1. Publishing in Nature: a climate science perspective
Michael White
Senior Editor
Nature

2. Today’s talk Nature and Nature Publishing Group
Nature’s publication procedures

3. Nature’s first issue
Nature was launched in 1869

4. Acta Pharmacologica Sinica
Kidney International
Nature Reviews Cancer
The American Journal of Gastroenterology
Laboratory Investigation
Nature Reviews Cardiology
American Journal Of Hypertension
Leukemia
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology
Asian Journal of Andrology
Lipidomics Gateway
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
Bioentrepeneur
Milestones Cancer
Nature Reviews Endocrinology
Bone Marrow Transplantation
Milestones DNA Technologies
Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology
British Dental Journal
Milestones Gene Expression
British Journal of Cancer
Milestones in Cytoskeleton
Nature Reviews Genetics
Cancer Gene Therapy
Milestones in Spin
Nature Reviews Immunology
Cell Death and Differentiation
Modern Pathology
Nature Reviews Microbiology
Cell Migration Gateway
Molecular Psychiatry
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology
Cell Research
Molecular Systems Biology
Nature Reviews Nephrology
Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Molecular Therapy
Nature Reviews Neurology
The EMBO Journal
Mucosal Immunology
Nature Reviews Neuroscience
EMBO reports
Nature
Nature Reviews Rheumatology
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Nature Biotechnology
Nature Reviews Urology
European Journal of Human Genetics
Nature Cell Biology
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
Evidence-Based Dentistry
Nature Chemical Biology
NatureJobs
Eye
Nature Chemistry
NCI-Nature Pathway Interaction Database
Functional Glycomics Gateway
Nature Climate Change
Neuropsychopharmacology
Gene Therapy
Nature Communications
Obesity
Genes and Immunity
Nature Digest
Omics Gateway
GI Motility online
Nature Genetics
Oncogene
Heredity
Nature Geoscience
The Pharmacogenomics Journal
Hypertension Research
Nature Immunology
Polymer Journal
Immunology and Cell Biology
Nature Materials
Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases
International Journal of Impotence Research
Nature Medicine
Protein Model Portal
International Journal of Obesity
Nature Methods
RNAi Gateway
The ISME Journal
Nature Methods Application Notes
SciBX: Science-Busine eXchange
JID Symposium Proceedings
Nature Nanotechnology
Scientific American
The Journal of Antibiotics
Nature Neuroscience
Scientific American Mind
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism
Nature News
Signaling Gateway
Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology
Nature Photonics
Spinal Cord
Nature Physics
Vital
Journal of Human Genetics
Nature Protocols
Journal of Human Hypertension
Nature Reports Avian Flu
Journal of Investigative Dermatology
Nature Reports Climate Change
Journal of Perinatology
Nature Reports Stem Cells

5. Nature sections THE FRONT HALF
News and Features [Tim Appenzeller] News and Views [Sadaf Shadan]
THE MIDDLE HALF
Comment [Sara Abdulla]
Books and Arts [Jo Baker]
THE BACK HALF
Primary research papers

6. 25 September 2008 front and back cover

7. Nature staff
80 editorial staff: including Editor-in-Chief, 2 Chief Editors, 26 Associate & Senior Editors + editorial assistants and other staff 110 editorial pages per week 10,000+ submissions per year; 800 papers published Editorial staff in London, DC, Boston, San Francisco, Tokyo + Sydney, Delhi, San Diego, Munich, Paris

8. Nature editorial structure
Editor-in-Chief
Philip Campbell
Chief Biology Editor
Ritu Dhand
Chief Physical Sciences
Editor Karl Ziemelis
15 Associate &
Senior Editors
11 Associate &
Senior Editors

9. Nature editors Interface between the journal and the community
Full-time professional editors able to focus 100% on science
Highly-qualified scientists with PhD and postdoc, industry or academia experience

10. How did I get here? BA University of Virginia
Two years working as a cook
MS and PhD University of Montana
Tenured faculty at Utah State University

11. The main office

16. The wee office

17. Editor’s responsibilities
Selection of primary research
manuscripts for publication
Commissioning Reviews
Attending meetings and visiting labs
Consulting with other Nature sections
Writing when time permits

18. Publication process The process should not be a mystery
Editor does something (maybe)
Paper submission
Rejection letter
The process should not be a mystery
… and it is not a conspiracy!

19. Key steps Cover letter Editor assignment and selection Peer review
Decisions after review
Appeals

21. The cover letter Why should Nature publish your study?
Suggest and exclude referees
Identify related manuscripts
Alert us to potential competition

22. Editor assignment and manuscript selection
Manuscripts are allocated daily
Authors do not chose the editor
No editorial board
Editorial criteria are uniform
within and across disciplines

23. Editorial criteria
New and significant insight

24. ?

