How to get your papers published in Nature journals? ?????????<??>?????

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How to get your papers published in Nature
journals??????????lt??gt?????
Rachel Pei Chin Won, PhD Associate
Editor Nature Photonics 5 March 2008
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Overview

• ? nature and Nature research journals
• How to get published
• - Manuscript preparation
• - Manuscript submission
• Summary

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nature Nature research Journals
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nature

• nature was launched on 4 Nov 1869
• The worlds foremost weekly scientific journal
• For 2006, natures impact factor is 26.681
• A flagship journal of Nature Publishing Group
  (NPG)

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nature

• A weekly print copy (gt65,000)
• An anytime-anywhere electronic rendition of an
  item or of a print copy (gt3 million users of
  nature.com per month)
• A gateway to a seamless flow of relevant and
  timely information and opinion

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NPGs Biological Sciences Division
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NPGs Physical Sciences Division
Nature Nanotechnology Launched in Oct 2006
Nature Materials Launched in 2002 Impact factor
19.194
Nature Physics Launched in Oct 2005 Impact factor
12.040
Nature Chemistry will be launched in Jan 2009
Nature Photonics Launched in Jan 2007
Nature Geoscience Launched in Jan 2008
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Nature Publshing Groups Publications
Nature Research Journals Nature
Biotechnology Nature Cell Biology Nature Chemical
Biology Nature Genetics Nature Geoscience (Jan
2008) Nature Immunology Nature Materials Nature
Medicine Nature Methods Nature Nanotechnology Natu
re Neuroscience Nature Photonics (Jan
2007) Nature Physics Nature Protocol Nature
Structural and Molecular Biology Nature
Chemistry (Jan 2009)
Nature Review Journals Nature Reviews
Cancer Nature Reviews Drug Discovery Nature
Reviews Genetics Nature Reviews Immunology Nature
Reviews Microbiology Nature Reviews Molecular
Cell Biol. Nature Reviews Neuroscience Nature
Clinical Practice 8 titles Academic
Journals Around 40 titles The ISME Journal
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What makes Nature titles distinct?

• Highly selective
• Focus is on quality rather than volume
• High impact
• Full-time professional editorial staff
• No external editorial board or affiliations
• Editorially independent of each other
• Share general policies but not submissions
• Pass on manuscripts only at request of authors

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Publications from China
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Submissions from China to nature
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Myth of Editors Bias

• Ever since Natures foundation in 1869, Natures
  editors and editors of all Nature journals have
  been 100 responsible for selection of papers
  no editorial boards.
• Editors read and assess papers in a way that is
  independent of country of origin.
• Editors are of many nationalities, including
  Asian.
• Editors visit many countries, including China.
• There is no bias against countries by the editors
  of Nature or Nature journals.

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How to get published in Nature journals?
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Steps to a great paper

• Thoughtful research
• ??/?????
• Thorough preparation
• ?????
• Logical exposition
• ?????

• Plan your papers
• When you plan your research
• Again before you start writing the draft

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Before writing a paper

• Why does the topic interest YOU?
• What are the key findings of your work?
• What was thought/known/done before this work?
• Whats the main message for your readers?
• Re-evaluate the original data, not only the for
  publication figures
• How does new data change thinking, or support
  current approach, or open new avenues or research?

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What editors seek

• High degree of novelty or innovation
• ??????????
• Interesting to a broad range of readers
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• Significant step forward
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• Breakthrough in performance
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• High impact in the field
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• Important advance in scientific understanding
  that provides new directions for research
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• Data persuasively supports conclusions
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Editorial Processes
Editorial assessment
Submission
Decline
Revision requested
External peer review
Editorial decision
Decline
Accept
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Results

• Several possibilities
• Accept, with or without editorial revisions
• Invite the authors to revise their manuscript
  to address
• specific concerns
• Reject, but indicate to the authors that
  further work might
• justify a resubmission
• Reject outright, typically on grounds of
  specialist interest,
• lack of novelty, insufficient conceptual
  advance or
• technical/interpretational problems

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How to make an appeal?

• Write (not phone) to us and explain why you
  believe we (referees and editors) have overlooked
  or misunderstood something
• Revised manuscripts normally go back to the same
  referees need a strong case to replace a referee
  as they normally come back with new set of points
• The paper must not be submitted for publication
  elsewhere during this time
• It is likely that some time will elapse before we
  can respond

www.nature.com/naturephotonics
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Manuscript preparation
How to get your point across HINT Write for
both the beginner and the expert
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Which journal?

