Discover a fast, easy way to track journal submissions, with more information about the progress of the peer-review and the publication status of manuscripts.
We are always looking for ways to improve the author experience – and our manuscript tracker is part of that commitment. Developed using feedback from our authors, the tracker is available across all Royal Society of Chemistry journals, making it as easy as possible for authors to stay informed about their submissions.
With a clear and informative interface, this time-saving tool allows users to follow the progress of their paper by receiving updates at each stage – from the moment it is submitted, to when it is published online. The manuscript tracker even allows authors to find out details such as the number of reviewers who have agreed to provide a report, or the name of the handling editor. This information can also be shared with co-authors, removing the need for the corresponding author to manually update everyone on the paper.
How it works
There are seven stages displayed in the tracker, starting with manuscript submission and concluding when the article has been published online.
Once a manuscript has been submitted, the submitting author is sent an acknowledgement email containing a link to their personalised tracker.
1. MANUSCRIPT SUBMITTED
Once the manuscript has been submitted, the files are checked for completeness.
If a manuscript is incomplete and does not contain all the necessary files or information, our editorial team will be in contact by email to help resolve this. In the meantime, this message will be displayed on the tracker:
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2. WITH EDITORIAL OFFICE
If the manuscript is assigned to a publishing editor at the Royal Society of Chemistry, it remains at this stage.
If the manuscript is assigned to an associate editor, it moves to WITH EDITOR.
If the manuscript is rejected without further review, or the authors are offered a transfer to an alternative Royal Society of Chemistry journal, the submitting author will receive an email with further details. This message is displayed on the tracker:
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3. WITH EDITOR
If the submission is rejected without further review, or the authors are offered a transfer to an alternative Royal Society of Chemistry journal, the corresponding author will receive an email with further details. This message is displayed on the tracker:
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4. WITH REVIEWERS
The manuscript moves to this stage when the first reviewer agrees to review it. The name of the handling editor is also displayed here. Once the editor has received sufficient reviewer reports to make a decision, the submitting author will then receive an email with further details.
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5. MANUSCRIPT REVISIONS
If the editor has recommended that revisions should be made, the tracker will display the following screen. The blue ‘i’ indicates that revisions need to be carried out by the author.
The blue ‘i’ becomes a green tick when the manuscript has been revised and returned to the editor for consideration as below:
If a manuscript is rejected or offered a transfer to an alternative Royal Society of Chemistry journal, further details will be sent to the submitting author by email by our editorial team. This message is displayed on the tracker:
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6. MANUSCRIPT ACCEPTED
If the following message is displayed, then congratulations! The manuscript has been accepted for publication.
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7. PUBLISHED ONLINE
The final step, this message shows when the manuscript has been published as an Accepted Manuscript or Advance Article.
Find out more information about the submission process or submit to one of our journals.