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every stage of publication
Publication Process
Rejection rates range from 30%-90%. Journals with good to high standards have rejection rates of around 90%. Open-access journals tend to have lower rejection rates.
Open access journals are journals that offer free and permanent online access to research articles they publish.The aim of these journals is to “ensure the rapid and efficient communication of research findings” to the entire scientific community (BioMedCentral, About Us section, July 2011).
While readers are given free access to published material, authors typically have to pay an article-processing fee to help these journals bear publishing costs.
Impact factor indicates the number of times the articles in a journal are cited in other studies during a particular period. For example, an impact factor of 3 indicates that each article in the journal was cited 3 times on average during the specified period. It is assumed that an article that is cited many times presents novel, interesting, or important research.
There are various formulas for calculating impact factors. We generally follow the ones published in Journal Citation Reports (JCR) by Thomson Reuters. Most journals have a JCR impact factor in the range 1-4. Brand new journals tend to have low impact factors.
In general, journals with a high impact factor tend to be more selective and therefore have a high rejection rate as well. However, this is not always true.
Some journals with a low impact factor have a high rejection rate; for example, new journals aspiring to be the best in their field have a low impact factor but they can be extremely selective. Conversely, some journals with a high impact factor may not be very selective; for example, the open-access journal PLoS One has an impact factor above 4, but its rejection rate is relatively low (30%) because it aims to publish a large volume of research.
No, peer reviewers do not accept/reject papers; the journal editor makes this decision. However, while peer reviewers do not make this decision, they can strongly influence this decision because they evaluate your manuscript and make recommendations on whether to accept or reject it. The journal editor considers these recommendations when making the acceptance/rejection decision.
Journals want to ensure that a qualified expert with thorough and in-depth understanding of the subject area reviews every manuscript they receive. Authors are most likely to know qualified experts in their field and hence are asked to provide the names of potential reviewers. Many journals also allow authors to exclude reviewers based on conflicts of interests; for example, an author can choose to exclude a competing researcher who he/she thinks will not provide a fair evaluation.
A potential reviewer should be a qualified expert with thorough and in-depth understanding of the subject area of your manuscript. You can recommend researchers from other universities who are from the same field as you,fellow experts you meet at conferences and other academic forums, and authors you have cited in your manuscript as potential reviewers.
However, you should not recommend colleagues who work in the same department, employees who work under your supervision, your own supervisors, or co-authors, as this would involve a conflict of interest.
(Note: Editage does not recommend reviewers for your manuscript.)
Trial registration numbers are only required for papers reporting on clinical trials. A clinical trial is a research study that uses human volunteers to answer specific health questions. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) requires that all clinical trials be publicly registered before authors submit papers that report the results. This standard is followed by all journals.
During the journal submission process, one author must take overall responsibility for the manuscript and correspond with the journal right through the journal’s publication process. This author is called the corresponding author.
All correspondence pertaining to the manuscript is addressed and sent to the corresponding author and he/she is responsible for communicating with the journal, revising the paper, and submitting revisions. The corresponding author is also responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the paper.
For more details on authorship, read our Short Guide to Publication Ethics.
Different journals have different policies and operate on different revenue models. Hence, they have different fee structures as well. For example, most subscription-based journals charge authors for printing color figures/artwork. However, they do not charge any fees for publishing a manuscript. On the other hand, many open access journals charge authors a fee for publishing their articles and they use these fees to maintain the journal.
As these fees differ from journal to journal and, more importantly, need to be paid by the authors themselves, they are not included in our Journal Submission fee.
Color prints of images are much more expensive than black-and-white prints. Therefore, if you require your figures to appear in color, some journals will charge you an extra fee to defray the costs of color printing.
However, different journals have different policies about color printing charges. Some journals do not charge extra or charge only a percentage of the cost if they believe that the color is essential to the study—for example, when black-and-white figures would not be meaningful (in disciplines such as cell biology, stereo pairs of chemical structures, etc.)
As these policies differ from journal to journal, it is best to check the journal’s website for details.
