Do you ever encounter an interesting clinical case, become impassioned about a particular topic, or uncover a practice insight and feel inspired to share it with others, yet hesitate because you don’t feel confident submitting a manuscript for publication? You are not alone, but we are here to help.
For nearly 30 years, I’ve worked with doctors to help turn their inspired experiences and ideas into content that their colleagues want to read. In my previous role as Editor-in-Chief of Review of Optometry, I found that very few of our authors considered themselves as writers and many of them leaned heavily on the editorial team for help.
In this article, I, along with the Managing Editor of Eyes On Eyecare, will share our top tips, so you can fulfill your publication goals.
Writing: Back to basics
To avoid extensive edits later, there are integral things to consider before, during, and upon completing your first draft. Doing this will ensure a less stressful writing process as well as a more readable and robust finished article.
There are three key questions to ask yourself prior to putting your first word down on the page:
- What is the goal of this article?
- Who is the target audience?
- What tone should this article take?
1. Determine the content goal
Decide what knowledge you want the audience to gain from your article and how that can best be presented. Make a list of information that must be included to provide adequate education on the topic at hand.
A clear goal will keep you from going off track, wasting time, and including extraneous information that distracts from the primary aim. Is the purpose of the article to offer step-by-step advice or, rather, provide an overview of a topic? Should the content be purely clinical, giving the reader facts from studies and reports, or would the topic benefit from offering personal pearls?
Once you have ascertained the goal, you can choose which article type would best serve to accomplish your mission.
There are several types of optometry articles, including, but not limited to:
- General overview: A comprehensive discussion of a topic that provides all essential information and includes research/studies to support the information.
- Case reports: Detailed description of a patient/patient’s medical history, family history, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and prognosis.
- How-to guide: Step-by-step actionable advice, may include personal experience as well as studies/research from experts.
- Clinical reviews: A critical evaluation, including research, on a study, product, procedure, etc.
- Comparison review: Similar to a clinical review, this article compares/contrasts to compare different products/procedures.
- Original research: Details a study conducted by the author and provides brand new data from that research.
- Personal essay: Reveals the author’s personal experience and observations.
Note: Some articles, like the one you are currently reading, may be a combination of the content types listed above.
Sample content goals:
- Diagnosing and Managing Uveitic Glaucoma: This article will review foundational information related to diagnosing and managing uveitic glaucoma, including signs and symptoms, tips for managing concomitant inflammation and glaucoma, and approaches for co-managing patients.
- Case Report: Juvenile Open Angle Glaucoma: This article will review foundational information related to juvenile open-angle glaucoma (JOAG) with a relevant case report that features a detailed patient profile with diagnosis details and treatment protocol as well as provide clinical pearls on the diagnosis and management of the condition.
- A Guide to Getting Ahead of Optometry Student Loans: This article, geared toward optometry students, will explain the basics of student loans and offer actionable steps and strategies for getting ahead of loan debt while still in school.
2. Identify your target audience
You must discern exactly who you are writing the content for and then take into account their baseline knowledge, preferred terminology, and informational needs. For example, the target audience for Eyes On Eyecare is eyecare professionals; however, within that group, we have ophthalmologists, optometry students, practice managers, and more.
Each of these subgroups would best benefit from information being provided in the language and format with which they are most comfortable. Know your target audience and tailor your article toward them.
3. Decide on tone and voice
Once you have determined your audience, you can then figure out the tone and voice that would best resonate with that demographic.
Here are three few examples of tone and voice:
- Friendly and informative
- Clinical and authoritative
- Professional and knowledgable
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Optometry Article Template
Download this article template to simplify the process of writing a comprehensive and polished optometry article.
Don't forget to provide your sources
Nearly all optometry articles will require research and borrowing statistics and facts from journals, research reports, and studies; these should always be accurately cited. As you are writing your article, make certain to add numerical citations directly after any information that was gleaned from other sources.
At the end of the article, create a corresponding reference list in American Medical Association (AMA) style with the sources listed in order of appearance—not alphabetically. Some publications may have different reference guidelines, which should be explained in their editorial style guide.
AMA reference style
- Template: Author last name, Initial. Article name. Website. Publish date. Access date. URL.
- Example: Kalberer, D. Can Exercise Affect Intraocular Pressure?. Eyes On Eyecare. Published February 27, 2025. Accessed March 1, 2025. https://eyesoneyecare.com/resources/can-exercise-affect-intraocular-pressure/.
