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Author Guide to Editorial Manager’s new submission experience
Last updated on June 23, 2026
Watch this short video for an overview of the steps
Disclaimer: Please note that the information on this page relates only to journals which have transitioned to the new submission experience. If you would like to know if your journal is included, please check the 'Guide for Authors'.
Editorial Manager’s new submission experience has been designed to enhance the manuscript submission journey for authors in Editorial Manager (EM).
We have developed a new streamlined submission experience which helps authors improve the quality of their submissions to an Elsevier journal. You will need to log in using your Elsevier Account.
Manuscripts submitted through the new experience will be transferred to EM, where editors will manage the review process.
If you are invited to revise your manuscript by the Editor, all correspondence and revisions will also be handled within EM, not through the new experience.
From your journal’s ScienceDirect homepage, click "Submit Your Article" to access the new submission experience page and start your submission by selecting "Start a submission ”.
If you begin your submission through the Editorial Manager, you will be redirected to the new submission experience automatically.
Log in using your Elsevier account. Ensure that the email address associated with your Elsevier account matches the email used for the selected journal’s EM site. If the email addresses do not match, the system may create a duplicate EM account, leading to potential confusion. To prevent any issues, update and align your email addresses before submitting.
It is currently designed for specific submission purposes, and there are certain scenarios where this cannot be used. You cannot use this service for the following:
- Continuing with or checking on a submission that you started in Editorial Manager
- Submitting transferred manuscripts
- Performing editorial tasks or reviewing
- Co-author verification or review
To submit a manuscript, select “Start a submission”.
- Next, choose the article type that best describes your submission and select ‘Save and Continue’.
You can now submit manuscripts to a Special Issue article type.
When starting your submission, go to the “Choose your article type” section and select Special Issue from the list of available article types.
How do I complete the “Confirm your ethical declaration” step?What information do I need to provide for Human research?
Can I review my ethical declaration before continuing?
How do I complete this step?
What if my study relates to Animal research?
What if Ethical declaration is not applicable to my submission?
Will the ethical declaration appear in my final published manuscript?
The Confirm your ethical declaration step requires authors to provide the ethical compliance information needed for their manuscript submission.
Authors are asked to confirm whether their study involves:
- Human research,
- Animal research, or
- Ethical declaration is not applicable.
Based on the selected research type, the system will display the relevant ethical questions that must be completed before you can continue.
If you select Human research, complete all requested ethical questions on the page.
This may include confirming:
- compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and ethical guidelines,
- ethics committee approval or exemption details,
- whether the study is a clinical trial,
- participant informed consent and privacy protection,
- use of human biological materials, and
- whether the submission is a case report or case series.
Where required, enter the requested supporting details in the mandatory fields.
Note: The questions shown in this screenshot may differ from those displayed during your submission, depending on your manuscript and future updates to the submission system.
Can I review my ethical declaration before continuing?
Yes, after completing all required responses, scroll down to the Review your ethical declaration statements section.
Here you can download the generated ethical declaration file to review the statements that will be included as part of your submission.
If changes are needed, you can update your responses and download the file again before proceeding.
How do I complete this step?
Once you have reviewed the statement generated:
- Select the confirmation checkbox to approve the declaration file.
- Then click Save and continue to proceed to the next submission step.
As with other pages in the new submission experience, all mandatory questions must be completed before the system allows you to continue.
What if my study relates to Animal research?
If your submission relates to Animal research, select this option and respond to all ethical questions displayed on the page.
The system will request the relevant animal study compliance and approval details based on your responses.
Complete all mandatory information before continuing.
What if Ethical declaration is not applicable to my submission?
If ethical declaration is not applicable, select Not applicable.
You will still be asked to complete the requested confirmation details shown on the page before proceeding with the next step.
Will the ethical declaration appear in my final published manuscript?
Yes. The ethical declaration will appear in the final published article.
Authors can review and approve it during proofing before the final version is published on ScienceDirect.
On the Upload your submission files screen, you will find a list of required and optional files for the journal.
Please note that the manuscript and the ‘Declaration of Competing interests’ files are mandatory across all journals. Additional files may also be mandatory at the discretion of the journal.
To upload your manuscript file, select "Choose your manuscript." You may submit your manuscript without adhering to specific journal formatting, and it can include figures and tables.
If you choose to upload a Word file, the system will try to automatically extract the metadata, including the title, abstract, keywords, and authors, which you can review and modify on the subsequent pages.
If you need assistance with your Declaration of Competing Interests file, a tool is available to help generate one. Please click the link located above the 'Choose declaration of interest statements' button.
The system will try to automatically extract the title, abstract, and keywords from your uploaded manuscript file and fills in the corresponding fields on the next screen. If the system cannot extract this information or if you wish to make changes, you can manually edit these fields.
A list of submission stepsis displayed on the right side of the screen. This list shows which steps have been completed, which steps remain, and your current progress. If any required information is missing, the related step is marked with an error. You can choose a specific step to edit and add the necessary details.
Once you have reviewed and confirmed all information is accurate, click “Save and continue” to proceed.
On the "Additional Information" screen, the author information extracted from your manuscript is displayed. Please review this information carefully to verify its accuracy.
If any corrections are needed, you can edit the details at this stage. You also have the option to add any additional authors who are not listed here.
Depending on the journal, the subsequent screen presents you with options tailored to your article type and institution.
Please review the available options and make your selection accordingly and select “save your return”.
Provide additional information screen features journal-specific additional information. It is important to read each question carefully and provide your responses. Once you have completed the page, select “Save and continue” to proceed.
You can use the Oppose Reviewer option to list reviewers you prefer not to review your manuscript. Select “Yes”, then enter the reviewer’s name, email, and reason for opposing. Please note that the availability of this option is determined by the journal and may vary depending on the article type selected.
The final step is the “Review and Submit” screen.
Any incomplete sections are highlighted in red for you to address. Before submitting, make sure all required fields are filled out.
Then, read and agree to the ethics of publishing policy and copyright terms. Also, confirm that you have disclosed all funding to organizations for your research.
When everything is ready, select “Complete your submission”.
After a successful submission, you will receive a confirmation email from the journal.
- Note: Revisions will be handled in Editorial manager.
- Need assistance with troubleshooting? Please contact us via our Chat button to assist you further.
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