Platinum, Gold, and Silver
Choose the Platinum pack if you would like high-end research + publication assistance. The Platinum pack is an end-to-end package that gives you access to all our publication and research support (Journal Selection, Pre-submission Peer Review, Premium Editing, Artwork Preparation, and Journal Submission) and post-submission support services, thus helping you maximize your chances of publication.
Choose the Gold pack if you want total publication assistance. The Gold pack includes all our publication support (Journal Selection, Premium Editing, Artwork Preparation, and Journal Submission) and post-submission services. However, it does not include research support (Pre-submission Peer Review, which provides you with detailed feedback on your research content and manuscript quality).
Choose the Silver pack if you would like assistance with only the major publication tasks— Journal Selection, Premium Editing, Artwork Preparation, and Journal Submission
The Platinum pack offers complete, end-to-end publication and research support. It includes the following services:
The Gold pack offers total support for all publication tasks. It includes the following services:
- Journal Selection
- Premium Editing
- Artwork Preparation
- Journal Submission
- Post-acceptance/Resubmission Support
It does not include Pre-submission Peer Review.
The Silver pack offers essential publication support. It includes the following services:
It does not include Pre-submission Peer Review and Post-acceptance/Resubmission Support.
Publication depends largely on the quality of your research and is a subjective decision that the journal editor takes based on several factors. Therefore, we cannot guarantee publication. However, by helping you understand and follow publication protocols and by offering Premium Editing and Pre-submission Peer Review services*, we help you increase your chances of publication.
*Pre-submission Peer Review is only available with the Platinum pack or a Custom pack where you opt for this component.
Yes, we wait for you to confirm the journal.
It is only after you confirm the journal name that we can format the files or prepare your artwork according to journal instructions. Moreover, knowing the target journal helps the reviewer make journal-specific comments during Pre-submission Peer Review.
If you have already selected a target journal, our experts evaluate the journal and your paper and check whether it is a suitable choice. In addition, we recommend other suitable journals. Thus, you can ensure that your target journal is suitable, learn about other journals that may be appropriate, and make a more informed choice.
Moreover, given the high rejection rates of journals, authors often have to submit their manuscripts to several journals before their paper is accepted for publication. Therefore, it is prudent to keep a list of journals ready—if your paper is rejected by your target journal, you will have a list of other journals to choose from for resubmission.
We have found that Journal Selection is one of the most useful and basic services that we can provide authors, even those who have already selected one target journal. This is the reason that we have included it in all three packs.
However, if you are confident that you do not need this service, we recommend that you create a Custom pack.
We prefer Word documents as they are easy to format and allow our editors and reviewers to insert comments and track changes. But we also accept .tex files.
Unfortunately, we cannot accept documents in .pdf format as it is not possible to format or edit such files.
The Platinum, Gold, and Silver packages are designed to save you time and money. Hence, these packs offer not just complete support but also lower fees—that is, when you select a pack, you pay a lower price than what you would have paid, had you selected individual services. Under the Platinum, Gold, and Silver packs, we have a set fee for all papers up to 4000 words. For papers with word counts above 4000, an additional fee is charged per 1000 words.
For Custom packs, please refer to the individual service pricing information and sum them up to know the total fee. For more information, mail us at submissions@editage.com.
Some of the tasks in the Gold pack can be carried out in parallel, which helps us save time. This is why we can offer you the Gold pack at the same TAT as the Silver pack.
The invoice will be sent to you after the paper is submitted to the journal
Yes, our aim is to help you finalize a well-written, finished manuscript. To meet this goal, our editors edit your manuscript for language, flow, etc. However, they cannot correct content-related or meaning-related issues because only you as the author can make such decisions. They need to discuss these issues with you via comments. This holds true for the Pre-submission Peer Review process as well.
Once you reply to our editor’s/expert reviewer’s comments or make the necessary corrections, insertions, or deletions, we can then polish the manuscript and deliver a final submission-ready manuscript. This is also why we offer free multiple-round editing with our packs.
Custom packs
The custom pack option has been provided for authors who do not want any of our standard packs. It allows you to choose the individual service components you want so that you receive exactly the type of support you need.
