Author tutorials

How to submit a journal article

How to submit a journal article

You’ve done your research, analyzed your data, and evaluated your hypotheses. So now you’re ready to publish your results. But how do you decide which journals to select? How can you ensure your best chance of having your manuscript accepted with a minimum of hassle? Do you really need to have a cover letter? How do you respond to reviewers?

You will find the answers to all these questions and more in this tutorial. We will guide you through the publication process; from choosing a journal to revising all the way through the peer review process. 

 english+C

pace

time

English

Self-paced

30-45 minutes

About this course

This course will walk you through the journal article submission process, from how to select journals for submission all the way through the peer review process and the editors' decisions about your submission, and what to expect along the way. 

What you will learn in this course

This course covers the mechanics of submitting article manuscripts to scientific and scholarly journals, including best practices for selecting journals, building submission plans, how to communicate with editors and reviewers, and more. By the end of this course you should:

  • Know how to select a suitable journal for your manuscript 
  • Understand how editors assess your work 
  • Know your options—including transfers, revisions, and resubmission—in case of rejection 
  • Have an overview of the peer review process and how to respond to reviewers

You will also have the opportunity to test your learning by completing a quiz at the end.

Who should take this course

We have designed this course for all scholars and researchers who submit article manuscripts to journals for publication. While we believe those newest to the process will get the most from this tutorial, even more experienced authors may find it useful. 

We hope that with this tutorial you have a clearer idea of the best ways to prepare your manuscript for submission and craft an efficient and effective submission plan!

If you feel that you would like some further support with writing your paper and planning the best ways to choose journals to submit it to, Springer Nature offer some services which may be of help. 

  • The experts at Springer Nature Author Services can help you with manuscript preparation—including English language editing, developmental comments, manuscript formatting, figure preparation, translation, and more. Get started and save 15%.
  • Try our free Grammar Check tool for an evaluation of your work.
  • We provide both online and face-to-face training for researchers on all aspects of the manuscript writing process.

*Please note that using these tools, or any other service, is not a requirement for publication, nor does it imply or guarantee that editors will accept the article, or even select it for peer review.