Look, submitting your manuscript can feel like navigating a maze full of rules. Between formatting, word counts, and making sure your figures don’t look like they were doodled during your last meeting—you’ve probably thought about giving up more than once.
Relax, I’ve got your back. Stick around, and I’ll walk you through each step you’ll need for a smooth submission journey. We’ll cover everything clearly, from manuscript format to dealing with reviewers, so you can focus more on writing and less on rules.
Ready to get your manuscript in shape? Let’s do this.
Key Takeaways
- Format your manuscript exactly how your chosen journal requests—correct font, margins, and spacing really matter.
- Stick to the IMRAD structure (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion) to clearly communicate your research.
- Create a clear title page and write a simple, concise abstract summing up main points.
- Double-check figure quality, captions, resolutions, and how tables are formatted to match guidelines exactly.
- Always verify your paper fits the journal’s scope and meets word count and reference rules.
- Do plagiarism checks, acknowledge ethical approvals, clarify author roles upfront, and respond respectfully to reviewers.
- After acceptance, carefully review proofs and prepare to promote your published work.
Step 1: Prepare Your Manuscript Formatting Correctly
Alright, let’s face it—formatting your manuscript correctly isn’t exactly the most fun job, but it makes a massive impact on whether your hard work gets past the publisher’s initial screening. And publishers really do check this upfront! Getting the basics right gives your manuscript a fighting chance of moving ahead in the review process.
First things first: always check what fonts, spacing, margins, and headings the journal or publisher prefers. Usually, they’ll specify Times New Roman, 12-point font with double spacing here. Sounds boring, I know—but keeping things simple and clear reduces distractions and makes your manuscript easy to read for editors and reviewers.
Don’t forget page numbers—they’re surprisingly easy to overlook. Typically, include page numbers in the top-right part of the header to keep things neat and consistent. Also, remember to anonymize your manuscript if needed. Many journals require anonymous submissions—meaning no author names or institutions on the actual paper—to ensure blind peer review stays unbiased (check carefully for this requirement!).
Struggling with formatting dialogue or structuring sections correctly? A quick refresher on how to format dialogue or structuring manuscript sections should set you straight before submittal.
Step 2: Follow the Required Manuscript Structure (IMRAD)
When journals talk about IMRAD, they’re referring to a very specific, straightforward structure that’s pretty common across scientific and academic publishing: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Sticking to this makes your research easier to follow—and editors love easy-to-follow papers.
The Introduction is your hook: Quickly let readers know your research question, why it matters, and what others have found before you. Keep it concise—two to three paragraphs usually does the trick. If readers can get a clear, quick snapshot of your research focus early, they’re much more likely to pay attention till the end.
Next, Methods should clearly outline your research process. Let readers know exactly how you did your research, so someone else can reproduce your work—transparency is key here. This can include participants, materials, procedures, and analysis techniques—basically, the full picture of how your study ran.
The Results section is definitely the “show, don’t tell” part—present key data and figures without interpreting or discussing them too much yet. Just the facts, clearly reported in a logical order.
Discussion wraps things up: Here’s your chance to really connect the dots and explain what your results mean. Address your original questions, focus on why your findings are important, discuss any surprising outcomes, and point out areas you’d like to see explored in future studies.
Step 3: Create a Proper Title Page and Abstract
Your title page isn’t just decorative; it provides editors and readers essential information upfront. Include the manuscript title (short, straightforward, and descriptive), authors’ full names, affiliations, contact details, and any required acknowledgments or funding information right on this page. Always double-check if the publication requires specific title-page formatting, some journals are particular about alignment, author order, and numbering.
The abstract is your paper’s elevator pitch—usually around 150-250 words—designed to briefly describe goals, methods, important results, and key takeaway messages. Keep it tight, transparent, and understandable—not everyone reading your abstract might be a specialist.
A quick tip: Don’t procrastinate writing your abstract, even though it’s tempting. I know it’s often the toughest part, but crafting the abstract early helps keep your manuscript focused during the drafting and editing phases. Need inspiration to keep focused during writing sessions? Consider using seasonal writing prompts to spark creativity and break writer’s block.
Step 4: Format Figures and Tables Appropriately
If you’re honestly anything like me, formatting tables and figures isn’t something you eagerly jump out of bed to do—but doing it right saves you headaches down the road.
First off, double-check the journal’s style guide; some publications get really picky about image resolutions, prefer TIFF files over JPEG, or have specific table structures they need to see.
Usually, figures like graphs and charts should be high-resolution (at least 300 dpi) to keep everything sharp and clear when printed or displayed online.
Put each figure or table near the spot where you first describe it in your text—that way no one has to flip back and forth endlessly, making your future readers silently thank you.
Each one needs a clear caption explaining what’s going on—again, follow the journal’s rules for exact formatting (some prefer sentence-style captions, others might go for titles with detailed footnotes).
Step 5: Check Your Manuscript Against the Journal’s Scope
This one’s an easy-to-miss step, but ignoring journal scope is how a lot of manuscripts get desk-rejected.
Take another look through the journal’s aims and recent issues to make sure your topic fits squarely within its interests.
If you see they’ve recently published similar articles, that’s encouraging—your work might be a great match.