Yes, you may create a custom pack with just one service component. However, if you choose only Advanced editing or only Premium Editing, we will redirect you to the Editing service page as the editing team will be able to service you better and faster.
Yes, you will receive the same level of support. A dedicated project manager will be assigned to your project and will handle all aspects of your project.
It depends on your requirements. If you are very certain about the type of support you need and are familiar with publication protocols, the Custom pack option may suit you better.
If you are not familiar with publication protocols and are unsure about what you need, we suggest you choose a standard pack.
On the cost front, our standard packs will offer you a comparative cost benefit. You can always compare the price of our standard packs with a Custom pack you have chosen and then make a decision. If you need help deciding, please write to us at submissions@editage.com.
Journal Selection
We require our Journal Selection specialists to have expert knowledge of the standards of the journals in their field. The minimum qualification to do Journal Selection at Editage is a Ph.D. Most of our Journal Selection experts have published papers of their own.
No, we cannot guarantee publication. This is because the final acceptance/rejection decision is a subjective one that a journal editor makes based on many factors. For example, the journal may receive two papers on the same topic. Even if both papers are worth publishing, the journal is likely to accept only one of them.
If you have already selected a target journal, our experts evaluate the journal and your paper and check whether it
is a suitable choice. In addition, we recommend other suitable journals. Thus, you can ensure that your target
journal is suitable, learn about other journals that may be appropriate, and make a more informed choice.
Moreover, given the high rejection rates of journals, authors often have to submit their manuscripts to several journals before their paper is accepted for publication. Therefore, it is prudent to keep a list of journals ready—if
your paper is rejected by your target journal, you will have a list of other journals to choose from for resubmission.
We try to adhere to the impact factor you have chosen. But the impact factor is only one of the factors to consider when looking to publish a manuscript.Therefore, we ask our Journal Selection experts to consider the impact factor you have chosen but to make the final decision based on a collective view of the several factors that impact publication (scope of the journal, your specifications, target readership, impact factor, etc.). Thus, our experts may recommend journals with a lower/higher impact factor.
The impact factor only provides a general estimation of a journal’s prestige. The most important consideration for
authors is that their research reaches the right audience. Therefore, factors such as scope of the journal, the target readership of the
journal, and the visibility of the journal (e.g., whether it is indexed by bibliographic
databases) are equally, if not more, important.
During Journal Selection, we take your research and publication priorities into consideration and recommend journals that best suit your needs.
If your priority is getting your paper published as soon as possible, consider journals with a lower impact factor, as it is generally easier to get published in these journals. Top journals tend to have a high impact factor. If you are unsure of the appropriate impact factor for your paper, specify a wide range.
Another point to remember is that impact factors vary across disciplines. For example, an impact factor of 2 may be considered high in the field of history but low in medicine.
Most journals mention their impact factors on their websites. When browsing through journals, make a note of their impact factor. This will give you a rough idea of the range of impact factors in your field.
Journal Submission
Most journals use an electronic submission system: Authors fill in electronic forms and upload their manuscripts through the system in the specified format. In some cases documents need to be emailed to the journals. A small number of journals still use offline methods; in such cases, the manuscript usually has to be mailed to the journal along with accompanying information on the authors and the manuscript.
Journals that do not have an electronic system ask authors to mail their paper through email or post. In such cases, we cannot submit the manuscript on your behalf. However, we help you with the other aspects of submission—we format the manuscript, ensure that it is ready for submission, and write a cover letter to the journal, which you can send when submitting your manuscript. Thus, this service can be helpful even when the journal does not have an electronic submission system.
As part of the submission process, journals ask authors:
- for information related to the authors and the manuscript; this information must usually be provided through electronic forms on the journal’s website
- to mail or fax extra forms such as patient consent forms and authorship forms that must be signed by all the authors of the paper
- to send a cover letter describing the importance of the study
- to format all files correctly and upload them in the file formats specified by the journal
Journals usually ask for all required information through the online submission system. However, certain forms such as author agreement forms and copyright forms require author signatures. In these cases, you are required to complete the forms yourself and fax them to the journal. However, we help you understand the requirements and instruct you how to fill the forms.
