SEB Bulletin January 2008
Horizons
Science Editor, Tanita Casci, Nature Reviews Genetics
When Tanita Casci decided to leave the lab and pursue a career in scientific publishing it was, she says, “a sacrifice of depth for breadth”. Tanita had always been interested in genetics ever since her school days and, following her first degree in genetics at the University of Glasgow, had continued on to do a PhD, working on fruit flies in a young and vibrant research group at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge.
“My PhD was a great experience”, says Tanita, “but it didn't really suit my temperament. I enjoy working towards goals rather than perfecting designs for experiments which remain open-ended with no foreseeable end in sight”. In addition, Tanita had found that the further up the academic scale she was progressing the narrower her field of knowledge was becoming to the point where she was finding it hard to keep up with the field as a whole. “I prefer to know a little about a lot rather than a lot about a little”, says Tanita. “Also, I'd really enjoyed writing, making presentations and generally communicating and networking with people in my field during my PhD”.
This personal interest and capability is what inspired Tanita to consider seriously a career in publishing. “Networking and talking to people is the crux of science communication of any kind and publishing is no exception”, says Tanita. “Subject knowledge is key but so is knowledge of those working in the field, which is why a PhD or research experience prior to a career as a science editor is an important pre-requisite for the job.” Tanita was given tests to do at interview for both jobs she applied for following her PhD. She was offered both but chose Nature Reviews Genetics because it most closely matched what she wanted to do. She's been there since 2000 and has been working remotely from her home in Glasgow for the past 5 years. “This is an important aspect to bear in mind for those people who want to work flexibly”, says Tanita. “I was able to transfer my office very easily to a home base - all I need is a computer and access to the web. It's also made starting and bringing up a family easier to manage as I work to deadlines, rather than on a 9 - 5 basis”.
Being a science editor requires many skills and is a powerful and highly responsible position to be in. After 6 months' mentoring and training on the job, editors take responsibility for handling manuscripts, although there is always much consultation and discussion amongst other editors. On a primary title such as Nature 90% of papers are rejected so an efficient filtering system is required before referees are approached with serious contenders. Editors must critically analyse submissions and judge whether the paper shows the authors are really doing what they purport to be doing. “The field of genetics moves very quickly and editors have to assess new and emerging technologies as they are submitted to the journal”, says Tanita. “
On secondary journals such as Nature Reviews Genetics, articles are largely commissioned by the editors, who are then responsible for overseeing the whole process from start (revisions and refinements) to finish (liaising with copy editors, art editors and handling proofs). Everything happens through the web interface these days and processing is all conducted via an on-line tracking system. “With the advancing technology there is the opportunity to publish papers on-line as they are accepted until an issue is complete and then papers are accepted into the next issue”, explains Tanita who will deal with anything up to 50 papers and reviews at a time in all stages of publication.
As well as editing, which takes up about 2/3 of her time, Tanita's job also involves writing and attending conferences to network with researchers in the field of genetics (approx. 6 UK and international conferences per year). There is also a lot of reading involved in the work, scanning tables of contents and articles of journals to identify potential topics for review, which she will then commission by approaching a suitable high-profile researcher in the field. “This is why a background in research is crucial”, says Tanita. “It's as much who you know as what you know in this work as well as understanding the culture of research and how it works”.
If you're interested in a career as a science editor the competition is very tough and many would-be editors start life as a copy editor where similar skills are needed such as attention to detail, knowledge of the subject and critical analysis skills. There is a high turn-over in the industry so if you're in-house as a copy editor you will have acquired many of the necessary skills required for promotion to science editor compared to a complete outsider.
“As with all fields, fast-moving technology is changing the way we do things and a flexible and positive approach will always hold you in good stead”, advises Tanita, “not to mention the usual good humoured approach towards slow and unresponsive authors and the ability to keep re-prioritising and re-planning your workload in order to meet immovable deadlines!”
Science Journals
Nature www.nature.com
Nature Reviews Genetics: www.nature.com/nrg
Wiley Blackwell http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/
Elsevier http://www.elsevier.com/
Oxford University Press www.oup.com
Cambridge University Press www.cup.com
Open Access
Public Library of Science http://www.plos.org/
Wellcome Trust http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/doc_WTD002766.html
BiomedCentral http://www.biomedcentral.com/info/about/charter
Job listings
Nature www.nature.com/jobs
New Scientist www.newscientistjobs.com
Psci-com http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psci-com.html
The Guardian (Monday/Tuesday) www.jobs.guardian.com
Sarah Blackford
Education & Public Affairs