Openmind contributors' guidelines

Who reads Openmind?
Why do they read Openmind?
How do we decide what to publish?
Style
Presentation of articles
Length of articles
Copydates
Payment

Who reads Openmind?

The print run for Openmind issue 144 (March/April 2007) was 4200.

A survey we conducted in 2005 indicated that the majority of our readers share or pass their copy on to others, and that around 11,000 people read each issue of the magazine.

82 per cent of our subscribers pay for their subscriptions, and 18 per cent get free copies.

Free copies are sent to Mind's 220 local Mind associations and to other stakeholders including Mind's Council of Management members and Life members of Mind.

When asked about the reason for their interest in Openmind our readers classified themselves in the following ways:

• 72 per cent professionals
• 13 per cent users
• 3 per cent carers
• 2 per cent user and professional
• 1 per cent user and carer
• 0.7 per cent carer and professional
• 0.3 per cent user, carer and professional
• 7 per cent not classified

The mental health professionals who read Openmind include mental health nurses, community social workers, approved social workers, GPs, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and more. The magazine is also read by housing workers, solicitors, the police, day care workers and others whose clients may include people with mental health problems.

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Why do they read Openmind?

• Information: news update, medication, the law, issues and analysis, good practice, welfare benefits...
• Campaigning: lobbying for change and for alternatives, promoting examples of excellence, highlighting examples of bad practice.
• Support/insight: human interest stories and personal experience – written from user, carer and professional perspectives.
• Debate: opinion pieces, conversations between people with opposing views on controversial issues. We like pieces expressing strong opinions – but don't be surprised if a different or opposing view is printed alongside if you're published.

Readers want examples of good practice, firsthand accounts (especially how people overcome difficulties) and research into what works in mental health services.

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How do we decide what to publish?

We can only publish a very small proportion of the many articles submitted.

We decide which articles to publish by weighing relevance to the readership, focus, clarity, originality, priority to Mind, excellence and the balance of material in each edition to make sure it is of interest to its diverse readership.

We often have to reject extremely good articles simply because we have received far too many.

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Style

Openmind is not an academic journal, and the style of the contributions – journalistic rather than academic – reflects this.

• Plunge straight into the topic – in the published version there will be a couple of sentences introducing you and the article supplied by the sub-editor, so you don't need any preamble.
• Don't start articles with a methodology; by and large readers are interested in the results rather than the process.
• Where applicable, use 'personal stories'; an individual's experience will draw readers in, and it can then be backed up with research and statistical information.
• Quotes from individuals are also important in personalising a piece.
• Try and avoid any unnecessary jargon. If you do use technical terms, include a brief explanation; the sub-editor will know if it is necessary for Openmind readers or not.
• Try to keep references to a minimum. Where possible, they should be incorporated in the text eg 'A recent article in The Guardian (12 Jan 2001) says that users feel that...', rather than superscripts listed at the end. When references really are necessary, they should be in the following style: Rogers, A. and Pilgrim, D. (1996) Mental Health Policy in Britain, (Macmillan) 
• Avoid the passive tense – e.g. 'Psychiatrists suggest...' rather than 'It has been suggested by psychiatrists...'.
• Where applicable, try to use terms such as 'mental health problems', 'mental distress', 'madness' rather than 'mental illness'; and 'diagnosed with schizophrenia' rather than 'schizophrenic'.
• If a piece of research has been very critical of services or attitudes, try to incorporate examples of good practice, or positive stories, or recommendations for improvements.
• Do not name directly any individual or institutions of whom you are making criticisms, as these could leave us open to charges of libel.

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Presentation of articles

• Keep editorial markings to a minimum – for example, italics, underlines, bullet points, headings etc. The editor will insert these according to house style.
• Where possible, please email your article to openmind.magazine@btopenworld.com
• If you cannot email the article you can send a printed copy to the editor at: Openmind, Granta House, 15-19 Broadway, London E15 4BQ.
• Please append your postal address.
• Please append a sentence (around 10 words) of author information as you would like it to appear in the magazine.
• Copyright of all articles published belongs to Mind, and Mind will have the right to put your article on its website. But permission to reprint will not be unreasonably withheld. Please contact the editor to ask for permission if you wish to reproduce your article elsewhere.
• Suggestions for photographs or graphics to accompany the articles are extremely useful.

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Length of articles

Features: 600 words (one page when printed), 1,400 (double-page spread)

Letters: 150 words maximum

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Copydates

We plan issues – especially the features – several months in advance, so it is important to submit articles early. If accepted, it is likely to take several months before an article can be published.

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Payment

We only pay journalists and freelancers who write for a living, as well as users of mental health services. We do not pay mental health professionals. Current rates are £15 per 100 words used. We do not pay for letters.

In order to make a payment, we need an invoice stating your name and address, title of your article and the issue number your article appears in. Mind may also need you to fill in a brief form regarding your employment status.