Notes for contributors
Background
Of Substance is a national magazine for the alcohol, tobacco and other drugs sector (ATOD). It is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. The magazine is auspiced by the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD). Its primary target audience is the ATOD frontline workforce in Australia. Secondary audiences include policy makers, academics and others interested in ATOD issues.
The magazine’s main purpose is to disseminate current research and best practice to the ATOD field in plain English. To ensure the quality of the magazine, the Managing Editor reports to a Board and to an Editorial Reference Group (ERG). Representatives on these two groups come from a diverse range of backgrounds including government, non government and the publishing sector.
The magazine sources content from:
- paid professional writers with an understanding of the field
- people within the field (for example, researchers, peak bodies, ERG and Management Board members).
Notes for contributors
We encourage people interested in writing to suggest a topic; once this is agreed on, the editors can then work with the author/s to prepare an abstract or draft of the article, which we will then send to review as per our policy.
Types of articles that could be considered include:
- Review of current research on a topic from peer reviewed academic journals (two pages maximum, 750–1500 words)
- Practice notes with a current review of peer reviewed research (could be up to 3–4 pages at 750 words per page).
- Short news articles of up to 300 words for the news page
- Recent research or resource releases — up to 300 words
- Point of view on a topic — up to 300 words for the letters page
- A round up of a conference — length to be discussed with Managing Editors.
All contributed work will be subject to review and editing. All accepted articles are edited for brevity and clarity (for some articles editing may be extensive) however authors will receive a proof of the edited manuscript for checking of factual accuracy. Articles are published at the discretion of the editors and the magazine’s ERG and Board of Management.
The editorial process
Abstracts and drafts of articles are forwarded to nominated ERG members for review and approval. This review focuses on accuracy and balance of the proposed article.
Guest reviewers will be nominated for articles where appropriate. This is to ensure the magazine has a national focus and that experts on different topics have a chance to comment to ensure accuracy and balance.
Authors receive a proof of the edited manuscript for their approval to publish, and to check for accuracy.
Of Substance is supported by funding from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.
Whilst all care has been made to ensure only authorised material appears on this site, Of Substance accepts no responsibility for inaccurate or false representations appearing herein.
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