Suggestions to medical writers / by George M. Gould.

  • George M. Gould
Date:
1900
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Suggestions to medical writers / by George M. Gould. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    made poor, bulky, but expensive. By paying for paper several cents a pound more than is customary, books could be tremendously lessened in bulk and weight. This addi¬ tional cost of thin, opaque, and tough paper increases the cost of the volume none or only a few cents, so that is of no concern, and it is counterbalanced a dozen times by narrower margins, smaller type, and better stitching. But besides size, etc., the outweighing benefits of better paper are the flat page, ease of ocular labor, and durability. There is a vicious tendency toward the use of “loaded,” calendered, and rotten paper—principally because, it is said, illustrations “ show up ” better upon it. This is a fallacy. If the right quality of paper is used, illustrations are as effective on a “dead-finish ” paper as on that with a sheen that irritates and tires the eyes. The Size of Books and Articles.—As to articles in medical journals every editor and experienced writer knows how much more acceptable, how much more likely to be read, are short, concise, rather than long and verbose ones. Every writer for journals should limit his article to an aspect as specific and single as possible, and not try to cover too much space or too many phases of a subject. Write more often if you please, but drive one nail at a time, and drive that home. It hardly needs saying that one should not attempt writing upon a subject until he is thor¬ oughly certain he has something new or valuable to say. Writing for vanity’s sake or to advertise the writer is the bane of medical literature. We once knew a writer who in his everlasting rehashes of well-known facts or opinions was in the habit, when sending it to the editor, of accom¬ panying his MS. with a $10 or $20 bill. The number of our medical journals hungry for “copy” hardly makes this necessary nowadays, except when the offering is of the most flagrant worthlessness. Having something of value to write about, endeavor to tell it in the fewest words pos¬ sible,—subject of course to the proviso that you do not
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