Is This Your First Time Submitting?

By Katie Willis

What Authors Should Expect from Submission to Publication
Publishing a paper can be confusing and overwhelming, especially if this is your first paper. Don’t worry – here is a guide on what to expect! 

What do I need to know before submitting?
Gather information about the journal through the journal’s home page and ensure your manuscript is in scope. Next, look through the Submission Guidelines.  Read these guidelines thoroughly since they highlight the journal’s submission requirements and is the best way to ensure your manuscript is properly formatted.

What should I keep in mind when submitting?
The production team uses the information in the submission for the published article, so make sure everything is accurate. In your title page, provide the list and order of the authors, the author affiliations, acknowledgements, conflict of interest, and/or funding information. Also, the images provided should be of high quality and supplementary files should be separate from the main document. Lastly, include all ORCID iDs in your submission since iDs cannot be added after acceptance.

What does Unsubmit mean?
If your manuscript was unsubmitted, it means your manuscript is being returned to you for slight adjustments. This does not mean your manuscript was rejected. Read the email thoroughly, make the adjustments, and resubmit.

What should I expect during peer review?
The journal will review your submission, reviewers will review your manuscript, and the editor will make a decision. Since journals rely on volunteer reviewers, the amount of time a manuscript spends in peer review can range. This mean SAGE journals cannot guarantee a decision in a specific amount of time.

How do I move forward after receiving the decision letter?
If your manuscript was rejected, don’t give up! We suggest reading the comments, revising your manuscript, and trying again. If your manuscript was rejected due to scope, we suggest looking into SAGE Path. If a revision is requested, review all instructions and reviewer comments, then begin writing your revision (note: check how the journal would like you to highlight your changes and remember don’t include your name in the Author Response if the journal is double blinded!).

My manuscript was accepted! Congratulations! First, review the entire decision letter and any additional emails. You’ll soon be asked to fill out the Contributor Form, present permission information, and potentially provide additional items. If your journal is Open Access, please anticipate the Article Processing Charge (APC) invoice soon. If your journal is a tradition subscription journal and you would like your manuscript to be Open Access, please review the Open Access options.

What happens in production? Your manuscript, now called article, will be transferred to the production team and the Production Editor will determine if any additional information is needed (note: this section will go quickly if you provided accurate information during submission!). Afterwards, your article will be copyedited and formatted to the journal’s specific design. The Production Editor will ask the corresponding author to review the article and provide any corrections (note: take your time to review since this will be the last time you will have the opportunity to change anything!). Once the corrections are incorporated, the Production Editor will provide one last proof. When it is finalized, the article files are prepared for OnlineFirst and put in a journal issue. The article is published and you will receive a copy!

It’s published! Now what? Let everyone know! For ideas, check out how to promote your article.

Have more questions? Check out our FAQ page and Useful Links/Resources page!

Peer Review Steps

1.      Visit the journal’s home page

2.      Review the journal’s Submission Guidelines

3.      Submit manuscript

a.      Make sure all information is accurate and include everything required in the Submission Guidelines

b.      If un-submitted, make the suggested adjustments and resubmit

4.      The manuscript goes through peer review

a.      The journal will review the submission, reviewers will review the manuscript, and the editor will make a decision

b.      The amount of time a manuscript spends in peer review can range

5.      The manuscript will receive a decision

a.      If manuscript was rejected, don’t give up! Read the comments, revise the manuscript, and trying again

b.      If manuscript was rejected due to scope, look into SAGE Path

c.      If a revision is requested, review all instructions and reviewer comments, then begin writing the revision

6.      Submit revision

7.      Manuscript is accepted

a.      Complete the contributor form

b.      Present any permission information (if applicable)

c.      If the journal is Open Access, anticipate the Article Processing Charge (APC) invoice

8.      Manuscript transferred to the Production Team

Production Steps

1.      The Production Editor will receive the manuscript and will reach out if any additional information is needed

2.      The manuscript will go through copyediting and typesetting

3.      Production Editor reaches out to corresponding author and asks for any corrections

4.      Corrections are incorporated and a final proof is sent to the corresponding author

5.      Article files prepared for OnlineFirst and sent to the printers

6.      Article is published and the authors receive a copy

Acknowledgment

Alan Carabes (Project Editor in Production)
A big thank you to Project Editor Alan Carabes for his contributions to this post.

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