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Getting published in Nature : For authors and referees : Nature

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GettingPublishedinNature

FORAUTHORS
GETTINGPUBLISHEDINNATURE:THEEDITORIALPROCESS
Thisdocumentprovidesanoutlineoftheeditorialprocessinvolvedinpublishingascientificpaper(ArticleorLetter)
inNature,anddescribeshowmanuscriptsarehandledbyeditorsbetweensubmissionandpublication.

Tableofcontents
Atsubmission
Criteriaforpublication
Whodecideswhichpaperstopublish?
HowtosubmitanArticleorLetter
Aftersubmission
WhathappenstoasubmittedArticleorLetter?
Referees'reports
Competitors
Speed
Whatthedecisionlettermeans
Appeals
Afteracceptance
Formatsandlengthsofpapers
Subeditingofacceptedpapers
Proofsandreprints
Publicationandthemedia
Partsofthisdocumentaresummarizedinadownloadableinformationsheet.
ATSUBMISSION
Criteriaforpublication
Thecriteriaforpublicationofscientificpapers(ArticlesandLetters)inNaturearethatthey:
reportoriginalscientificresearch(themainresultsandconclusionsmustnothavebeenpublishedorsubmitted
elsewhere)
areofoutstandingscientificimportance
reachaconclusionofinteresttoaninterdisciplinaryreadership.
Furthereditorialcriteriamaybeapplicablefordifferentkindsofpapers,asfollows:
largedatasetpapers:shouldaimtoeitherreportafullycomprehensivedataset,definedbycompleteand
extensivevalidation,orprovidesignificanttechnicaladvanceorscientificinsight.
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technicalpapers::papersthatmakesolelytechnicaladvanceswillbeconsideredincaseswherethetechnique
Weusecookiestoimproveyourexperiencewithoursite. Acceptandclose | Moreinfo.
reportedwillhavesignificantimpactsoncommunitiesoffellowresearchers.
therapeuticpapers:intheabsenceofnovelmechanisticinsight,therapeuticpaperswillbeconsideredifthe
therapeuticeffectreportedwillprovidesignificantimpactonanimportantdisease.
ThedifferencebetweenanArticleandaLetterisexplainedinthemanuscriptformattingguide.
ArticlesandLetterspublishedinNaturehaveanexceptionallywideimpact,bothamongscientistsand,frequently,
amongthegeneralpublic.
Whodecideswhichpaperstopublish?
Naturehasspacetopublishonly8%orsoofthe200paperssubmittedeachweek,henceitsselectioncriteriaare
rigorous.Manysubmissionsaredeclinedwithoutbeingsentforreview.
Figuresforrecentyears(originalresearchonly)areshowninthetablebelow:
Year

