For Authors
Early‑career and senior researchers preparing submissions
- Manuscript structure & clarity reviews
- Journal selection & submission strategy
- Ethics & authorship guidance
- Response‑to‑reviewers coaching
A hub for ethical, impactful academic publishing
PubliMentor helps authors, editors, publishers and research institutions navigate peer review, research integrity, and the publishing lifecycle — grounded in COPE best practices.
- COPE‑aligned guidance
- Author • Editor • Publisher • Institution
- Courses, webinars & AI tools
Founded by Simona Fiorani, PhD
Launching Editor in Chief at iScience (Cell Press)Team leader at Nature Communications (SpringerNature)Senior editor at Nature Cell Biology (SpringerNature)
In brief
- Manuscript readiness for journal fit and a stronger shot at peer review
- Grant writing coaching for clear, persuasive applications
- Journal launch and strategy, from feasibility to indexation
- Scientific writing and publishing coaching, from first draft to submission
- Leadership training for new and aspiring group leaders
Services
Tailored support across the publishing ecosystem. Choose what you need, from one-off consultations to sustained partnerships.
Book a consultWho we help
For Editors
New editors building effective, diverse boards
- Role onboarding & best practices
- Selecting & stewarding editorial boards
- Decision quality & appeals handling
- Metrics that matter beyond IF
For Publishers
Journal teams facing complex ethics questions
- COPE‑aligned policy design
- Misconduct case assessment & pathways
- Corrections, retractions & expressions of concern
- Editorial governance & transparency
For Institutions
Universities, institutes and societies starting or growing a journal
- Feasibility & market research
- Scope shaping & editorial board selection
- Launch policies & infrastructure
- A credible path toward indexation
What we do
Training
Instructor-led courses and webinars for researchers, clinicians and publishing professionals
- Persuasive grant writing (US and EU focus)
- Scientific writing & publishing
- Webinars on grant writing and AI in publishing
- In-house, live online or spread over several weeks
Journal Launch & Growth
For institutions turning scientific strength into internationally competitive journals
- Feasibility & market research
- Scope shaping & editorial board selection
- Content and outreach strategy
- A path toward indexation, and audits of existing journals
PubliMentor App
Software that supports the editorial workflow, from submission to decision
- Finding suitable, independent reviewers
- Conflict-of-interest checks before invitation
- Tracking manuscripts through each editorial stage
- Formatting & ethics preflight (coming soon)
Journal Launch & Growth
We help research institutions turn scientific strength into internationally competitive journals.
Many institutional journals start with excellent science and then stall: too few strong submissions, an unclear scope, a board that exists on paper, policies that indexers will not accept.
We have built a journal from the first issue. Simona Fiorani was launching Editor in Chief of iScience. She was also a team leader at Nature Communications and a senior editor at Nature Cell Biology.
Book a journal consultFour phases
Feasibility & market research
Should this journal exist, and who will read, cite and submit to it?
- Map of competing journals: scope, model and indexation status
- Evidence of author demand from your own and peer institutions
- A go / no-go report with the costs of running the journal
Scope shaping
Where can your institution’s strength own a gap in the field?
- Aims and scope, article types and audience
- Positioning against the nearest competitors
- Business model options: diamond open access or APC-funded
Editorial board selection
Who gives the journal international credibility from day one?
- Board structure, roles and terms of reference
- Candidates balanced by region, career stage and gender
- Invitation materials and onboarding for new editors
Strategy toward indexation
How do you build the content, reach and record that indexers look for?
- COPE-aligned editorial and ethics policies, peer-review workflow
- Content plan: commissioned reviews, special issues, launch papers
- Outreach to authors, reviewers and readers
- A milestone map to each index, then the application dossier
Also
Journal Health Audit
Already running a journal?
A fixed-scope review of an existing journal: submissions and turnaround, board activity, policies, website and metadata, measured against indexation criteria. You get a ranked action plan, whether the journal is new or was turned down by an index.
Indexation criteria we prepare for
Inclusion is always the indexer’s decision
- DOAJ
- Scopus
- Web of Science
- PubMed Central
- MEDLINE
We make the journal ready and build a record that stands up to review. We never sell guaranteed indexation.