Revising and polishing your first draft
Once you have completed the first draft, look over the article and determine:
- What are the key takeaways?
- Could this article benefit from clinical photos/graphics/downloads?
Pinpoint key takeaways
At the end of your article, consider adding key takeaways that highlight the most important information provided throughout. Your content goal should prove helpful in establishing exactly what these should be.
Add interest with images
Look for opportunities throughout your article to add elements that will increase visual interest as well as reader engagement. These could be charts, graphs, illustrations, clinical images, or surgical videos.
However, make certain you have the image usage rights required. Image usage rights dictate whether or not you can publish an image or video that was created by someone other than yourself. If you do not own an image or possess the copyright to it, you must obtain permission. This can be done by issuing a request or filling out the form provided on the website where the image was accessed.
Eyes On Eyecares' image policy reads as such:
All clinical images/surgical videos/illustrations must be owned by the author or have permissions expressly granted by the owner/photographer.
Bonus basic: Make your first paragraph pop
If the reader is not intrigued by the first paragraph, they are not likely to continue reading; therefore, it is important to hook the reader with your first sentence and engage them with the several sentences that follow.
For a first sentence, consider:
- Making a personal statement (example: The first time I encountered retinoblastoma, I was at a loss.)
- Starting with a question (example: Have you noticed more and more of your patients are complaining about blurred vision?)
- Providing the latest statistics/research—make sure they are recent and relevant
- Sharing a quote from a key opinion leader
- Asserting the importance of the topic (example: To offer your patients optimal glaucoma care, it is imperative you understand the newest microinvasive surgeries.)
For the subsequent sentences, potential strategies could include:
- Your expertise/experience with the topic
- Pointing out why the topic being covered is critical to learn about
- Explaining how the topic will improve the OD’s life, their patient’s life, increase productivity, or save them money
Download the Optometry Article Template to guide your writing process!
Amy Hellem’s top tips for writing an effective article
1. Don’t stress yourself out before you begin.
Imposter syndrome is not reserved for rookies. The authorship-inferiority complex is my kryptonite too. After all, I write almost exclusively about eyes, and yet I am not an optometrist or an ophthalmologist. It’s scary for me every time I see my cursor blinking on a blank screen, so I can only imagine how terrifying it must be for people who don’t do it every day.
However, I’m confident that many of the strategies that work for me will work for you too, so don’t get tangled up thinking about the end-product when you are just beginning. Very few people write a perfect first draft. I rarely write a coherent first draft. You are a doctor. Your patients trust you with their most valued sense—their ability to see. Prose pales in comparison.
If you have things to say, write them down, or dictate them using voice-to-text if that feels like a safer first step. Or, if you feel more comfortable lecturing or presenting, create a PowerPoint and record yourself presenting it.
You could also use a service like Otter.ai, Rev, or Scribie to provide a transcript. Many of these also include an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated summary and outline that can prove helpful in identifying key points and organizing the information. The initial goal should be to simply transfer your thoughts into words on a page, even if grammar isn't perfect or run-on sentences are present.
A note on the use of AI: Most publications have policies on the use of AI and will not publish content that has been created exclusively by artificial intelligence.
Below is Eyes On Eyecare’s AI statement:
“Eyes On Eyecare does not permit the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies (including large-language model processes) to generate content, as it does not constitute 'original' content according to our standards.
Without human oversight, AI may produce content that is biased, clinically incorrect, or incomplete. Furthermore, as AI-generated content cannot be copyrighted, it is not suitable for publication. AI may only be used to improve language, organization, and readability of a human-generated piece of content.”
2. Begin with the end in mind.
There is no need to write a first draft with a perfect narrative arc. It’s tempting to try to write in a very linear way, with a compelling build that leads to a perfect payoff for your reader but that’s hard—even for the most accomplished authors.
Furthermore, the struggle can be discouraging, ultimately leading you to either quit or to put in more effort than is necessary. An easier approach is to begin with the end in mind. For me, that involves writing a statement at the very top of the first page that describes what it is that I want my readers to walk away knowing, learning, or believing.
The old “tell ‘em rule” can apply here: “Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you told them.” You don’t need to explain everything up front; however, having a vision of my goal in plain sight keeps me on track throughout the writing journey.
For example, my aim for this article is to convince you that, if you have information worth sharing, you can and should write about it because being an author is not as hard as it seems.
3. Ride the wave of inspiration as far as it will take you.
One of the most gratifying parts of writing is being in the flow. In fact, the famous positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and others have demonstrated that experiencing a flow state is one of the surest paths to happiness. Flow is the reason you often see writers typing fast and furiously. It’s not that they are channeling Shakespeare.
On the contrary, they are letting go of perfection and embracing the belief that a great idea is more important than sounding smart—at least on the first pass. Flow is an incredible feeling, yet all too often, we don’t give ourselves permission to reach this state because we get mired down in the details. The famous Voltaire quote states, “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good.”
I used to attend a coach-facilitated writing club where we were routinely encouraged to “just poop on the page.” I couldn’t agree more. When you feel passionate about an idea that you want to share with others, just start putting it out there.
Stop second-guessing and doubling back. You can make yourself sound brilliant later. Or better yet, leave that to the editor. When inspiration strikes, take advantage of it.
4. Identify your readers and simplify accordingly.
If you weren’t specifically asked to submit an article for publication and weren’t given an outline, you’ll need to make your complex clinical content clear and concise enough so that editors—who are typically not ODs themselves—can follow along and recognize the value in what you have to say. Oftentimes, less can be more when it comes to writing.
About a year ago, I started working with LKC Technologies. They specialize in handheld electroretinography (ERG). This felt like the hardest thing I ever had to do because even some of the optometrists I talked to thought ERGs were overly complicated. I was tasked with creating content that clarified how easy and useful ERGs are in everyday practice, which felt like a pretty tall order.
But, I soon discovered that my ignorance was a blessing in disguise because it forced me to deconstruct A-waves, B-waves, and other foreign concepts into terms I already understood. Although I did this out of necessity at first, I later realized that putting thoughts into the simplest terms possible is often a winning strategy.
As it turns out, I’m not the only one who didn’t realize that an ERG is to the eye what an EKG is to the heart. Even if you are writing on assignment, it helps to make your point in the simplest terms possible and to organize your thoughts so that readers can easily follow along and come to learn what you already know. Take nothing for granted.
Assume your reader knows very little about your topic. It is much easier for an editor to trim extraneous explanations than it is to read your mind.
5. Utilize relatable examples.
Emphasize important points or concepts that are likely to incite pushback by providing concrete examples. My big “ah-ha” moment in terms of understanding ERG was brought on by a relatable example.
The founder of LKC said to me, “Most of the tests we use help us understand what’s happening now, which is like looking out your front door to see whether it’s raining. ERG is more like checking out the weather forecast before you pack for a trip. It helps predict what tomorrow will be like.”
When you break down the complex into something very rudimentary, it strikes a connection with a more diverse audience, which is usually what you want if you’re presenting something that you understand well but others may not. I’ve also found that using relatable examples helps spur readers to act on the message that you are forwarding.
For instance, much of the research I’ve done over the years has focused on optometrists’ and ophthalmologists’ barriers to educating patients on the importance of ocular hygiene, particularly pre-operatively. In study after study, there is little doubt that clinicians agree that this is crucial and, in fact, is formally recommended in clinical practice guidelines.
However, research also shows that eyecare providers don’t routinely recommend the products and procedures that they know would be best for their patients. One of the leading excuses for failing to educate patients on ocular hygiene is the pass-the-buck belief that “patients won’t comply.”
I’ll begin by saying that research shows they will, but even if that were true, imagine if doctors in other specialties didn’t bother advising patients simply because they thought they’d be ignored. Do primary care physicians avoid conversations about diet and lifestyle with patients with diabetes? Do cardiologists feel it’s not worth telling smokers about cessation strategies? Do dentists scrap conversations about flossing just because patients will only do it some of the time?
These are all concrete, relatable examples that I would use to emphasize the importance of a behavior that eyecare providers admit they too often ignore, despite their own better judgment. I, however, would still use these examples in my writing because they utilize concepts that everyone relates to and can easily understand.
In conclusion
The man with the megaphone is not always the smartest person in the room. He’s just likely more confident. But with a little practice, and a lot of letting go, you too can take the stage.
If you can articulate your thoughts in any format, you can be the author of an awesome optometry article.