25. What do Nature editors look for?
Scientific significance
Data compellingly supports conclusions
Novelty
Broadly interesting for the journal's readership
Significant step forward
Impact in the field
Provides new directions for research

26. Discoveries

27. Fundamental revisions to our framework of understanding

28. Resolution of a controversy

29. Startling findings with immediate relevance

30. Important quantifications

31. Novel mechanistic insight

32. Peer review 2-5 reviewers per manuscript Criteria Independence
Expertise
Broad knowledge
Efficiency
Fair and constructive
Availability
Up to two exclusions are honored

33. Referee assessment Technical assessment of robustness
General quality of the data, model, analysis
Standards in the field
Support for conclusions
Controls
Subjective assessment
Extent of conceptual advance
Impact on the field

34. Decisions after review
Peer review is not a vote
Reviewers sometimes disagree
with each other
Editors often overrule reviewers
on non-technical grounds
Editors, not the reviewers, decide ultimately what is published in Nature

35. Decisions
A politician says yes if he means maybe, maybe if he means no, and if he says no he's not a politician. An editor says no if he means maybe, maybe if he means yes, and if he says yes he's not an editor!
(Tesfa G. Gebremeddhin and Luther G. Tweeten, Research Methods and Communication in the Social Sciences)

36. Decision letter Rejection, suggesting publication elsewhere
Rejection with an ‘open door’… we may reconsider after more work has been done
Defer decision until the authors have had a chance to respond to the reviewers’ comments
Accept in principle

37. Revisions When we ask you to revise, we really mean it…
Most papers go through two rounds of review (often more)
Essentially all revisions are seen again by the reviewers

38. Appeals As of 13 December 2011: Declined to consider 87
Agreed to consider 25
Published 6 (~5% success rate)

39. Transferring manuscripts
Manuscripts can be easily transferred
Journals are editorially independent
Editors can recommend transfers but cannot promise consideration
Manuscripts are passed on
at request of authors

40. Hierarchy of added value
Nature
Nature Research journals
Nature Communications
Scientific Reports
Nature and the Nature Research journals
offer the highest selectivity and editing added
value
Selectivity for
impact
Copyediting
standards
Nature Communication applies the same
selectivity for validity and quality but slightly
lower researcher impact
Reduced level of copyediting
ADDED VALUE DOES NOT EQUATE QUALITY OF THE SCIENCE REPORTED.
Do all the journals published by NPG provide the same level of added value?
What is the hierarchy of publishing added value to the community provided by Scientific Reports, Nature Communications, a Nature disciplinary research journal (Nature Physics and Nature Cell Biology will be considered here) and Nature?
The differences in added-value between journals rests exclusively on the selectivity for impact and the degree of expressed care and attention we give to the referees’ comments and the substance of the paper. Nature and the Nature research journals offer the highest level of selectivity and text-editing added value, but other elements of added value generally apply equally across the portfolio of journals.
Nature Communications aims for the same level of selectivity for validity and quality as the other Nature journals but selects for slightly lower researcher impact and scientific significance than other Nature journals—focusing on important advances of significance to specialists within each field. It differs from other Nature journals in that editors occasionally seek advice from members of an Editorial Advisory Panel in deciding whether to review manuscripts. The level of copy-editing for technical and community standards is also reduced compared with the other Nature journals.
Scientific Reports deliberately applies minimal standards of significance and long-term impact, focusing on papers that are technically sound and likely to be of specialist interest. In contrast to all Nature journals, Scientific Reports does not have an in-house editorial team. Instead, an Editorial Advisory Panel of Scientific Reports works with the publishing team to recruit the Editorial Board. The Editorial Advisory Panel will provide editorial advice to the journal as and when needed, and comprises experts from all major fields within the biological, chemical, physical and earth sciences to ensure representation across all fields. The breadth and depth of their collective expertise will ensure Scientific Reports reacts to the varying needs of these research communities.
Current statistics (2011- early 2012)
Nature and the Nature Research journals
New submissions
Nature:~185 ms/week(~10,000/year) – but cross disciplinary
Nature Research:~29/week (~1,500/year)
Proportion of manuscripts undergoing peer review ~ 12– 20%
Overall acceptance rate ~ 8%
Nat Comms (mid 2012)
Submissions; ~100 ms/week – growing
Proportion of ms undergoing peer review ~30%
Proportion of manuscripts published ~13%
Sci Rep (mid 2012)
Submissions: ~50 ms/week - growing
Proportion of ms undergoing peer review: ~90%
Proportion of manuscripts published: ~55-60%
Publication speed: from submission to publication: 99 days
Proportion of manuscript published ~13%
Scientific Reports deliberately applies
minimal standards of significance and
long-term impact
(papers judged on technical merit)
External editorial team
No copyediting – fast publication 40

41. Nature Geoscience vs. Nature Climate Change Nature Climate Change
Modern and future climate
Paleoclimate if direct implications for modern climate
Sociological, economic, political aspects
Nature Geoscience
Modern and future climate
Paleoclimate

42. Thank you!
feedback or questions always welcome