Writing for Publication: Transitions and Tools that Support Scholars’ Success - Mary Renck Jalongo, Olivia N. Saracho 2016

Quality Control Measures During Manuscript Submission
From Outsider to Insider in Scholarly Publishing
Writing as Professional Development

The great majority of respected publications use an online manuscript management system. This means that, when authors submit their work, a software program guides them through the process. When submitting an article to a scholarly journal, one must adhere to the guidelines set forth from the journal in regards to citations, page limits, and file inclusions (Heyman & Cronin, 2005). Be sure to consult the guidelines, or progressing through the system will be arduous or even come to an abrupt halt. For example, if keywords are required for indexing purposes, you’ll need to stop and supply them. If a 200 word abstract is required and yours is 247 words, the manuscript management software will prevent you from continuing until that is corrected. When a publisher uses an anonymous peer review process, it is very important to put your identifying information on the cover sheet only. Be certain to handle tables, figures, charts, graphs, or photographs as directed; often, they are submitted as separate files rather than embedded in the manuscript.

Authors will find that some of the questions have to do with ethical issues and legal considerations. For example, authors are asked to verify that the work is original, that it is not under consideration by another publisher, to disclose any possible conflict of interest caused by external funding, and to warrant that they have obtained permission to use copyrighted material or model releases for photographs. These days, many manuscripts are converted to a portable document format (pdf) using Adobe—this often occurs when the manuscript is first submitted via electronic means. This creates a uniform, professional look to the work with all of the necessary elements in place, such as the abstract, key words, and so forth. Ordinarily, the author has to review the preliminary pdf and approve it before the review process can commence. Be certain to keep your user name, password, and the number assigned to your manuscript so that you can access it readily when the nearly inevitable revisions are requested. One exceptionally helpful way of glimpsing the inner workings of the publisher is to volunteer to be a peer reviewer of others’ manuscripts.