Publishing with Elsevier: step-by-step

2. Prepare your paper for submission

Download our 'Get Published' quick guide', which outlines the essential steps in preparing a paper. (This is also available in Chinese). It is very important that you stick to the specific “Guide for Authors” of the journal you are submitting to. This is found on the journal home page. You can find information about the publishing process in the 'Understanding the publishing process' guide. It covers topics such as authors' rights, ethics and plagiarism and journal and article metrics. If you have research data to share, make sure you read the guide for authors to find out which options the journal offers to share research data with your article. Free online lectures and courses on preparing your manuscript can be found at the Elsevier Publishing Campus. With more than 3 million users, Mendeley makes your life easier by helping you to organise your papers, citations and references, accessing them in the cloud on any device, wherever you are.

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3. Submit and revise

You can submit to most Elsevier journals using our online systems; the system you use will depend on the journal to which you submit. You can access the relevant submission system via the 'Submit Your paper' link on the Elsevier.com journal homepage of your chosen journal. Alternatively, if you have been invited to submit to a journal, follow the instructions provided to you. Once submitted, your paper will be considered by the editor and if it passes initial screening, it will be sent for peer review by experts in your field. If deemed unsuitable for publication in your chosen journal, the editor may suggest you transfer your submission to a more suitable journal, via an Article Transfer Service.

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4. Track your submission

You can track the status of your submitted paper online in either the Elsevier Editorial System (EES) or Elsevier’s new system, EVISE®. The system you use to track your submission will be the same system to which you submitted. Use the reference number you received after submission to track your submission.

Read FAQ on how to track your paper in EES or Evise

5. Track your accepted article

Once your paper is accepted for publication, you will receive a reference number and a direct link that lets you to follow its publication status via Elsevier’s Track your accepted article service.

However, even without a notification you can track the status of your article by entering your article reference number and corresponding author surname in Track your accepted article.

Read more about Track your accepted article

Make sure you complete the copyright form and select a licence if you have chosen to publish open access. A proof of your paper will be sent to you for checking and marking corrections.  After it is assigned to an issue, your final paper is made available on Science Direct.

Read more about proofing and licensing

6. Sharing and promoting your article

Now that your article is published, you can promote it to make a bigger impact with your research. Sharing research, accomplishments and ambitions with a wider audience makes you more visible in your field. This helps you get cited more, enabling you to cultivate a stronger reputation, promote your research and move forward in your career.

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