Scientific communication continually evolves as science changes and technologies develop. The dominant paradigms for scientific publishing today -- journals, conferences, and pre-prints -- were tailored to support science as it worked at the end of the 20th century.
The Stacks is a platform for exploring new ways to do scientific communication. It is adapted to current needs, with an emphasis on supporting open-science practices and workflows that incorporate generative AI. As a result, authoring a publication for The Stacks is not exactly the same as authoring a publication for other outlets.
These pages cover the process of publishing on The Stacks in detail. If you just want to get a first publication live, start with the quickstart.
1. Decide what to publish¶
The Stacks takes an expansive view of what qualifies as a scientific publication. We give authors considerable leeway to decide for themselves when to publish and what to publish. A publication does not have to be the outcome of a completed series of experiments. It can be an Idea that you think is worth pursuing. A publication can also be an Informative failure or an experiment that did not yield the intended results.
Look at a showcase of different publication types to get a sense of what kinds of publications are on The Stacks. You can also create a new type if none of the ones in the list matches exactly what you have in mind.
2. Think about the content¶
A Stacks publication is not limited by what can be printed: we give you control over how your publication appears. You can include videos and interactive visualizations; you can have content that is only displayed on request; you can show code with styling and syntax highlighting. Browse things to try for inspiration on the kinds of content you can include in a Stacks publication.
3. Author a Google Doc¶
The best-supported source format at the moment is Google Doc. We have a Google Doc Template you can use to kick-start your publication.
To learn more about the full range of styling and directives we support, look at the detailed documentation on formatting options and citations.
4. Publish¶
Once your content is ready, you need to import the Google Doc, and provide some additional information to get it published. The title, subtitle, abstract, and body typically are brought in from the Google Doc, and you will additionally provide information about the contributors to the publication, the organization (community) that is the home of the work, the license under which the content is available, and link to external assets like code and data that are relevant. The details behind this process are covered in creating a publication.
5. Revise¶
Ideas change, understanding improves, new information comes to light. A Stacks publication is intended to be a living document that is updated when necessary. Create a new version to keep the content up-to-date and relevant.
Keep an eye on your notifications. You will receive a notification when a readers comments on your publication, and you may want to reply to the comment.