Journal Manuscript Preparation
Your finished paper, formatted and checked against the target journal’s rules before a desk editor sees it.
A surprising number of papers never reach a reviewer. The editorial office sends them back within a few days, or the editor declines them after one quick read. Many times the reason has very little to do with the research itself. In some cases the article type is wrong, in some the abstract crossed the word limit. In some papers the figures come in a format the journal doesn’t accept. In others the ethics statement is missing or the topic is a bit outside the scope. Each of these costs you weeks, and after a desk rejection you start again with a different journal.
This service is for scholars whose paper is written and who have a journal in mind, or two or three. We take your finished manuscript and prepare it for that journal only. We follow its author guidelines, its reference style and its rules for figures. We also review your declarations and the cover letter, which is the first thing the editor reads. Then we guide you through the submission system step by step.
Here our work is only preparation. We don’t change anything in your science or your results. If the argument or the results still need work, that comes under research paper review. If we feel it needs more work before submission, we will tell you in the beginning itself.
Quick answers
- What do you do to a finished manuscript?
We check the paper fits the journal, format it as per the author guidelines, convert the references and bring figures to specification. Along with this we review your cover letter and declarations, guide you through the submission system and give you the completed guideline checklist.
- How many days does preparation take?
The fit check needs 2–3 working days. Formatting, with references and figures, takes 4–7 working days, and the cover letter and submission pack take another 2–3. After you press submit, the timing is in the journal’s hands.
- Do I see a similarity report?
Yes. We give it on the final version, so you know the figure before the journal runs its own check. If the paper overlaps with your thesis or a conference version, it is better to disclose that in the cover letter than to keep chasing a lower number.
- Can you submit it for me, or promise it won’t be desk-rejected?
We can’t do either one. The corresponding author submits from his or her own account while we guide. Whether the paper goes for review is decided by the editor only.
- How do I start, and are corrections covered?
Send us the manuscript and the target journal’s name and we will have a free look. You get a fixed quote in writing, and it mentions the revision rounds for each stage. Later, if you need reformatting for a second journal, that also can be quoted in advance.
Scope
What’s included
You can take any stage on its own. Suppose you have already chosen and checked your journal, then start from formatting. Some scholars only want a last look before submit, and for them the last two stages are enough.
Journal fit check
We read the journal’s aims and scope and some of its recent articles, and compare them with your paper. We confirm which article type is right for it. The journal’s indexing and website are also checked before you spend any time formatting for it.
Formatting to author guidelines
We set the section order and headings, the word and abstract limits, the title page and the line numbering. For double-anonymous review we make the anonymised version. Units and equations are handled, and we use the journal’s LaTeX or Word template wherever it has one.
References and citation style
The references are converted to the journal’s style (numbered, author–date or a house variant). Every in-text citation gets matched to the list, and DOIs are added where the journal asks for them.
Figures and tables to specification
File formats, resolution, size, fonts and colour mode are set as per the journal’s instructions. Tables are kept editable, we don’t paste them as images. Separate files and captions are given if the journal wants them.
Submission pack and cover letter
You write the cover letter to the editor and we review it. We also check you have whatever this particular journal requires, like highlights, a graphical abstract or the author contribution (CRediT) statement, and the conflict-of-interest, funding and data-availability statements.
Submission walkthrough
You work from your own account in Editorial Manager, ScholarOne or the publisher’s own system, and we guide you through it. We go over the metadata, file order and ORCID linking with you. Before you approve, we check the built PDF together.
Quality
How quality is verified
These are the checks every piece of work goes through before it reaches you.
Guideline checklist, line by line
On the day we start itself, we turn the journal’s current author guidelines into a checklist. Each item is ticked against your manuscript. You get the completed list along with the files.
Citation and reference cross-match
We match every in-text citation to an entry in the reference list, and every entry back to a citation. Orphans on either side get fixed. Each reference is also checked against its source.
Anonymisation audit
When the journal is double-anonymous, we search for anything which names you or your university. We look in the text, the self-citations and the acknowledgements, and also in the file names and document properties.
Figure specification check
Each figure file is compared with the journal’s format, resolution and size. Then we view it at final print size and on screen also, to be sure it is readable.
Declarations complete
We confirm that ethics approval, consent, funding, competing interests, data availability and author contributions are all present. We also check that they agree with what is written in the paper.
Final similarity report
A similarity report is run on the final version and sent to you. That way you see the figure before the journal’s own check does.
Time
Realistic timelines
Our work on a finished manuscript takes days only. After submit, the time taken is up to the journal.
| Stage | Typical time | Who controls it |
|---|---|---|
| Journal fit check | 2–3 working days | Us |
| Formatting, references and figures | 4–7 working days | Us, but it takes longer if figures need redrawing from source data |
| Cover letter and submission pack | 2–3 working days | You and us, because you write the statements and we review them |
| Submission walkthrough | One session | You, and we are there to help |
| Technical check by the editorial office | A few days to two weeks | The journal, and it may send the files back for corrections |
| Editor’s decision to review or decline | 1–4 weeks, sometimes longer | The journal |
Desk rejection
Why papers are rejected before review
Mostly editors don’t explain a desk rejection in detail. These are the causes we see most, roughly in order of how many times they could have been avoided.
The paper does not fit the journal
This reason comes up most, and it is the hardest to notice. Journals mostly write the scope statement in very broad words. Its recent issues give a much better idea of what the editors actually publish. A methods paper sent to an applications journal will usually be declined, however good the work is. Same thing happens when a regional case study goes to a journal that wants general theory.
