Article Transfer Service
Helping you find the right home for your research
Submitting your manuscript for publication is a critical point in the research cycle, and finding the right home for your work can be challenging. It may be that your first choice of journal turns out not to be the right one, requiring you to look elsewhere to publish.
At Elsevier, we recognize this process isn’t always smooth, and we are committed to helping good research find the right home. A key way we do this is through our Article Transfer Service.
85% of authors using the Article Transfer Service were satisfied or very satisfied with their experience.*
The system is designed to help manuscripts find the right journal faster by supporting seamless transfer of rejected articles to more suitable journals.
The instructions for article transfer were very clear and easy to follow. The whole process became very easy as a result.
Why accept an article transfer?
You’ve submitted your manuscript and unfortunately received a rejection, either before or after peer review. But, the editor has suggested a more suitable journal. What does this offer mean for you and your manuscript?
- Save time – if possible, editors will make use of the insights from previous reviewers
- Revise your submission if necessary – you’ll have the chance to change the cover letter and take any reviews into account before finalizing your submission to the new journal
- Stay in control – the decision to transfer is yours
- Easy process – agreeing to the transfer takes just one click
75% of authors state the main benefit of the Article Transfer Service as “Saving time/effort of a new submission process”**
The process, step by step
- Click the agree to transfer link you receive by email to start the process;
- From the potential alternative journals suggested by the editor, select the journal of your choice, and your submission will be transferred automatically;
- Finalize your transfer submission (including any formatting changes, revised files, additional files such as a “response to reviewers”, as required) and approve the PDF.
Types of transfer
A. Transfer Pre-review and Transfer Post-review
This is the most common type of transfer and is offered if the original editor for your article believes an alternative journal is more appropriate. If you accept the offer to transfer, your article and any available referee comments will be sent to the receiving journal. The editors of the receiving journal will make their own assessment based on the materials they receive. There is no guarantee of acceptance and your manuscript may be further peer reviewed.
B. Transfer Recommended Accept
A transfer recommended accept is a provisional acceptance (sometimes with some minor conditions of revision) of your paper. This is offered when, after peer review in the original journal to which you submitted, the editor decides that your article is not suitable for publication in their journal but is acceptable for publication in another journal. If you accept the offer to transfer, your article and any available referee comments will be sent to the receiving journal. Provided you address any comments from the original editor(s)/referees, and follow the instructions given in the email offer, publication in the alternative journal is expected without further peer review.
Choosing a different journal
If you would prefer to submit to a different journal, you may simply decline the transfer offer and submit directly to your chosen journal.
Journal networks
Leverage bespoke journal networks in your area of expertise, more coming soon.
Finance
Finance Journals Ecosystem - receive personalized transfer recommendations from our editors
Oncology
Elsevier's Oncology journal network – we’ll help you find the right home for your research – fast
Elsevier is helping to improve the manuscript submission and peer review processes
Elsevier is committed to developing fast, effective and truly innovative solutions to improve the overall manuscript submission and peer review process for all parties involved: authors, reviewers and editors.
The Article Transfer Service is one such solution, designed to make the editorial process smoother and more efficient. By creating families of linked journals within various academic fields, we facilitate seamless transfer of articles between journals. This enables editors to identify and suggest a more suitable home for a manuscript and means that authors don’t have to go through the process of manually resubmitting, saving time and effort. If the transfer takes place post-review, previous input from referees can travel with the manuscript, ensuring the contributions of reviewers are used to maximum effect, so all parties benefit from the insights already shared.
Useful information
- For more information on the benefits of article transfer, please read “Helping authors find the best home for their article” on Editors’ Update.
- When preparing your submission, tips on writing skills are available on Elsevier’s Researcher Academy, a free e-learning platform.
- When considering the first journal for your submission, Elsevier’s Journal Finder helps you find potentially suitable journals for your article, and tips for finding the right journal are available on Elsevier’s Researcher Academy.