• Nature is for broadest or deepest impact
• Research journals overlap
• Depends on the editorial scope of the journal
  and your target audience

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Presubmission enquiry

• Ask us!
• All Nature journals have a presubmission enquiry
  procedure on the submissions page
• It is not compulsory
• Simply send in a fully referenced summary with a
  cover letter and well tell you within 23
  working days if its suitable
• Editors cannot make an absolute commitment to
  have a contribution refereed before seeing the
  entire paper

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Manuscript Transfer System

• All Nature journals including Nature are
  editorially independent
• A rejection from one does not mean a rejection
  from the others
• Manuscripts rejected from one journal can be
  automatically transferred to any of the others
• Eliminates need for author to re-input a
  manuscript
• Authors choice if they wish to do full transfer
  or just partial transfer
• Transfer link can be found at the end of the
  rejection letter

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Types of submission

• Letter
• usual format for research findings, up to 1500w
• Article
• more detailed study, around 2000 3000w
• Review article
• overviews of an up and coming topic, 4000
  5000w
• Commentaries
• opinion articles on topics that are considered
  of wide-ranging appeal and timely
• News Views
• short articles explaining the significance of a
  recent piece of research (not your own)

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General format for Letters and Articles

• Double-spaced
• Normal A4 paper, single column in word or Latex
  format
• English as in Oxford English dictionary
• Title, text, methods, references, end notes
  (Supplementary Information, Acknowledgements,
  author contributions (optional)), tables and
  figure legends

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Title

• Clear and attractive
• Not too general or vague
• Not too long, less than 90 characters for Letters
  less than 75 characters for Articles (incl.
  spaces)
• Does not normally include numbers, acronyms,
  abbreviations or punctuation
• Instead of
• Record electro-optic coefficient of 170 pm/V
  and V? of 1V at 1.55 µm in hybrid crosslinkable
  polymer/sol-gel waveguide modulators,
• why not
• Hybrid polymer/sol-gel waveguide modulators
  with exceptionally large electro-optic
  coefficient?

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Articles

• Original reports with substantial advance in
  understanding of an important problem and have
  immediate, far-reaching implications
• Do not normally exceed 5 pages
• Summary of up to 150 words
• Introduction of about 500 words
• 2 Headings Results and Discussions
• ? 6 subheadings in Results
• Main Text of typically 3000 words (excl. summary,
  incl. Introduction)
• 5-6 displays (figures or tables)
• Up to 50 References

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Summary ? 150 words
Heading 1 Results
Introduction ? 500 words

• 6 Subheadings

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Articles

• Summary
• 150 words
• equivalent to Abstract in many journals
• separate from main text
• no references, numbers, abbreviations, acronyms
  or measurements
• aimed at readers outside the discipline
• 2-3 sentences of basic-level introduction
• a brief account of the background and motivation
  of the work
• a statement of main conclusions (introduced by
  Here we show)
• 2-3 sentences putting the main findings into
  general context

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Letters

• Short reports of original research focused on an
  outstanding finding that will be of interest to
  scientists in other fields
• Do not normally exceed 4 pages
• No summary or introduction sections
• Introductory paragraph of about 200 words
• Main text of not more than 1500 words (excl.
  introductory paragraph)
• No subheadings
• Discussion does not repeat previous introductory
  paragraph, briefly conveys the general relevance
  of the work
• 3-4 displays (figures and tables)
• No more than 30 references

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No summary!!!
Introductory Paragraph ? 200 words
No heading!!!
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Letters

• Introductory Paragraph
• ideally of about 200 words, definitely not more
  than 300 words
• aimed at readers in other disciplines
• with references
• 2-3 sentences on basic introduction to the field
• one-sentence statement of the main conclusions
  starting with 'Here we show' or equivalent
  phrase
• 2-3 sentences putting the main findings into
  general context
• note that main text will continue to describe the
  findings of the paper

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Main text

• Materials
• Methods
• Principles
• Mechanisms
• Results with displays
• Discussion

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Discussion

• Comparison to previous work
• Theoretical or practical implications
• Conclusion regarding the significance of the work
• Limitations
• Future work

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Write with the readers in mind!

• Focus on a single main question
• Plan the content and organization with an outline
  especially the flow of reasoning
• Use simple, direct and concise wording
• Check that all parts are connected with
  persuasive reasoning, appropriate structure,
  linkage and context
• Express appropriate level of confidence
• impossible implausible unlikely
• plausible possible probable likely
  
• certain

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Paper writing tips

• Write in active voice for example, We
  demonstrate rather than It is demonstrated
• State the present work in present tense
• State already published work in past tense
• Do not extend your conclusions beyond those that
  are directly supported by your results
• Give potential impact and future work

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Paper writing tips

• Make sure that you reference relevant previous
  literature
• Be concise format for letters is 1500 words for
  the main text put lengthy method and simulation
  details in separate sections at the end of the
  paper if you need more space
• Clearly put your work into context, explain the
  importance of your findings in relationship to
  previous papers
• Refer briefly to your results to support your
  discussion statements

