manuscript file to designate authors who both should be listed as corresponding authors in the final version. Alternate contact authors should be listed in appropriate space in the submission questionnaire and should not be designated in the manuscript file.

As an alternative to co-corresponding authors, authors may state that “author X, author Y, etc. contributed equally to this manuscript.”

How to Write a Publishable Manuscript

Watch this video presentation by Dr. Martin S. Hirsch on how to write a publishable manuscript. Presented at IDWeek 2015, San Diego, CA.