The guidelines were not followed
Maybe the abstract runs too long, or the line numbers are missing. The reference style may be from some other journal. Or the file is not anonymised for double-anonymous review. Alone, each of these is a small thing. But three or four together make the editor think some other journal rejected it and it came to him unchanged.
The contribution is not stated
The editor looks for what the paper adds in two places, the abstract and the last paragraph of the introduction. If he can’t find it there, he will not assume it is there somewhere. And if your cover letter only says “please consider our manuscript”, that also gives him nothing to go on.
Declarations or approvals are missing
If your study has human participants or animals, you need to give the ethics approval details. Many journals are now asking for a data-availability statement and funding informations also. When any one of these is missing, the paper can get stuck at technical check itself.
Similarity is too high
Journals run their own similarity checks. The text may be fully yours and still match with your thesis or conference paper. Editors do ask about such matches. So wherever it is relevant, mention the earlier versions in the cover letter.
A word on the submission systems
Many journals are using Editorial Manager or ScholarOne Manuscripts, and some publishers have their own systems. In all of them, the files you upload get combined into a single PDF, and the editor sees that PDF only. Go through it page by page before you approve it. Common problems are missing figures, garbled equations and files in wrong order, and all of these are avoidable. Our APA 7 and IEEE guides help if you are checking the style yourself.
Pricing
How pricing works
If the paper is short and clean and uses a common reference style, it is a small job. A long paper with many figures, a LaTeX template and a double-anonymous version is a bigger job. We first see the manuscript and the target journal’s guidelines, and then give a fixed price. We agree it in writing with you, and only then the work starts.
Submission fees or article processing charges, if the journal has them, you pay directly to the publisher. Our invoice is for our own work only.
What the quote depends on
- Length of the manuscript and the number of figures and tables in it
- If the journal wants its LaTeX template or its Word template
- Size of your reference list, and how much it differs from the style the journal wants
- Extra things the journal asks for, for example highlights or a graphical abstract
- If later you will need the paper reformatted for a second journal
Every quote includes
- A written scope listing exactly what will be delivered
- A fixed price agreed before any payment
- Payment in stages, tied to delivery
- Revision rounds stated in the scope
Process
How it works
Free consultation
A call or message with a specialist in your subject. We review your material and say plainly whether we are the right fit.
Written scope and quote
You get a written scope, a timeline and a fixed price. Work and payment begin once you agree to it.
Staged delivery
Work arrives in stages you review, each with a similarity report where text is involved. You pay stage by stage.
Revisions and hand-over
Revision rounds are included. At the end you get the final files, and an explanation of anything you’ll need to defend.
Keep reading
Guides and related services
Writing a cover letter for journal submission
What editors actually read in a cover letter, a template, and a worked example.
How to spot a predatory journal
A checklist to run before you submit anywhere — and what to do if you’ve already submitted.
IEEE citation and formatting guide
Numbered citations, reference examples for every common source type, and figure and equation conventions.
Responding to Reviewer Comments
What each reviewer is really asking, and feedback on your response letter before you send it.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can you promise the paper won’t be desk-rejected?
We take away the technical and presentation reasons for which papers get desk-rejected. If the paper looks better suited to a different journal, we tell you that clearly. Whether the work goes for review is the editor’s decision.
Can you submit the paper for us from your account?
No. It has to be submitted from the corresponding author’s own account, because the journal holds that person responsible and contacts him or her about the paper. You stay signed in to your own account and we guide you through the system step by step.
Can I send the paper to two journals at once to save time?
No. A manuscript can be under consideration at only one journal at a time. If you send it to two journals together, both can reject it and you can be reported to your university. Submit to one journal and wait for its decision. If it is rejected, reformatting for the next journal on your list can be quoted in advance.
Who should I suggest as reviewers?
Suggest researchers working on your topic who have no conflict of interest with you. Give their real institutional email addresses. Your colleagues and co-authors should not be in the list, and never an address you control yourself. Pick independent researchers only. Manipulated reviewer suggestions have led to large numbers of retractions. We can help you find suitable names from the literature.
Can you add a senior researcher as co-author to improve my chances?
No, that is not allowed. Every author must have contributed to the research and approved the paper. Our team does not go on the author list. A big name will not move the editor, he goes by the content. A senior name who did no work on the paper is improper authorship, and journals take that as misconduct. See our ethics policy.
Someone promised a quick acceptance if I submit through them. Should I?
Check such offers properly before you say yes. In an indexed journal, peer review moves as per the schedule of its editors and reviewers, and a third party can’t fix that date. The things to look at are listed in our guide to spotting predatory journals. We will check a specific journal for you free of charge.
Is my manuscript kept confidential?
Yes. Only the person preparing your manuscript handles it, and it is used for your project only. Once the work finishes, tell us and we delete your files. We are happy to sign a non-disclosure agreement also.
Do you check the English as well?
Obvious mistakes in the English we correct in tracked changes while doing the formatting itself, and you accept or reject them. A full language edit is not part of manuscript preparation, though. If the paper needs heavy language work, we will tell you at the consultation and quote for it separately, so you pay only for what you need.
Talk it through with a specialist for free
Send us where you are and what you need. We’ll reply within one working day with clear advice, a written scope and a fixed quote. No obligation.
Book a free consultation