Journals often have complicated instructions for formatting and submitting papers. We help you understand journal instructions as well as correspond with the journal in correct and simple English. In addition, we format your manuscript, draft a cover letter, and make sure that all journal instructions are followed. This can save you much time and effort, since journal systems can be difficult to navigate and their requirements can be very specific and complex.
Yes, as an added benefit, we offer free manuscript formatting as part of the Journal Submission service
No, we do not format the artwork as part of this service. If you require artwork formatting, please select any of our standard packs (Platinum, Gold, or Silver) or a Custom pack with the Artwork Preparation service.
Our primary goal is to increase your chances of publication. Therefore, before we submit your paper to the journal, we evaluate it to see if it conforms to all the journal’s requirements and whether any changes need to be made.
If you choose any one of our standard packs (Platinum, Gold, or Silver), we also make these changes to ensure
that your paper conforms to the journal’s language requirements, artwork requirements, etc.
However, if you choose a Custom pack that does not include Editing and Artwork Preparation, we will only inform
you that your paper is not ready for submission and recommend that these changes be made before submitting the
manuscript.
Note: We strongly suggest that ESL (English as a second language) authors have their manuscript edited or proofread before submission. In addition, formatting and artwork guidelines should be followed. Please consider using one of our packs
if multiple changes are required to prepare the manuscript. Journal editors often reject manuscripts for peer review
simply because these guidelines are not followed. Our service ensures that the chances of rejection on such grounds are minimized.
Yes, if the journal sends you a mail, we will frame a response to the mail. When required, we ask you to approve the mail before sending it to the journal.
As part of Journal Submission, we create an account for you on the journal’s system. Since journals require you (the corresponding author) to submit the paper, we create this account using your details (such as name, email address, etc.). The journal may then email the login details to you. You need to send us these details so that we can operate your account for purposes like submitting your paper to the journal and tracking its progress
If for any reason the journal returns your paper due to incomplete formatting, it does not imply that the paper has been rejected. This is probably because journals sometimes do not mention all their author guidelines on the website. Papers that have been returned due to formatting issues can be resubmitted to the journal after resolving the issues. In such cases, we will reformat and resubmit your paper to the journal at no additional charge.
No. Once the paper has been submitted, it cannot be replaced with a revised version. No replacements or additions are possible after submission.
Journals typically take from 3 months to a year to complete the peer review process, after which the decision —accepted or rejected— is communicated to the author. While a gentle reminder can be sent to the journal, we advise against doing so more than once. Apart from sending such a reminder, unfortunately, nothing can be done to expedite the journal’s decision; the time taken depends entirely on the journal.
We do not write the responses to reviewers, but help authors frame them better by editing the responses. We make sure that the tone and style of the responses are appropriate. We also check that the authors have responded to the comments appropriately (e.g., we make sure that the authors have not misunderstood the reviewer’s comment).
Pre–submission Peer Review
In an edit, the editor checks the language and organization of the paper. He/she corrects the language in the text, provides language tips, clarifies unclear sentences, asks the author to check major changes in the text, etc.
In a Pre-submission Peer Review, the reviewer evaluates the content of the paper. He/she inserts comments to indicate any flaws in the study, how the author can improve the content of the paper by adding more information or citing relevant studies, etc. The reviewer does not make any changes to the text.
The editor edits the paper for language. The editor’s primary qualification is language expertise; the editor also has subject matter expertise but may or may not have a Ph.D. or a more advanced degree.
The pre-submission peer reviewer evaluates the study for scientific merit. Our reviewers have a very high level of subject matter expertise. The minimum qualification to be a peer reviewer is a Ph.D. in the subject. Most of our pre-submission peer reviewers also have post-doctoral degrees, have published papers, and have conducted peer reviews for English-language journals.
There is almost no overlap. An edit contains few or no comments on content. A Pre-submission Peer Review contains few or no comments on language.