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Methods

• If brief (less than 200 words in total), include
  them in the text at an appropriate place
• Cite a reference to methods published before to
  save space with the new addition or variation
  briefly stated
• Can also create a new section called Methods ?
  1000 words, not counted as main text
• Figures in Methods should be submitted as
  Supplementary Information

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Supplementary information

• Supplementary information is encouraged
• Peer-reviewed
• Online access only, not in print
• Material directly relevant to the conclusion of a
  paper that cannot be included in the printed
  version for reasons of space or medium, e.g.
  movie clips or sound files
• Not subedited authors should ensure that it is
  clearly presented

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Manuscript Submission
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Cover Letter

• A letter that you submit together with your
  manuscript but in a separate file only to the
  editors
• Authors are encouraged to write cover letter

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Cover Letter

• Restate main message and significance of paper
• Explain in clear and simple terms why the
  findings are important and what is their
  potential impact e.g. first time, big leap in
  performance, will help enable applications
  in, new level of understanding
• Include a separate summary for non-specialist
  audience
• List the details of the submission
• - submission type
• - number of words and figures
• - any supplementary information and supporting
  manuscripts

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Cover Letter

• Can suggest referees and include their areas of
  expertise
• Can suggest exclusion list who should NOT be
  approached to review the MS because of conflicts
  of interest
• Statements that experiments done comply with
  animal care and human subject laws
• Statement that manuscript is not simultaneously
  being considered at another journal
• Include your contact information (email, phone,
  address)

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Cover Letter
How not to write a cover letter

• Whats wrong ?
• - Too brief
• No explanation as to why paper is important
• No suggested list of qualified referees or
  exclusions
• No details of format, length

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Cover Letter

• Explains paper is letter format
• Explains and emphasizes main important points of
  the paper
• Gives a list of referees

A good example
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More tips

• Visit Natures manuscript formatting guide
  www.nature.com/nature/authors/gta/
• Visit Nature journals websites
• www.nature.com/siteindex/
• Read published papers
• Always run the spelling checker no excuse
• Find someone you trust who is a native speaker to
  check your paper

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Summary

• Plan your paper when you plan your research
• Consider the reader/listener
• Organize your material well
• - focus sharply
• - outline
• - provide appropriate structure, linkage and
  context
• Carefully choose the journal and follow the
  guidelines
• Seek and value feedback and criticism

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Helpful websites

• SciDev.Nets How do I?
• www.scidev.net/ms/howdoi/
• Inter-Biotec gives free online writing course to
  help biomedical scientists
• www.inter-biotec.com
• Human Frontier Programs Websites and searching
  for collaborations
• www.hfsp.org/pubs/HFSP_articles/websites-scol.php
  
• Element of Style by William J. Strunk is free
  online www.bartleby.com/141/
• Nature has one-page downloadable information
  sheet on summary paragraph and many more
• www.nature.com/authors/author_services/how_write.
  html

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?????????lt??gt???????!
Rachel Pei Chin Won, PhD Associate
Editor Nature Photonics
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Summary in Articles introductory paragraph in
Letters

• The most-read section of any paper
• Key points
• One or two broad general statements to orient the
  reader, set the stage, and provide context
• Concise description of results, with mention of
  methodology used
• Major conclusion
• How this advances the field - why this is
  significant for readers

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Summary in Articles or introductory paragraph in
Letters

• How to confuse your readers?
• Mix already published conclusions with claims
  made in this paper
• Overinterpret overspeculate
• Misrepresent the data or conclusions
• End with a throw-away line
• effect on butterfly wings are discussed.
• when it is better with
• The iridescent scales of the Morpho butterfly
  give a different optical response to different
  individual vapours, and that this optical
  response dramatically outperforms that of
  existing nano-engineered photonic sensors.

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Paper writing tips

• All variables should be defined
• Avoid ambiguous use of pronouns this, that,
  these,
• Avoid jargons and the excessive use of
  abbreviations and acronyms
• Dont make claims that you are not sure, avoid
  hype and speculation
• Never say for various reasons

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References

• Are numbered sequentially
• Reference numbers are superscript
• Use et al. if more than five authors
• Cite only published or submitted articles
• Titles are required
• References to websites should give authors if
  known, title of cited page, URL in full and year
  of posting in parentheses

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Figures

• Figures tell the story
• Order is absolutely critical
• Strive for data-rich presentation
• Show as much raw data as possible. If n
  experiments done for each data point, then show
  all points, rather than the average and standard
  deviation

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More on figures

• Label clearly
• Figures must accurately reflect data as gathered
• Choose carefully
• Main text for main data
• Figures in Supplementary Information appear
  online only
• No data not shown. Either put data in the
  Supplementary Information section, or remove
  reference to it altogether