What is the exact procedure for submitting a manuscript to a journal?
Hi,
The manuscript submission process nowadays is online. Most publishers have their own electronic manuscript submission system. Some of the popular manuscript submission systems are ScholarOne used by SAGE and Nature Publishing Group, Editorial Manager used by Springer, Wiley and PLOS and Evise used by Elsevier. These systems are designed to simplify and speed up the journal submission process.
Most of this submissions systems are self-explanatory and the following common procedure is generally used-
- The first step is to have a manuscript ready for publication. Ensure that it is prepared in accordance to the journal guidelines.
- Next, you need to register or create and account that can be used even for your subsequent submissions to the journal. Usually this account should be created and maintained by the corresponding author of the manuscript as this would also serve as a communication interface between the author, editor and peer reviewers.
- Once you have this account, the next step would be to fill in details about your manuscript such as the title of your paper, the list of authors, the affiliation of each of the authors, keywords, etc. Some journals may also ask for a list of preferred reviewers.
- Once these details are filled in, you can proceed to uploading your manuscript to the submission system.
- You may also be asked to upload supplementary information and a copyright transfer form if applicable.
- Once all of the above mentioned information is entered, you will be prompted to review your details Reviewing and submitting your paper: Finally, you must carefully review the converted PDF file to make sure that all the equations, tables, and special characters are shown properly. Once approved and submitted, the converted file will be viewed by editors and referees.
These systems usually give you an option to fill in your details and save your work if you are not able to complete it at a single go. You can submit it later , once you complete the application. Also, if you do not complete the application in the stipulated time, they will send you a notification before they delete your incomplete application.
Also, if you need professional help with the journal submission process, consider using Enago’s Journal Submission service. This service has several advantages such as a smooth and stress-free submission process, double-checking of the formatting of your manuscript, as per author guidelines for manuscript submission and help with completing all the formalities, such as form filling, uploading documents, write a cover letter etc.
