How to get your
papers published in
Nature journals?
如何让您的论文问鼎
<自然>系列期刊?
Rachel Pei Chin Won, PhD
Associate Editor
Nature Photonics
5 March 2008
Rachel PC Won
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 world’s foremost
weekly scientific journal
 For 2006, nature’s
impact factor is 26.681
 A flagship journal of
Nature Publishing Group
(NPG)
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nature
• A weekly print copy
(>65,000)
• An anytime-anywhere
electronic rendition of an
item or of a print copy
(>3 million users of
nature.com per month)
• A gateway to a seamless
flow of relevant and
timely information and
opinion
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NPG’s Biological Sciences Division
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NPG’s Physical Sciences Division
Nature Materials
Launched in 2002
Impact factor 19.194
Nature Nanotechnology
Nature Physics
Launched in Oct 2006
Launched in Oct 2005
Impact factor 12.040
Nature Photonics
Launched in Jan 2007
& Nature Chemistry
will be launched in Jan
2009
Nature Geoscience
Launched in Jan 2008
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Nature Publshing Group’s 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
Nature 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
120,000
Number of Papers in ISI
100,000
United Kingdom
Japan
80,000
60,000
China (includes Hong
Kong)
Korea
Singapore
40,000
20,000
Australia
New Zealand
0
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Number of Papers Submitted
Submissions from China to
14000
12000
nature
12389
10928
10000
8000
2003
6000
2004
4000
2046
2545
2283 2318
2000
693 788
0
USA
UK
Japan
China
Country
2003
2004
USA UK Japan China USA UK Japan China
Accepted
10% 11%
5%
1%
12% 13% 6%
2%
Rejected
49% 46% 46% 31% 50% 47% 42% 35%
RTA - no review 26% 28% 39% 62% 26% 28% 43% 55%
Pre-Sub No
15% 15%
9%
6%
13% 12% 9%
7%
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Myth of Editors’ Bias
• Ever since Nature’s foundation in 1869, Nature’s
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
深思/周道的研究
• Thorough preparation
彻底的准备
• Logical exposition
逻辑的说明
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?
What’s 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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孙子兵法:
知己知彼 百战百胜
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What editors seek
• High degree of novelty or innovation
高度新奇或创新的主题
• Interesting to a broad range of readers
能引起广泛的读者感兴趣
• Significant step forward
值得注意的的进步
• Breakthrough in performance
突破的表现
• High impact in the field
重大的影响
• Important advance in scientific understanding that
provides new directions for research
在科学理论上有显著, 优越的进展为研究提供新的方向
• Data persuasively supports conclusions
可说服性地支持结论的数据
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Editorial Processes
Submission
Editorial
assessment
Revision
requested
Decline
External
peer review
Editorial
decision
Accept
Decline
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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 we’ll tell you within 2–3
working days if it’s 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
• Author’s 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 wideranging 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 electrooptic 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:
What’s 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
A good example:
- Explains paper
is letter format
- Explains and
emphasizes main
important points
of the paper
- Gives a list of
referees
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More tips
• Visit Nature’s 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.Net’s “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 Program’s “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
Rachel PC Won
如何让您的论文问鼎
<自然>系列期刊?
谢谢!
Rachel Pei Chin Won, PhD
Associate Editor
Nature Photonics
Rachel PC Won
Summary in Articles
& introductory paragraph in Letters
•
•
The most-read section of any paper
Key points:
1. One or two broad general statements to orient
the reader, set the stage, and provide context
2. Concise description of results, with mention of
methodology used
3. Major conclusion
4. 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 nanoengineered 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
• Don’t 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
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