No.Submissions

No.paperspublished

%published

1997

7,680

825

10.74

1998

7,820

945

12.08

1999

8,058

854

10.60

2000

8,643

951

11.00

2001

8,837

937

10.60

2002

9,356

889

9.50

2003

9,581

859

8.97

2004

9,943

869

8.73

2005

8,943

915

9.77

2006

9,847

842

8.55

2007

10,332

808

7.82

2008

10,339

822

7.95

2009

11,769

803

6.8

2010

10,287

809

7.9

2011

10,047

813

8.09

2012

10,576

858

8.1

2013

10,952

856

7.8

Naturedoesnotemployaneditorialboardofseniorscientists,norisitaffiliatedtoascientificsocietyorinstitution,thus
itsdecisionsareindependent,unbiasedbyscientificornationalprejudicesofparticularindividuals.Decisionsare
quicker,andeditorialcriteriacanbemadeuniformacrossdisciplines.Thejudgementaboutwhichpaperswillinteresta
broadreadershipismadebyNature'seditors,notitsreferees.Onereasonisbecauseeachrefereeseesonlyatiny
fractionofthepaperssubmittedandisdeeplyknowledgeableaboutonefield,whereastheeditors,whoseeallthe
paperssubmitted,canhaveabroaderperspectiveandawidercontextfromwhichtoviewthepaper.
HowtosubmitanArticleorLetter
Authorsshouldusethemanuscriptformattingguidetoensurethatthelevel,lengthandformat(particularlythelayoutof
figuresandtablesandanySupplementaryInformation)conformswithNature'srequirements,atsubmissionandeach
revisionstage.Thiswillreducedelays.Naturepreferssubmissionstobeonline.Althoughoptional,thecoverletteris
anexcellentopportunitytobrieflydiscusstheimportanceofthesubmittedworkandwhyitisappropriateforthejournal.
Pleaseavoidrepeatinginformationthatisalreadypresentintheabstractandintroduction.Thecoverletterisnot
sharedwiththereferees,andshouldbeusedtoprovideconfidentialinformationsuchasconflictsofinterestandto
declareanyrelatedworkthatisinpressorsubmittedelsewhere.

