This page picks up where the draft leaves off. Writing happens in the drafting cycle; these are the steps around it.
Submitting a journal paper
- Select the target journal (look at where the papers you cite were published).
- Review the journal’s “Information for Authors” page.
- Draft the paper and clear the pre-send checklist.
- Choose a declarative, short title.
- Write the abstract (Nature summary-paragraph style).
- Send the full draft to reviewers one at a time (repeat 2 to 3 times).
- Send the updated draft to the last author.
- Upload supporting materials to FigShare: create an item for each set of files (data, code, photos, etc.), add the items to a new collection, and reserve a DOI for the collection. Don’t click publish yet, for the items or the collection. List the DOI, along with any associated GitHub repository, in the paper’s data-availability section.
- Draft the cover letter. From the FigShare collection, click “Manage” → “Get private link” and paste the link into the cover-letter draft. Send to the last author for final approval.
- Re-read everything calmly.
- Submit (do this with Christina the first time).
Responding to reviews
Congrats on getting to this step! 🎉 Reaching the review stage is itself an achievement.
- Follow the lab template for review responses. Ask Christina or a senior lab member for the template if this is your first time.
- Copy all review comments into the document.
- Write your responses. This first draft can be honest (and perhaps a tad grumpy).
- Re-write your responses so they don’t come across as excuses or as lecturing the reviewers, even if you think they’re wrong.
Whether the reviewer is right or wrong is usually irrelevant. Approach it as: “if they thought that, someone else might too, so at the very least my wording was unclear and should be amended.”
- Review again to make sure responses are solution-oriented and positive.
- For every comment, make at least some adjustment to the text. For major comments, make two or more changes (even minor rewording).
- Check that your formatting still matches the lab template and that all line numbers and quoted sections are up to date.
- Send to your co-authors one at a time for approval.
Once the paper is published
We strongly support and encourage open science.
When funding is available, Christina will pay the open-access fees, reach out to verify.
All code and data used in the work are expected to be public as soon as the article is published.
Once the final proof is submitted:
- Set the associated GitHub repository to public.
- Set FigShare items and the collection to public.
Once the paper is published online:
- Share the paper on social media (e.g., Bluesky, Instagram, LinkedIn) to broaden its reach.
- Update the lab website following the guide on GitHub, ensuring you include the links to your data and code.
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