Overview
Author guidelines combine many small requirements: title page contents, abstract structure and word limit, keyword count, heading levels, reference style, table and figure placement, file formats and resolution, and a growing list of declarations — funding, conflicts of interest, ethics approval, data availability, author contributions (often using the CRediT taxonomy) and, increasingly, use of AI tools. Missing any of these can delay a technical check.
Some publishers now accept 'format-free' initial submissions — Elsevier's 'Your Paper Your Way' is a well-known example — where any consistent reference style is accepted until revision. Format-free does not mean requirement-free: the declarations, core structure and complete references are still expected, and full formatting is usually needed at revision or acceptance. We check which policy applies to your journal and format accordingly.
Formatting changes presentation, not content. Where a limit forces a content decision — an abstract 60 words over the limit, eight figures where six are allowed — we show the options and you decide. Language editing is a separate service, and journal choice and cover letters are part of our publication support services.
Who it’s for and the problems it solves
This is for you if you are…
- Authors preparing a first submission to a specific journal
- Authors resubmitting to a different journal after rejection, who need a fast reformat
- Doctoral candidates turning thesis chapters into submission-ready articles
- Research teams whose co-authors used different templates and styles
- Authors asked by the editorial office to correct formatting before review
Common problems we help with
- The editorial office returned your submission for formatting or missing declarations
- Your paper was rejected and the next journal uses a different reference style, word limit and structure
- You cannot tell whether figures must be embedded or uploaded separately, and at what resolution
- The abstract needs to become a structured abstract with fixed headings
- You need a numbered reference style but the paper uses author-date citations
What’s included — and what isn’t
Included
- A compliance checklist built from the journal's current author guidelines and article-type requirements
- Title page and blinded manuscript versions for single- or double-anonymized review
- Section order and headings per article type (for example IMRaD for original research, or the journal's structure for reviews)
- Abstract format (structured or unstructured) and keyword checks against limits
- Reference and in-text citation conversion to the journal style
- Tables formatted as editable tables with titles and footnotes as specified
- Figure checks: file format, resolution, dimensions, color mode and legends, with separate files named per instructions
- Declarations section assembled from information you supply: funding, conflicts, ethics, data availability, CRediT contributions, AI-use statements
- Word counts reported as the journal defines them
Not included
- Language editing (available as manuscript editing)
- Cutting content to meet limits without your decisions
- Writing declarations, ethics statements or contribution statements with information you have not provided
- Submitting on your behalf through the journal system (we can prepare files and a submission checklist)
- Choosing the journal or predicting outcomes
What you receive
- Formatted manuscript
- The main document in the journal's required format and file type, with anonymized version if needed.
- Separate files
- Title page, tables, figures and supplementary material prepared and named as the journal instructs.
- Compliance checklist
- Each guideline, how it is met, and any items needing your input — such as a declaration or a figure that falls below the resolution requirement.
- Submission notes
- A list of metadata the submission system will ask for (author ORCIDs, affiliations, suggested reviewers, word counts) so you have them ready.
How it works
Confirm journal and article type
You give us the journal and article type; we read the current guidelines and note whether a format-free first submission is allowed.
Checklist
We build a checklist and send you any questions about declarations or limits before formatting.
Reformat
We reformat text, references, tables and figures and prepare required separate files.
Check and hand over
A final check against the checklist, then the files and submission notes are delivered for you to upload.
Standards we commonly format to
- Publisher author guidelines
- Each journal's own instructions take priority, including templates from publishers such as Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, SAGE, IEEE and MDPI.
- ICMJE Recommendations
- Followed by many medical journals for manuscript structure, authorship and disclosures; updated in January 2026 with expanded guidance on AI use.
- Reference styles
- APA 7, AMA 11th edition, Vancouver (NLM), IEEE, Chicago author-date, Harvard variants or a journal's own style, often via its CSL or EndNote output style.