But if they’re focusing mostly on clinical research and yours is theoretical, maybe it’s worth considering other journals to submit to.
Think of submitting to a journal that’s not right for your research as ordering pizza at a sushi restaurant—sure, they’re both food, but you’re in the wrong place, friend.
Step 6: Comply with the Journal’s Word Count and Reference Style
Seriously, don’t skip this essential check: journals take word count limits super seriously because space in print or online publications is valuable real estate.
Make sure you’re within the specified word count range—including figures, references, and footnotes if they count towards the total (yep, journals can be that specific!).
Speaking of references, get clear on the precise citation style your journal prefers—APA, Chicago, Harvard, or whatever they’re using now.
Skipping this step gives editors a quick, totally avoidable reason to toss your manuscript in the rejection pile.
Step 7: Ensure Ethical Compliance and Include Necessary Disclosures
If there’s any sort of human research involved, you’re looking at issues like informed consent, ethical committee approvals, and data privacy—journals won’t publish without these clearly in place.
Disclose any conflicts of interest or funding sources transparently; editors appreciate honesty, and trust me, readers value it even more.
It’s always better to over-disclose than to accidentally leave out something that should’ve been stated upfront.
Step 8: Author Contributions – Know Who Should be Included as an Author
Deciding who deserves authorship credit can actually feel awkward, like picking teams in gym class—but clear guidelines make this easier.
The rule of thumb is: authors should’ve contributed significantly to research conception, data analysis, drafting, revision, or final approval.
If someone only gave a quick read-through, offer to include them in acknowledgments rather than authors.
Clearly laying out author contributions upfront can save emotional drama later when your paper starts getting attention.
Step 9: Conduct a Thorough Plagiarism Check Before Submission
Whether intentional or accidental, plagiarism is something journals don’t joke around with—it kills your credibility instantly.
Before hitting “submit,” use a reputable plagiarism checker like Turnitin or Grammarly’s premium version to scan your manuscript from start to finish.
Does something pop up as similarity? Check carefully—sometimes citations or common phrases cause false alarms, but better safe than sorry.
And definitely rewrite any passages that resemble other published material too closely.
Step 10: Properly Prepare Supplementary Materials and Files
If you have extra datasets, coding scripts, large tables, or audio/video materials, prepare these clearly so they’re easily accessible and usable to editors, reviewers, and future readers.
Make sure files are correctly labeled—nobody can identify “Image(5)_final3” three months after submission, trust me.
Check if your journal requires specific file types or limits file size—providing easy-to-use supplemental files boosts the quality and transparency of your manuscript.
Step 11: Complete Pre-Submission Final Checks and Metadata Preparation
Do yourself a favor and take a brief last-minute pre-submission sanity check.
Is your title clear and searchable, with keywords reflecting the manuscript’s topic?
If you’re stuck, take inspiration from guidelines on how to title a book, as the logic is mostly the same—clarity and simplicity win readers.
Recheck abstract, authors’ info, affiliations, and contact details—small errors here can delay editorial response times and drive everyone involved up the wall.
Step 12: Submit Your Manuscript and Track Its Progress
After hitting that satisfying (and slightly terrifying) ‘Submit’ button, keep track of your paper’s status in the journal’s online system regularly.
Adjust your email settings to make sure updates don’t disappear into spam filters, losing precious time in communication.
While you wait, consider picking up a side project, like experimenting with publishing short stories, coloring books, or exploring how to write a foreword—something productive to beat submission anxiety.
Step 13: Communicate Effectively When Responding to Reviewers
When you get feedback, first take a deep breath—criticism isn’t personal (usually!), and thoughtfully addressing reviewer comments improves your chances dramatically.
Be clear, respectful, and organized in your response—state each point raised by reviewers, explain briefly what you’ve changed in the manuscript, and highlight where the changes are.
Even if you disagree with suggested changes, explain politely why you’re not making them—no need for this to be confrontational, but staying polite and firm goes a long way.
Step 14: Address Post-Acceptance Steps and Copyright
Congrats, your manuscript was accepted—celebrate, then get ready because the work isn’t over yet.
This next phase usually involves proofreading proofs, clarifying author queries, formalizing copyright, deciding on open-access agreements, and possibly dealing with publication charges.
Carefully reviewing proofs can save you from face-palming errors in print—being detail-oriented here counts more than ever.
Also, think now about promoting your article through social media or professional networks after publication—because, let’s face it, a bit of self-promo never hurt anybody.
FAQs
The IMRAD structure stands for Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. It’s a widely accepted format used by journals because it clearly lays out the research—allowing readers and reviewers to quickly find information and understand the research flow.
Carefully read the journal’s aims and scope section, review previously published articles, and verify topic relevance. Checking this early on helps prevent unnecessary rejection and saves valuable time in your submission process.
An author contribution statement is generally required upon manuscript submission. It specifies each author’s involvement clearly, showing transparency and accountability regarding who participated materially in research design, data analysis, drafting, or revising the manuscript.
Performing a plagiarism check ensures originality by identifying accidental overlap or insufficient citation. This step reduces the risks of rejection or ethical problems, maintaining your credibility and trustworthiness as a researcher.
