Guidelines for Submitting a Manuscript

WLN welcomes clearly written, useful essays on all aspects of writing center theory, pedagogy, and writing center administration. The following will not be considered for publication in WLN:

• Unrevised conference presentations, course papers, or seminar papers

• Manuscripts under consideration for another publication

• Essays not clearly focused on writing center work

• Unsolicited reviews of books and resources

Please keep in mind that WLN readers range from newcomers to the world of writing centers to more highly experienced readers who want to further their knowledge. That means that articles should avoid merely recycling standard or dated sources such as—most notoriously—North’s “Idea of a Writing Center.” If you are focusing on a widely familiar concept or practice, please indicate the new ideas, insights, research, or experience you adding instead of limiting your essay to repeating what is already known. In all cases, publishable submissions are those with fresh ideas and a sense of how recent scholarship can be applied to your topic. No, you don’t need a lengthy literature review (or an extensive cut-and-paste collage of quotes), but give readers some context for how your topic fits in with current thinking. If discussion of your topic requires complex terms not familiar to all readers, please consider explaining or defining your terms.

Tutors who are submitting an essay to the Tutor’s Column should remember that the Tutor’s Column is intended to be the space for tutors to share insights and experience with other tutors.

As books of interest to WLN readers are published, the book review editor, Sherry Wynn Perdue, solicits individuals in the field who can offer insights about the quality of the books, why the books may be of interest to readers, and ways the books may be used in tutoring and writing center administration. Book reviews undergo the same editorial process as other submissions.

Manuscript length should not exceed 3000 words for articles and 1500 words for Tutor’s Column essays and reviews. Please include Works Cited and footnotes when you do a word count and use endnotes rather than footnotes. Submissions should be sent as Word documents and conform to current MLA style (7th ed). Please don’t expect reviewers or the editorial staff to clean up an incomplete or outdated format for your Works Cited.

We acknowledge receipt of submissions within 2-3 business days. Manuscripts are given an initial review, and a decision is made about whether they should be sent out for review. Authors can expect to hear about this initial decision within 1-2 weeks.

WLN is a peer reviewed publication. Essays accepted for review are sent to a reader for a “blind” review, so all identifying information should be removed from the body of the manuscript. Instead, title; author name; institutional name, city, and state; and contact information should be provided only on a title page.

Before you submit an essay, here's a quick checklist:

• Article is under 3000 words (under 1500 if a Tutor's Column), including Works Cited and footnotes.

• Article contains a complete "Works Cited" page, currently in 2009 MLA format.

• Any notes are formatted as endnotes rather than footnotes.

• All personal/identity information has been removed from the manuscript and running head, but remain on the title page.

• Submission is accompanied by a cover note comment (requested on the WLN website when you send the file) that briefly explains your goals and intentions in sending your piece to WLN in particular.

Manuscript Acceptance Rate:

2013-2014: 15%

2012-2013: 16%

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can submit an essay to WLN?
Anyone who works in or is interested in writing center work can send in articles, and that includes (but is not limited to) directors and other administrators, professional staff, graduate students, and undergraduate tutors.

What happens once an essay is submitted to WLN?
When an essay arrives, it is read by one or more WLN editors—Muriel Harris, Janet Auten, and/or Kim Ballard. They decide whether or not an essay is appropriate for WLN, and, if so, if the piece is ready to be sent to a reviewer. The editors may occasionally make a request for revisions before sending an essay to a reviewer if they find it promising but in need of more development.

What does a reviewer do?
We ask our reviewers to do two things: 1) tell us if they believe an article or column is publishable, and 2) if they do believe it publishable (but not ready for publication), offer questions or suggestions to the author to help in the revision process (and it is the case that most submissions receive reviewer suggestions for revision). We encourage reviewers to respond within a month or so. Most of our reviewers are willing to read further drafts and offer further suggestions for revision.

Our reviews are blind reviews, meaning that neither the author nor the reviewer knows the other's identity unless they both agree to make their names known to each other.

Can I revise and resubmit an essay?
Unless the reviewer (or the editors) believe a piece is simply not appropriate for WLN or not publishable, we welcome revisions that are well thought-out and substantial enough to warrant another review. Authors will be advised whether or not we would be willing to see a significant revision resubmitted.

Our Current Reviewers

"If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants." -Isaac Newton

The folks listed below are the giants for WLN and its authors. These committed readers provided comments, suggestions, and questions for writers, prompting even better articles and columns. They illustrate the best practices of our writing center work, and we thank them on behalf of all our WLN writers and readers.

Muriel Harris, Editor
Janet Auten, Associate Editor
Kim Ballard, Associate Editor
Sherry Perdue, Book Review Editor
Alan Benson, Development Editor
Lee Ann Glowzenski, Assoc. Development Editor

REVIEWERS

Austin, Jeffrey: Skyline High School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Balester, Valerie: Texas A&M; University
Bitzel, Alanna: University of Texas at Austin
Carpenter, Russell (Rusty): Eastern Kentucky University
Crimmins, Cynthia: York College
Ervin, Christopher: Western Kentucky University
Featherstone, Jared: James Madison University
Follett, Jennifer: Temple University
Grabow, Brandy: North Carolina State University
Grutsch McKinney, Jackie: Ball State University
Haviland, Carol: Cal State University-San Bernadino
Keith, Melissa: Boise State University
Kearcher, Kurt: California University of Pennsylvania
Lape, Noreen: Dickinson College
Lerner, Neal: Northeastern University
Lutz, Barbara: University of Delaware
Mills, Gayla: Randolph-Macon College
Munday, Nicole: Salisbury University
Rocha, Iliana: Western Michigan University
Roggenbuck, Theodore: Bloomsburg University
Salem, Lori: Temple University
Schendel, Ellen: Grand Valley State University
Schick, Kurt: James Madison University
Shaw, Michael: Fairfield University
Soriano, Maria: John Carrolll University
Wolff, Lisa Vanian: Dickinson College

TUTOR REVIEWERS

Albracht, Lindsey: Duquesne University
Bennett, Katie: Duquesne University
Berrier, Amy: University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Cuperfain, Ari: Yeshiva University
Fenner, Lindsey: University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Geib, Elizabeth A.: Western Illinois University
Hagstrom-Schmidt, Nicole: Western Illinois University
Henke, Daniel: University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Kleinke, Andrew: University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Knight, Josh: Francis Marion University
Krauss, Sarah: Salisbury University
Lamielle, Emily: Duquesne University
Letourneau, Anthony: University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
O'Malley, Rose: American University
Priske, Katie: University of Iowa
Romanelli, Tina: University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Shapiro, Mike: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sims, Rebekah: Indiana University
Stevens, Erin: University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Suralski, Andrew: University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Vue, Jamie: University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Wasserman, Victor: University of Richmond
White, Stephanie: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Worsham, Joshua: University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee