Write for CURE

For Readers

CURE accepts personal experience essays from readers. Please limit your essay to 700 words, and e-mail as a Word attachment to editor@curetoday.com. You will be contacted if your essay is chosen for publication.

For Physicians

If you are interested in contributing to CURE, please e-mail Melissa Weber at mweber@curetoday.com

For Professional Freelance Writers

Dear Writer,

Thank you for your interest in writing for CURE. I am excited by this unique venture, which brings to those with cancer and their caregivers the latest cancer updates, research and education.

Cancer is a complex disease both scientifically and personally. Our approach will be to provide scientifically based information for the lay reader. This requires some special care be taken on the part of our writers in accuracy and tone. Our audience is struggling with a devastating disease that includes myriad drugs and prognoses. We want to provide them information and hope while being careful not to make medical claims that may make their own journey more difficult. Our mission requires asking for some assurances that we hope you will find acceptable.

We also want all our information to include the human voice of patients. Therefore, please approach all writing as featurized. We use quotes and the voices of not only physicians, but also real people. Accuracy is critical. We ask that you find survivors to interview and incorporate their comments where appropriate. Please do not use patients who have been interviewed for prior publication or those showcased by pharmaceutical companies. People with cancer want to read about other people with cancer.

We accept queries, but no unsolicited manuscripts. Please give enough detail in queries that we are confident you have resources for the science behind every story. Send all queries to me at mweber@curetoday.com. Do not fax queries. You must agree to the terms stated here and in the writer's guidelines, listed below, before accepting an assignment from us.

All writers MUST have medical writing, preferably cancer-related, and interviewing experience. DO NOT send us your materials if this does not describe your experience. Pay is $1/word with a 50% kill fee. Payment is on acceptance and all work for CURE must be original, and you must be willing to sell CURE all rights. If you agree to our terms and would like to write for CURE, please mail or e-mail your resume and three or four relevant clips to:

Melissa Weber
3102 Oak Lawn Ave, Suite 610
Dallas, Texas 75219
mweber@curetoday.com

I will be glad to work with you on the stories as we work toward the goal of making cancer more understandable for those facing the journey.

Thank you,
Melissa Weber
Editorial Director & Managing Editor

Writer's Guidelines

1. Queries should be no longer than one page and give the hook of the story, background on what makes it cancer news, and recommendations for interviews.

2. Writers should have working knowledge of cancer, its treatments and processes.

3. Writers will be expected to interview physicians, who may make statements that, in context, are confusing or present information inaccurately. To be very accurate, we suggest the following when gathering information from physicians.

   • It is expected that you will send the completed story to the physicians interviewed to confirm accuracy, content and for factual changes and story approval. It is also expected that you will have all patients interviewed review the portion(s) of the article that pertains to them and sign an interview release form to be provided by the publisher.

   • It is expected that you will footnote all medical, statistical or other material in the document to a bibliography at the end of the article. Do not rely on medical data given to you by a doctor. You must verify all statistics, trial data, etc. given to you with a documented source.

4. Writers should be careful to balance any claims of drug or treatment efficacy by citing studies and conflicting research, if any.

5. Please identify all physicians and their affiliate institution fully.

6. We use a modified AP style. Please use present tense for attribution.

7. Please find patients who have not been interviewed before.