Guest Speaker: Dr Bart Verberck
Senior Consulting Editor
Nature Physics & Regional Executive Editor
Springer Nature, Germany
Bart Verberck, Senior Consulting Editor, Nature Physics & Regional Executive Editor, Berlin
After 10 years in academia, Bart joined Nature Physics in 2013, where he handled topics including condensed-matter physics and plasma physics. He also launched a column called ‘Measure for Measure’ on aspects of metrology. In 2017, Bart moved to Berlin to become Regional Executive Editor for the newly established Nature Portfolio office in Germany, which he helped develop as an editorial and publishing hub. Since 2021, he combines that capacity with the role of Senior Consulting Editor at Nature Physics, where he covers soft-condensed-matter physics, amorphous materials and glasses.
Abstract
Publishing papers is a key part of scientific research. Writing scientific manuscripts can be challenging, however, not only because of the importance of comprehensively presenting all relevant information in a paper in an accessible way, but also because of the multitude of journals to choose from, each catering for a particular audience.
In this presentation, after briefly introducing Springer Nature and the Nature Portfolio — the brand behind the ‘Nature journals’ — I will provide an in-depth overview of the inner workings of a Nature research journal. I will discuss the editorial process at Nature Physics and compare it with other journals from the Nature Portfolio and beyond. Specifically, I will explain the roles of editors and discuss editorial criteria for publication.
Throughout the presentation, I will give general advice on how to write and submit research papers, including what to keep in mind before submitting, how to best structure a paper, how to make optimal use of figures, tables, supplementary information, etc., and how to write a good cover letter.
Finally, I will also briefly reflect on the ever-evolving role of scientific publishers, and in particular on the on-going transition to fully open-access publishing.
