Recently, I received an unusual type of SPAM in my mailbox. I usually treat SPAM with a single application of the DEL key, but this one got my attention.
Subject: writing effective manuscripts
It even had a proper salutation with title and all.
First the writer started by congratulating me with a certain paper I wrote. Apparently, he discovered it in the reference list of a paper he was editing. Then he proposed me to subscribe to a newsletter, to assist [me] in writing and
publishing [my] manuscripts. Very friendly indeed.
Included was a sample of the newsletter with tips and tricks for writing a first draft (see below the fold).
But of course there was a hidden agenda. It was publicity for an editing service. And that explains tip number 6: “write without editing”.
Is it common to have your manuscripts edited by professionals prior to submission? I have never heard about it.
I have heard of this kind of service, which is usually used by labs with no native English speakers who wish to publish in English. Everyone else uses students and postdocs!
I read your post when you first wrote it, but I did not respond immediately becuase I was aware that NPG was about to launch a language-editing service. This has now happened, the relevant info is:
_Researchers whose first language is not English often find it useful to either ask a colleague whose native language is English to review the manuscript before submission to a journal, or to use one of the many services that will, for a fee, edit papers to ensure the English is clear and well written. One such service is Nature Publishing Group Language Editing. _
And from our online services listing,
Nature Publishing Group Language Editingservices.php._
An English language editing service for all researchers preparing papers for publication in English-language journals. Our focus is on improving the clarity and sense of the manuscript, so that the results stand out. Use of the service is at the author’s expense and in no way implies that the article will be selected for peer review or accepted by an NPG journal or any other journal._
As mentioned by Cath, there are quite a few editing services out there, which offer either translations or language editing, which authors can use before they submit a manuscript. NPG publishes quite a few Chinese, Japanese and other Asian countries’ journals (in the English language), so the NPG Language Editing is mainly for that part of the company’s market, but anyone can use it. (Note, it is not a translation service, but a language-editing service.)
I am sure NPGLE would never spam anyone ;-), and I hope our website makes it very clear that this isn’t a route for publication in Nature or NPG journals, but a language editing service that some people might find helpful, if they don’t know any scientists in the field whose native language is English perpared to advise them.
There are some free services and resources for writing manuscripts, of course: we have listed some of these on our author and reviewers’ website.
Incidentally, a different but related subject, there has been a bit of controversy recently over “ghost authorship” by pharma companies, specifically Merck. See first two articles in this list if you are interested in more details.
In our research group (99% Dutch speaking; one Italian), English is the working language during group meetings. We also use English for our meeting reports, seminars and presentations and our website is better developed in English than in Dutch. Nevertheless, we are a Flemish university, and the official language of the univeristy is Dutch (our parents had a big row over this in 1968). But we use English to enhance our writing skills. The problem is that we don’t have a native English speaker among us, and our English is often English with hair on it (literal translations of Dutch sentences and expressions). The same happens in our papers. I am always amazed how a manuscript improves after it has been edited by a native English speaker (I am happy to know a few thanks to my time in Ethiopia – a big shout to Robert O’Carrol and Andy King here) or an editor of a journal (I was quite happy with my letter to the editor of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, but absolutely loved it when it was edited by a language editor). So, if I could budget editing costs into a project, I would not hesitate to use a bona-fide editing service a few times. For now, we have to do it with the tips and tricks listed elsewhere on the network.
That’s very interesting, to read your perspective, Raf. I’ll be writing a post on Nautilus (the NPG author blog) next week or so to note the new service. Would you mind if I reproduced some of your comments in that post?
I don’t know about NPG LE’s rates, I expect they are listed on their website, but I wonder if, in principle, funders would pay for these services, as some will do (say) for page charges or submission fees to open-access journals? It seems to me that, for a funder, it can only be helpful to them as well as to the funded scientist describing his or her research, to have help with the language and presentation.
I agree – funders will gain too: better papers = enhanced visibility. (You may use my comments in your post.)
From my experience in France, mostly my colleagues ask me. :-) Or if they are embarrassed, or feel that my English is now too tainted, they sometimes use these services. More doctors than biologists seem to use them, as well. They do pay for the service with research funds.
Interesting that the French are prepared to even countenance an English-language manuscript, Heather ;-)