The peer review process at journals is extremely subjective—peer reviewers are experts who evaluate manuscripts based on their knowledge and expertise. Because this process is subjective, journals usually have a minimum of two peer reviewers evaluate the same manuscript. And it is not uncommon for two peer reviewers to give conflicting opinions on the same manuscript.
The same principle applies to our expert reviewers and specialists who review your manuscript. Even though they are experts, their views—like those of a journal’s peer reviewers—are subjective. This is why even after our reviewers review your manuscript, the journal’s reviewers will still have comments to make and you may receive comments from our reviewer that are not in 100% agreement with those of other peer reviewers.
Nonetheless, these comments give you the chance to have your manuscript checked for major issues before the journal’s peer reviewers do so. This initial review will help you improve the manuscript and minimize the number of issues that could lead to the rejection of the paper.
Publication is dependent on a variety of factors. An article may be rejected because it does not match the journal’s scope or may not be of sufficient interest to its readers. Moreover, publication depends largely on the quality and importance of your research. Therefore, we cannot guarantee publication. However, as part of our service, we evaluate such factors for you and help you maximize your chances of publication.
We do not provide standard metrics-based report cards since (1) robust metric indicators of research quality are not always accurate and (2) each work of scientific research should be judged individually and not on the basis of fixed parameters. Instead, our experts act as peer reviewers and evaluate your research the way it will be assessed when submitted to a journal; they also provide an overall qualitative assessment of your paper.
No author is ever in full agreement with the reviewers of their paper. While you do not have to respond to each and every reviewer comment as you would when peer reviewed by a journal, you are welcome to further question our reviewer to understand his or her comments. If you do not agree with a comment, you can send us clarifications and/or further questions, and our reviewer will address them.
We do not make any changes to the text. Our expert reviewer inserts comments in the manuscript and prepares a report to identify issues and provide suggestions. Since such changes involve revisions in content, the changes can only be made by you.
Artwork Preparation
No, we do not create artwork. We work with the client’s artwork files, and we format, resize, and convert them according to journal guidelines.
The files we receive from you must be editable so that we can make the required changes. Thus, it would be best to submit your artwork in the same files that they were created (that is, the original source files). In case the files we receive from you are not editable, we will ask you to submit the original source files.
Yes. Journals typically request for artwork to be submitted in .eps or .tiff files as such formats are most suitable for production. We convert your artwork into all the formats commonly required by journals.
Yes, we are usually able to extract figures from Word or PowerPoint files. However, in the case of very complex figures (such as scatter plots or seismic graphs) and photographs, we may ask you to provide the original source files or electronic files for the figures. We ask for the source files when the resolution of the embedded files is low.
Publication Ethics
The term Publication Ethics refers to a group of guidelines and practices that ensures ethical research writing and research publication. These guidelines cover topics like copyright, plagiarism, conflict of interest, authorship, etc.
Good Publication Practice is a set of internationally recognized guidelines on publishing ethics, developed by the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP). This is the standard adopted and recommended by most reputed journals.
For more information on publication ethics, please refer to our Publication Ethics page and our Short Guide to Publication Ethics.
A conflict of interest occurs when authors have direct or indirect financial or personal ties to the study sponsors or the funding organization, or when the results of the study influence authors’ personal or financial interests.
To know more, please read our Short Guide to Publication Ethics.
Copyright rules determine who retains rights to copy, distribute, or adapt a paper; these rules differ across journals. They also cover issues like using content and graphics from another source without acknowledging the source.
To know more about copyright and related issues (such as plagiarism, duplicate publication and multiple submissions), refer to our Short Guide to Publication Ethics
The U.S. National Science Foundation defines plagiarism as “the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit” (45 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 689.1). Thus, plagiarism includes using:
- A complete section, page, paragraph, or sentence from another source without acknowledging the source
- Text from another source with only a few words or phrases changed or rearranged, without acknowledgment
- Figures, images, tables, or results without permission or acknowledgment of the source
To know what you should do to avoid plagiarism, refer to our Short Guide to Publication Ethics.
No. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time—multiple submissions—is considered unethical scholarly practice and can lead to copyright violation. You could get blacklisted by the journal for doing this. For more information, please read our Short Guide to Publication Ethics.
