Publishing

Edanz Debuts Scientific Writing and Collaboration Tool for Non-Native Speakers

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 08/02/17

The Edanz Group has launched a beta version of a scientific writing and collaboration tool designed specifically for non-native English speakers, Author Path.

Currently available in English and Chinese, the new tool offers guidance in manuscript writing and journal selection, as well as tools for inviting participation from collaborators. The company plans to integrate a submission engine and other tools designed to help users overcome common writing and publishing challenges for researchers. Features of Author Path include:

• Project management;
• Outline development;
• Writing and editing tools;
• Examples specific to individual academic fields; and
• Language editing.

Author Path is an outgrowth of the company's Journal Selector tool, which helps academic writers find appropriate publishers for their work, and its experience providing services to researchers for whom English is not a first language.

"The thinking behind both tools was how could we apply technology to overcome the challenges faced by ESL (English as a second language) authors in publishing their research findings in an environment that favored native English speaking scientists," said Edanz Founder Kerry Greer, in a prepared statement.

Research by the company found that, while native English speakers spend approximately 90-95 hours preparing manuscripts for publishing, non-native speakers spend an average of 200 hours. Greer claims that non-native speakers using a guided writing process can whittle that time down to just 50 hours.

More information is available at author-path.com.