How authors are saving time and effort with our new submission experience

See what first-time users are saying about the new interface

What if submitting to a journal was simple, clear and only took half an hour? For authors of more than 800 Elsevier journals, that has now become a reality, thanks to Editorial Manager’s new submission experience.

Authors who have used the interface are already saving time and effort. As this new experience rolls out to more and more journals, we asked authors to share their thoughts.

Watch this video to learn more about Editorial Manager’s new submission experience

A more intuitive interface for a simpler submission process

For many authors, submitting a manuscript has traditionally been a long, administration-heavy process, often requiring additional work to format the manuscript correctly and asking for the same information multiple times.

The new submission experience is designed to make that process simpler. Single sign-on across Elsevier journals helps make submission easier to navigate from the start. Authors are guided through submissions step by step, with clear instructions at each stage and are only prompted for the information that is needed at that point. Additionally, the new experience can automatically extract key details from a manuscript, such as title, abstract and keywords, reducing manual entry and saving authors’ time.

Authors have already highlighted these benefits. “A great thank you. That was the best and easiest submission system I encountered among the different journals from Elsevier. Suggest sharing your approach with the others,” declared one author after submission. Another author agreed, describing the experience as “fast, intuitive, easy and efficient.”

Smoother, faster submissions mean more time for research

One of the most significant benefits authors reported is the time they save on submission with the new experience. On average, submission time with the new experience is 70% faster, dropping from 88 to just 30 minutes.

When asked about the biggest improvement compared to the previous submission, author Professor Miguel Clemente, from the Universiade da Coruña opined: “Speed in specifying the information and the assurance of doing it correctly.”

This time saving comes from a more streamlined process. You can clearly see what information is needed and when, and no longer have to repeat the same information unnecessarily during submission. Authors are also indicating that the new experience is easy and intuitive, with 84% rating it as useful.

“The streamlined process for submission really saves time,” comments Professor Reza Pulungan, from the Universitas Gadjah Mada. “I think other Elsevier journals will benefit from this submission system.”

A submission experience designed around authors’ needs

Authoring and submitting manuscripts is just one aspect of life as a researcher. Given the increasing pressures on your time, the team behind the development of the new submission experience wanted to empower authors to focus on what matters most: the science. The user interface was therefore designed squarely around your needs as an author.

The experiences that authors have shared so far suggest that we are on the right track. “The improvements in time-to-submit, and the feedback we've had from authors has been very encouraging, and we continue to build their feedback and needs into every feature and enhancement we plan,” added Palmer.

The new submission experience is being introduced to more journals in the coming months, creating a more consistent submission experience across journals. Together, these improvements are making submissions simpler, clearer and more efficient for authors, editors and reviewers alike — with further enhancements to come.

Read more:

• Innovations in scientific publishing

• Saving time with the new submission experience in Editorial Manager