Each phase can be bought on its own. Start with feasibility and decide after the report.
Training
Instructor-led courses and short webinars for researchers, clinicians, and publishing professionals.
Enquire about trainingCourses
Persuasive writing in grant writing (US focus)
Click for details
A highly interactive, workshop-style course on NIH grant applications, aimed at US-based researchers. It is organised in six modules and can be delivered flexibly, either as a three-day intensive or spread over several weeks. Exercises take place in small breakout groups, so participants have more time to discuss their work and get to know colleagues from other parts of the institution. The facilitators then lead a plenary discussion with the whole group. A 30-minute one-to-one session with personalised feedback on the participant's own abstract can be arranged on request.
Persuasive writing in grant writing (EU focus)
Click for details
A highly interactive, workshop-style course on grant applications for researchers based in the UK and Europe. The examples and exercises draw on ERC, Horizon Europe (including MSCA fellowships), UKRI, Wellcome and NIHR applications. The course is organised in six modules and can be delivered flexibly, either as a three-day intensive or spread over several weeks. Exercises take place in small breakout groups, so participants have more time to discuss their work and get to know colleagues from other parts of the institution. The facilitators then lead a plenary discussion with the whole group. A 30-minute one-to-one session with personalised feedback on the participant's own abstract can be arranged on request.
Scientific writing and Publishing
Details on requestLeadership training
Webinars
Webinar: Grant writing for clinicians
Webinar: AI in Scientific Publishing
Webinar: Persuasive writing in grant writing
Sample slides
Testimonials
“PubliMentor delivered an outstanding grant writing workshop for Moffitt research faculty. The workshop combined practical instruction with hands-on practice, making it easy to apply the concepts immediately. The strategies and feedback were highly relevant to real-world grant writing and left Moffitt faculty feeling more confident and better prepared to develop competitive grant proposals.”
“Working with PubliMentor has been a gamechanger for my grant writing. Simona's and Ann's personalized mentorship helped me make complex scientific concepts more compelling and clear, while also providing a better understanding of the nuances of proposal development with much more confidence. I highly recommend PubliMentor to any researcher looking to sharpen their writing and increase their chances of submitting a grant that gets funded.”
“For someone that hasn't published, this is a great course to learn how to navigate through the process of publishing successfully.”
“Thanks for the great presentation and course. This is very helpful and brings needed structure and framework to the strategic grant writing.”
“Thank you for such an engaging grant writing course. I found it incredibly helpful and I feel like I came away with a tangible, practical set of tools and strategies that I can easily apply to my grant writing.”
Mission
PubliMentor exists to advance science by making academic publishing clearer, fairer, and more robust. We bring hands‑on editorial experience and deep knowledge of COPE guidance to help communities publish trustworthy research at pace — without compromising integrity.
- Hands‑on work on your own manuscript, grant or journal
- Ethics‑first, author‑positive approach
- Journals and research teams built to last
About PubliMentor
Founded by Simona Fiorani, PhD, PubliMentor blends editorial craft with research integrity expertise. We partner with individuals and organisations to improve manuscripts, strengthen peer review, and resolve ethics challenges with clarity and care.
- 15+ yrs in scholarly publishing
- COPE guideline expertise
- 1:1 tailored mentoring
- Global research communities
- Extensive experience in Open Access publishing
- Launching Editor in Chief at iScience (Cell Press)
- Team leader at Nature Communications (SpringerNature)
- Senior editor at Nature Cell Biology (SpringerNature)
Stay in the loop
Get course launch dates, practical guides, and publishing ethics tips.
Can’t see the form? Open it in a new tab.
Archive
-
July 2026
Building the home for a field: a conversation with Dr. Li Yu
The discoverer of the migrasome on launching Vita Migrasome, editorial independence, and where the field — and its new journal — go next.
Read -
June 2026
Open access didn't fail. The invoice arrived.
Cancer Research UK stops paying APCs, China builds home-grown OA journals, and who gets to define what replaces the paywall.
Read
Let’s work together
Tell us about your goals and timelines. We’ll reply with tailored options.