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AllNatureeditorsreporttotheEditorofNature,whosetsNature'spublicationpolicies.AuthorssubmittingtoNaturedo
Weusecookiestoimproveyourexperiencewithoursite. Acceptandclose | Moreinfo.
soontheunderstandingthattheyagreetothesepolicies.
AFTERSUBMISSION
WhathappenstoasubmittedArticleorLetter?
ThefirststageforanewlysubmittedArticleorLetteristhattheeditorialstaffconsiderwhethertosenditforpeer
review.Onsubmission,themanuscriptisassignedtoaneditorcoveringthesubjectarea,whoseeksinformaladvice
fromscientificadvisorsandeditorialcolleagues,andwhomakesthisinitialdecision.Thecriteriaforapapertobesent
forpeerreviewarethattheresultsseemnovel,arresting(illuminating,unexpectedorsurprising),andthatthework
describedhasbothimmediateandfarreachingimplications.Theinitialjudgementisnotareflectiononthetechnical
validityoftheworkdescribed,oronitsimportancetopeopleinthesamefield.
Specialattentionispaidbytheeditorstothereadabilityofsubmittedmaterial.Editorsencourageauthorsinhighly
technicaldisciplinestoprovideaslightlylongersummaryparagraphthatdescriesclearlythebasicbackgroundtothe
workandhowthenewresultshaveaffectedthefield,inawaythatenablesnonspecialistreaderstounderstandwhatis
beingdescribed.Editorsalsostronglyencourageauthorsinappropriatedisciplinestoincludeasimpleschematic
summarizingthemainconclusionofthepaper,whichcanbepublishedwiththepaperasSupplementaryInformation.
Suchfigurescanbeparticularlyhelpfultononspecialistreadersofcell,molecularandstructuralbiologypapers.
Oncethedecisionhasbeenmadetopeerreviewthepaper,thechoiceofrefereesismadebytheeditorwhohasbeen
assignedthemanuscript,whowillbehandlingotherpapersinthesamefield,inconsultationwitheditorshandling
submissionsinrelatedfieldswhennecessary.Mostpapersaresenttotwoorthreereferees,butsomearesenttomore
or,occasionally,justtoone.Refereesarechosenforthefollowingreasons:
independencefromtheauthorsandtheirinstitutions
abilitytoevaluatethetechnicalaspectsofthepaperfullyandfairly
currentlyorrecentlyassessingrelatedsubmissions
availabilitytoassessthemanuscriptwithintherequestedtime.
Referees'reports
Theidealreferee'sreportindicates
whowillbeinterestedinthenewresultsandwhy
anytechnicalfailingsthatneedtobeaddressedbeforetheauthors'caseisestablished.
AlthoughNature'seditorsthemselvesjudgewhetherapaperislikelytointerestreadersoutsideitsownimmediatefield,
refereesoftengivehelpfuladvice,forexampleiftheworkdescribedisnotassignificantastheeditorsthoughtorhas
undersolditssignificance.AlthoughNature'seditorsregarditasessentialthatanytechnicalfailingsnotedbyreferees
areaddressed,theyarenotsostrictlyboundbyrefereeseditorialopinionsastowhethertheworkbelongsinNature.
Competitors
Somepotentialrefereesmaybeengagedincompetingworkthatcouldinfluencetheiropinion.Toavoidsuchconflicts
ofinterest,Naturerequirespotentialrefereestodiscloseanyprofessionalandcommercialcompetinginterestsbefore
undertakingtoreviewapaper,andrequiresrefereesnottocopypapersortocirculatethemtounnamedcolleagues.
AllrefereesagreetoNature'sconditionsbeforeNaturesendsthemamanuscripttoassess.
AlthoughNatureeditorsgotoeveryefforttoensuremanuscriptsareassessedfairly,Natureisnotresponsibleforthe
conductofitsreferees.
Naturewelcomesauthors'suggestionsforsuitableindependentreferees(withtheircontactdetails),buteditorsarefree
todecidethemselveswhotouseasreferees.Natureeditorswillnormallyhonourrequeststhatapapernotbesentto
oneortwo(butnomore)competinggroupsforreview.
Speed
Naturemakesdecisionsaboutsubmittedpapersasrapidlyaspossible.Allmanuscriptsarehandledelectronically
throughouttheconsiderationprocess.Authorsareusuallyinformedwithinaweekifthepaperisnotbeingconsidered.
MostrefereeshonourtheirprioragreementwithNaturetodeliverareportwithinsevendaysorotheragreedtimelimit,
andsendtheirreportsonline.Decisionsbyeditorsareroutinelymadeveryrapidlyafterreceiptofreports,andNature
offersanadvanceonlinepublication(AOP)servicetoanincreasingnumberofmanuscripts.
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Whatthedecisionlettermeans
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AllArticlesandLetterspublishedinNaturegothroughatleastoneroundofreview,usuallytwoorthree,sometimes
more.Ateachstage,theeditorwilldiscussthemanuscriptwitheditorialcolleaguesinthelightofrefereesreports,and
sendalettertotheauthorofferingoneofthefollowingoptions:
Thepaperisacceptedforpublicationwithoutanyfurtherchangesrequiredfromtheauthors.
Thepaperisacceptedforpublicationinprincipleoncetheauthorshavemadesomerevisionsinresponsetothe
refereescomments.Underthesecircumstances,revisedpapersarenotusuallysentbacktothereferees
becausefurthertechnicalworkhasnotbeenrequired,butareacceptedforpublicationoncetheeditorshave
checkedthattherefereessuggestionshavebeenimplementedandthepaperisintherequiredformat(the
manuscriptformattingguideishelpfultothisend).
Afinaldecisiononpublicationisdeferred,pendingtheauthorsresponsetotherefereescomments.Underthese
circumstances,furtherexperimentsortechnicalworkareusuallyrequiredtoaddresssomeorallofthereferees
concerns,andrevisedpapersaresentbacktosomeoralloftherefereesforasecondopinion.Revisedpapers
shouldbeaccompaniedbyapointbypointresponsetoallthecommentsmadebyallthereferees.
Thepaperisrejectedbecausetherefereeshaveraisedconsiderabletechnicalobjectionsand/ortheauthors
claimhasnotbeenadequatelyestablished.Underthesecircumstances,theeditorsletterwillstateexplicitly
whetherornotaresubmittedversionwouldbeconsidered.Iftheeditorhasinvitedtheauthorstoresubmit,
authorsmustensurethatalltherefereestechnicalcommentshavebeensatisfactorilyaddressed(notjustsome
ofthem),unlessspecificallyadvisedotherwisebytheeditorintheletter,andmustaccompanytheresubmitted
versionwithapointbypointresponsetotherefereescomments.Editorswillnotsendresubmittedpaperstothe
reviewersifitseemsthattheauthorshavenotmadeaseriousattempttoaddressalltherefereescriticisms.
Thepaperisrejectedwithnooffertoreconsideraresubmittedversion.Underthesecircumstances,authorsare
stronglyadvisednottoresubmitarevisedversionasitwillbedeclinedwithoutfurtherreview.Iftheauthorsfeel
thattheyhaveastrongscientificcaseforreconsideration(iftherefereeshavemissedthepointofthepaper,for
example)theycanappealthedecisioninwriting.ButinviewofNature'sextremespaceconstraintsandthelarge
numberofpapersunderactiveconsiderationatanyonetime,editorscannotassignahighprioritytoconsideration
ofsuchappeals.Themaingroundsforasuccessfulappealforreconsiderationareiftheauthorcanidentifya
specifictechnicalorotherpointofinterestwhichhadbeenmissedbytherefereesandeditorspreviously.Appeals
writteningeneralorvagueterms,orthatcontainargumentsnotrelevanttothecontentoftheparticular
manuscript,arenotlikelytobesuccessful.Manuscriptscannotbesubmittedelsewherewhileanappealisbeing
considered.
Editorslettersalsocontaindetailedguidanceaboutthepapersformatandstylewhereappropriate(seebelow),which
shouldbereadinconjunctionwiththemanuscriptformattingguidewhenrevisingandresubmitting.
Inreplyingtotherefereescomments,authorsareadvisedtouselanguagethatwouldnotcauseoffencewhentheir
paperisshownagaintothereferees,andtobearinmindthatifapointwasnotcleartotherefereesand/oreditors,itis
unlikelythatitwouldbecleartothenonspecialistreadersofNature.
Appeals
IfNaturedeclinestopublishapaperanddoesnotsuggestresubmission,authorsarestronglyadvisedtosubmittheir
paperforpublicationelsewhere.IfanauthorwishestoappealagainstNature'sdecision,theappealmustbemadein
writing,notbytelephone,andshouldbeconfinedtothescientificcaseforpublication.Natureseditorsareunableto
assignhighprioritytoconsiderationofappeals.
Authorsoftenaskforanewrefereetobeconsulted,particularlyincaseswheretworefereeshavebeenusedandone
isnegative,theotherpositive.Natureisreluctanttoconsultnewrefereesunlessthereisaparticular,relevantareaof
scientificexpertisethatwaslackingintherefereesalreadyused.AuthorsshouldnotethatasNatureisan
interdisciplinaryjournal,refereesforapaperarechosenfordifferentreasons,forexampleatechnicalexpertanda
personwhohasageneraloverviewofafieldmightbothrefereethesamepaper.Arefereemightbeselectedfor
expertiseinonlyonearea,forexampletojudgeifastatisticalanalysisisappropriate,orifaparticulartechniquethatis
essentialtounderpintheconclusionhasbeenundertakenproperly.Thisrefereesopinionmustbesatisfiedforthe
manuscripttobepublished,butasthisrefereemaynotknowaboutthefieldconcerned,anendorsementinisolation
fromtheotherreferee(s)wouldnotconstitutegroundsforpublication.Editorsdecisionsareweightedaccordingtothe
expertiseofthereferees,andnotbyavotingprocedure.
Hence,Naturepreferstostickwiththeoriginalrefereesofaparticularpaperratherthantocallinnewrefereesto
arbitrate,unlessthereissomespecificwayinwhichtherefereecanbeshowntobetechnicallylackingorbiasedin
judgement.

