What is it that academic publishers actually do?

Author: Susie Winter

Vice President External Communications

As a publisher we enjoy multiple touchpoints with researchers as both authors and peer reviewers throughout their academic careers as well as with institutions, with librarians and with funders.  Our aim is not to be the biggest but to be the most respected academic publisher. 

So we can be proud of what we do, because it makes a difference to science, and that makes a difference to the world. But we haven’t always been particularly vocal about what it is we actually do, and therefore what our authors can expect from us.  Our relationship starts even before an author even submits their manuscripts to us.  

We work with our authors and provide early editorial guidance to help them develop their ideas.  We are able to do this because our editors are subject experts and well-integrated in their communities.  In 2017 our in-house editors undertook over 600 lab visits and travelled to over 1000 conferences and gave over 500 presentations to help them develop and guide their research.  

• We help authors find the right journal for their research and, with nearly half of authors  unsure or wrong about their funders OA requirements, help them navigate the funding options available
• We undertake a rigorous quality assurance processes.  Working with over xxx peer reviewers we ensure that the research which is finally published stands up to the highest level of scrutiny. Our dedicated Research Integrity Group provides advice and guidance in instances of plagiarism and other ethical matters.
• We take the burden off our author by checking data, images rights and permissions.  Since 2005, improvements we have put in place have reduced the average time from acceptance to publication from 40 days to 17 days. 
• We also provide ideas and direction to help them enhance and develop the presentation of their research so that it is readable, discoverable and usable and accessible across our many of platforms which were access by x million people last year.
• This enabled us to publish over 300,000 articles last year, with over 90,000 of these published via gold open access.
• SharedIt, our content sharing tool, covers 2,700 journals and in its first year saw its links viewed 3.2 million times in 245 countries. Links generated by media outlets were accessed more than 850,000 times.
• We engage with over 5000 international journalists to help achieve the best possible coverage for our authors’ works and discoveries.
• Metadata on our content goes to 400 repositories worldwide so that the version of record is maintained and the academic record preserved for present and future researchers.  
• To address training needs we run Nature Masterclasses
• Nature Jobs is a global career resource for scientists and the world’s largest dedicated science jobs board

So, whether an authors’ ‘touchpoint’ with us is pre-submission, during the submission and publication process, or post-publication, we are constantly striving to help researchers make a difference in science.