- CRediT taxonomy
- Standard author-contribution roles (for example conceptualization, methodology, writing – review and editing) used by many publishers.
- Reporting checklists
- We include your completed CONSORT, PRISMA 2020, STROBE or similar checklist with correct page or line references when the journal asks for it.
- Figure specifications
- Common requirements such as 300 dpi for photos and higher for line art, TIFF, EPS or PDF formats, and RGB or CMYK color — always checked against the journal's own numbers.
Reformatting after a rejection
Moving a paper to a new journal is often the most time-pressured formatting job. The new journal may use numbered references instead of author-date, a 250-word structured abstract instead of 200 words unstructured, a 5,000-word limit that now includes references, and a different set of mandatory declarations. Reference conversion is quickest if you used a reference manager; we can work from your library or directly from the document.
Before you reformat, it is worth deciding whether the reviewers' comments from the previous journal should be addressed first. Our rejection recovery service helps with that decision.
Details that commonly cause technical-check returns
Editorial offices check submissions before sending them to an editor. The same issues come up repeatedly, and most are quick to prevent once you know to look for them.
- Author names or acknowledgements left in a manuscript meant for double-anonymized review
- Figures embedded at low resolution rather than uploaded as separate original files
- Missing data availability, ethics or conflict-of-interest statements
- Tables pasted as images instead of editable tables
- Word counts that exceed the limit as the journal defines it (with or without references, tables and abstract)
- Reference lists that mix styles or include uncited items
What the work can look like
Illustrative example — fictional data
Reformatting a nursing article for a new journal
An illustrative nursing research team (fictional) moves a 4,800-word article from an APA 7 journal to one requiring AMA style, a structured abstract of up to 300 words, a blinded manuscript and a CRediT statement.
Checklist findings
The new journal counted words excluding abstract and references, so the article was within limit. The abstract needed Background, Methods, Results and Conclusions headings. A data availability statement was required and missing.
Reformatting
Fifty-two references were converted to AMA with superscript numbering. The two figures were supplied separately as TIFF files at the required resolution. Acknowledgements naming a hospital unit were moved to the title page for the blinded version.
Items for the authors
The team supplied the data availability wording and confirmed each author's CRediT roles, which were then added in the journal's format.
Illustrative example with invented details. It does not describe a real journal, team or outcome.
What you’ll need to provide
- The manuscript, tables, figures (original, highest-resolution files) and supplementary files
- Target journal and article type, and a link to the guidelines
- Author details, affiliations, ORCID iDs, funding and conflict-of-interest information
- Ethics approval details, data availability and author contribution information
- Any correspondence from the editorial office about formatting
You don’t need everything ready to ask for a quote — tell us what you have and we’ll say what’s missing.
What affects price and turnaround
Price depends on
- Manuscript length and number of references to convert
- Number of tables and figures needing preparation
- Gap between the current format and the journal's requirements
- Number of separate files and versions required (anonymized, title page, supplements)
- Turnaround
Turnaround depends on
- Length and number of references, tables and figures
- Whether original figure files are available
- How quickly you can answer questions about declarations and limits
Every project is quoted individually. How we price our work.
Questions people ask before starting
Do I need to format for the journal if it accepts format-free submission?
Often not fully at first submission, but you still need complete, consistent references, required declarations and the expected structure. Full formatting is usually requested at revision or acceptance. We check the journal's current policy.
Can you use the journal's Word or LaTeX template?
Yes. We work in the journal's template where one is required, including LaTeX classes such as those provided by IEEE, Elsevier or Springer Nature.
Will formatting change my text?
Only where the journal requires it, such as heading names or abstract headings. Any change affecting content, including cuts to meet a limit, is proposed for your decision.
Can you submit the paper for me?
The corresponding author should submit and confirm all declarations. We prepare the files and a list of what the submission system will ask for.
What if my figures are too low-resolution?
We check them against the journal's requirements. If the original source files exist, we can export at the correct resolution; otherwise we flag which figures need recreating.