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IfNature'seditorsagreetoreconsiderapaper,theotheroriginalreferee(s)willhavethechancetoseeandcomment
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onthereportoftherefereewhoisthesubjectofthecomplaint.Newrefereescanoftenraisenewsetsofpoints,which
complicatesandlengthenstheconsiderationprocessinsteadofsimplifyingit.
Ifanauthorremainsunsatisfied,heorshecanwritetotheEditor,citingthemanuscriptreferencenumber.Inallthese
cases,itislikelythatsometimewillelapsebeforeNaturecanrespond,andthepapermustnotbesubmittedfor
publicationelsewhereduringthistime.
AFTERACCEPTANCE
Seethisinformationdocumentforafulldescriptionofwhathappensafteracceptanceandbeforepublication.
Formatsandlengthsofpapers
SpaceinNatureisextremelylimited,andsoformatrequirementsmustbestrictlyobserved,asadvisedbytheeditor
handlingthesubmission,anddetailedinthemanuscriptformattingguide.
Subeditingofacceptedpapers
Afterapaperisaccepted,itissubedited(copyedited)toensuremaximumclarityandreach,aprocessthatenhances
thevalueofpapersinvariousways.Nature'ssubeditorsarehappytoadviseauthorsabouttheformatoftheirArticles
andLettersafteracceptanceforpublication.Theirroleisto
editthelanguageformaximumclarityandprecisionforthoseinotherdisciplines.Specialcareisgiventopapers
whoseauthorsnativelanguageisnotEnglish,andspecialattentionisgiventosummaryparagraphs.
ensurethatthepaperisatthelengthspecifiedbythemanuscripteditor(includingnumberoffigures).
ensurethattheterminologyandnotationconformtoNature'shousestyle.
ensurethatthefiguresandtablesareclearandwillfitinthespaceavailable.
Proofsandreprints
Oursubeditorssendauthorstheeditedtextforapprovalbeforeitistypeset.Thisenablesmostqueriestoberesolved
beforeproofstage.Authorssubsequentlyreceiveaproof(PDF)ofthelayout,includingthefigures.Wesuggestthat
authorssendproofstocoauthorsforthemtocheck,butrequestthatchangesamongthecoauthorsarecoordinated
sothatonlyoneauthorcommunicateswithNatureandonlyonesetofcorrectionsissent.Thecorresponding(orother
singledesignated)authorisresponsibleonbehalfofallcoauthorsfortheaccuracyofallcontent,includingspellingof
namesandcurrentaffiliationsofallcoauthors,sopleaseensurethesearecheckedcarefully.
ProofsarecycledbetweenNaturesproductionstaff,ourtypesetterandtheauthorbymeansofanonlineproduction
trackingsystem.Authorsareprovidedwithanencryptedlinktothissystemaftertheirpaperhasbeenaccepted.
Instructionsfororderingreprintsareprovidedafterthepaperisscheduledforpublication.
Publicationandthemedia
Originalresearchpapersareassignedtoanissuetwoweeksbeforepublication,atwhichtimeauthorswillreceiveane
mailnotifyingthemoftheirscheduledpublicationdate.Manypapersarepublishedonlineaheadoftheprintpublication
date:theseauthorswillalsobeinformedbyemailwhentheonlinepublicationdateisconfirmed.Allauthorsare
informedofpublicationdates,whetheraheadoforsimultaneouswith,theprintedissue,onthedaythatNature
schedulesthem.
Aweekbeforethepublicationofanissue,Naturespressofficedistributesapressreleasesummarizingthecontent
andhighlightingpapersofparticularinterest.Journalistsaregiventhenamesofcorrespondingauthors,togetherwith
phoneandfaxnumbersandemailaddresses.OntheFridaybeforepublication,journalistsarealsogivenonline
accesstothefulltextofallpapersduetoappearinthatissue,whetherornotthepaperissummarizedinthepress
release.Theyarepermittedtoshowpaperstoindependentspecialistsoftheirownchoosingafewdaysinadvanceof
publication,againunderembargoconditions,solelyforthepurposeofelicitingcommentsontheworkdescribed.
Authorsshouldtryandbeavailabletoansweranyenquiriesinthedaysleadinguptopublication.Beforepublication,
Nature'spressofficealsoinformsthepublicinformationdepartmentsofallauthorsinstitutionstoallowthemtoprepare
theirownpublicity.AuthorsandtheirinstitutionsareadvisedtocoordinateanyoftheirownpublicitywithNature'spress
office,inthefirstinstancebyemailaftertheirpaperisacceptedforpublication.
Thecontentofthepressreleaseandmaterialdescribedthereinisembargoeduntil1800Londontime/1300USEastern
Timeonthedaybeforepublicationandinallcases,authorsarerequiredtocomplywithNature'sprepublicityand
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embargopolicies.
Weusecookiestoimproveyourexperiencewithoursite. Acceptandclose | Moreinfo.

Nature

ISSN00280836

EISSN14764687

2016MacmillanPublishersLimited,partofSpringerNature.Allrightsreserved.
partnerofAGORA,HINARI,OARE,INASP,ORCID,CrossRef,COUNTERandCOPE

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