On Monday, October 13th, we had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Andrea E. A. Stephens, Editor at Trends in Ecology & Evolution (Cell Press), for our ECC seminar titled “Navigating the Publishing Process: A Professional Editor’s View”.
Dr. Stephens shared valuable insights into the editorial process behind scientific publishing, from manuscript submission to peer review and beyond. She emphasized how essential it is to align your manuscript with the journal’s scope and aims, and offered practical advice on how to make your work stand out to editors and reviewers.
An especially inspiring part of the talk was hearing about career paths in scientific publishing. Dr. Stephens is an example of how researchers can transition into editorial roles after completing a PhD or postdoc, combining their scientific background with an interest in communication and research evaluation.
The session concluded with an engaging Q&A, where attendees discussed the challenges and opportunities of academic publishing.
As always, participants enjoyed coffee, snacks, and good conversation before and after the seminar, a perfect combination of learning and networking!
A big thank you to Dr. Stephens for joining us remotely from the UK, and to everyone who attended in person.
— The ECC Team