Upcoming innovations in the publishing journey

A glimpse of what we’re working on

Scientific publishing has a rich history as a vital platform for sharing discoveries and advancing knowledge. Over the years, it has evolved to embrace new technologies and adapt to the changing needs of the research community. At Elsevier, we are committed to collaborating with our editors, authors and reviewers to continue this evolution by driving innovations that not only address modern demands but which also set new standards for the future. Our goal is to enhance the publishing journey for all parties by providing exceptional support while safeguarding research integrity.

By leveraging emerging technologies and applying our own innovations, we aim to create a seamless, user-centered publishing experience that simplifies and streamlines the process for everyone involved. These initiatives fit our commitment to working together to empower you to focus solely on the science, ensure the integrity of the research we publish, and enhance the service we provide to authors.

In this article, we proudly present a glimpse of our plans for 2025 and beyond. Our priorities focus on:

• Simplifying the submission process

• Innovating the peer review system

• Safeguarding research integrity

Optimizing and simplifying the submission process

Over time, submission requirements for many journals have become increasingly complex, time-consuming, and inconsistent – even for journals within the same field. Happily, advancements in our systems and processes now allow for a more streamlined approach.

We are therefore piloting an enhancement to Editorial Manager that offers authors a simplified, more user-friendly submission experience. This new approach integrates the latest technologies to extract and populate data directly from the manuscript file, automatically flags missing elements, and allows us to eliminate redundant or outdated submission requirements. It is very encouraging to see that 90% of authors involved in the pilot already prefer the new service, and moreover, seem to appreciate its features. “The system is very nice, transparent and user-friendly” is just one of many positive comments we have received from authors using it.

Editors will benefit from the service by receiving higher-quality, more complete manuscripts which are immediately ready for peer review. And they seem to be looking forward to it! “I love that we will be getting rid of formatting requirements for initial submissions – that will be a major help for authors”, comments Caitlin Hicks, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Surgery opens in new tab/window. Over time, we plan to introduce additional features and functionalities to further improve the quality and suitability of submitted manuscripts.

As the pilot progresses further, we will be reviewing and simplifying existing submission requirements across all our journals to prepare them to roll out this new service. Your regular publishing contact will keep you updated on these changes.

Innovations in the peer review process

Peer review is a crucial part of the publishing process, and we are committed to making it as smooth and efficient as possible. Editors often face challenges in managing this process effectively, such as finding available reviewers and receiving reports in a timely fashion, since reviewers – like editors – frequently juggle many responsibilities. A more streamlined system will enable reviewers to provide focused and constructive feedback, ultimately benefiting authors.

This is why we have started collaborating with some of you to develop a more intuitive way to manage the editorial process. Our new online peer review service – another enhancement to Editorial Manager – allows reviewers to interact with the manuscript directly in their browser, leaving inline comments that remain closely tied to the text. Feedback from reviewers has been positive so far. “It is so easy to provide comments at appropriate places. No need to worry about line and page numbers. It saves reviewers' valuable time.” comments one referee.

For authors, the service means an easier way to view and respond to feedback directly within their manuscript, simplifying the revision process, which is also reflected in the comments we have been receiving: “This online response mode is highly convenient and straightforward.” Editors also benefit from a clearer overview of reviewer comments and author responses, enabling faster and better-informed decisions.

Safeguarding research integrity

By unifying and optimizing journal submission requirements while leveraging the innovative features of our new submission experience and online peer review, we are strengthening research integrity and publishing ethics as this alignment will enable the rollout and integration of various new tools, checks, and alerts to safeguard the submission process.

For example, noting that the “suggest reviewers” feature was being misused by bad actors and leading to ethical malpractice, we were able to leverage the capability of Editorial Manager to centrally disable this feature and thereby prevent further misuse. And this is just the beginning: we are planning many more integrity-enhancing adjustments.

Users at the heart of innovation

These innovations are driven and continuously refined by invaluable feedback from you and our other users. Early results show that authors and reviewers appreciate the new online peer review tools, and an overwhelming majority of authors prefer the simplified submission platform.

Together, we are transforming the publishing journey into a more streamlined and user-friendly experience. We remain, as ever, grateful for your input and participation in this evolution. Stay tuned for further updates from your publishing contact and in our next Editor Briefing.