Getting Ready to Submit

Once you have completed your research, identified your target journal (see section 3, Journal Selection), and written your manuscript (see section 6, Writing Your Manuscript) it will be time to officially submit your manuscript through the journal’s online submission system. To expedite the process, be sure that you have in hand all of the information you need before starting.

In addition to your manuscript file, you may be required to submit a cover letter, and you will be asked to enter information and answer a set of questions on an author submission form.  This will generally include full names and contact information for all authors listed on the manuscript, funding information, and responses to questions regarding journal policies and licensing. Even if it is not required for submission, be sure to confirm with each author listed on the paper that they 1) approve the manuscript’s contents, 2) acknowledge their listing as an author, and 3) agree with the choice of journal to which the paper is being submitted.

Optica Publishing Group journals provide a handy checklist for authors to review prior to submission.

Another question to consider prior to submitting your manuscript to a journal is whether to post it to a preprint server.

This section will provide tips to make the submission process as smooth and seamless as possible.