Author's Guidelines

• America’s consumer magazine for people whose lives have been touched by cancer™.
• Now in its 21st year of service.
• Published six times a year (bimonthly).
• Read by more than a half-million people in the waiting rooms of America’s private practice oncologists, urologists and cancer treatment centers.
• Individual subscriptions available by mail.
• In order to maintain a credible editorial environment free of bias, Coping is not affiliated with any treatment center or cancer-related organization. Coping is, however, proud to be a national sponsor of National Cancer Survivors Day®, the world’s largest annual cancer survivor event™, that is universally celebrated by the cancer community.
• Coping accepts advertising, which must conform to ethical and medical standards as prescribed by the FDA and FTC.

Editorial Mission

Provides knowledge, hope and inspiration to newly diagnosed cancer patients (survivors**) and their families in terms they can understand.

Editorial Guidelines

• Maximum number of words: 775
• Informal, upbeat, and positive (assumes that everyone diagnosed with cancer has a chance to beat the odds).
• Short sentences and paragraphs.
• Concise and to the point.
• Medical terms explained in lay terms where possible.
• No grim statistics.
• Consumer magazine-type headline, subhead and photos encourage readership.
• Survivor stories avoid lengthy treatment descriptions. Instead, focus on what you have learned from your cancer experience that could help others.
• Focus on topics that deal with coping with cancer rather than on issues relating to prevention, early detection, or diagnosis. (Most Coping readers have already been diagnosed with cancer.)
• Article benefits the reader (closes with summary or “moral to the story”).
• Editor’s Note (Optional) – Information about the author listed at end of article (e.g., short bio, contact information, etc.). Editor’s Note should be included in the 775 word count.
• Action box (Optional) – Lists resources for readers to follow up on topics discussed in the article. Action box should be included in the 775 word count.

Words To Avoid

death (substitute: end of life)
dying (substitute: not surviving)
patient** (substitutes: cancer survivor, survivor, person, people, participant, individual)
suffering (substitutes: coping, living with, managing)
victim (substitutes: survivor, person)
**Except where medically appropriate, avoid using “patient.” Coping challenges readers to develop a positive, proactive attitude for a better quality of life by becoming cancer survivors, rather than remaining patients and victims. A “survivor is anyone living with a history of cancer – from the moment of diagnosis through the remainder of life,” according to the National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation.

Unsolicited Manuscripts, Art and Photography

Note: Coping does not pay for manuscripts, art or photography.
Original, unsolicited manuscripts, art and photos are welcome and will be given careful consideration by Coping’s editorial review board. Publication, if accepted, is scheduled at the discretion of the board based on the editorial calendar, timeliness of material, and available space. The author will receive a complimentary copy of the publication in which the article appears. Upon acceptance of material for publication, the author is asked to sign Coping’s “Writer/Artist/Photographer Agreement.” Coping will make every effort to return all original materials to the author. However, it is not responsible for lost, stolen, damaged or unreturned materials. Manuscripts, art and photography are considered gratuitous if published.

Alternative and Complementary Medicine

Articles advocating the use of “alternative” treatments not proven effective in FDA-approved clinical trials are not accepted.  Articles concerning the use of proven “complementary” therapies will be considered.

What To Send

Manuscript media (in order of preference): e-mail, disk, or hardcopy
Photos: Photos from film cameras and digital cameras are accepted (see Where To Send, below).
• Film camera: Large color prints are preferred. Black & white prints are no longer accepted.
• Digital camera: Digital images must be high resolution and output at 300dpi or higher.

Where To Send

E-mail Address: editor@copingmag.com
Fax Number: (615) 794-0179
Mailing Address: Coping, P.O. Box 682268, Franklin, TN 37068-2268
Overnight Shipping Address: Media America, Inc., 377 Riverside Drive,
Suite 301, Franklin, TN 37064 (Do not send mail to this address.)

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