Elsevier Author Services – Articles
  • Language Editing Services
  • Translation Services
  • Author’s Webshop
Facebook
Pinterest
LinkedIn
YouTube
WeChat
x
Elsevier Author Services – Articles
Language Editing Services by Elsevier Author Services
Elsevier Author Services – Articles
  • Research Process
  • Manuscript Preparation
  • Manuscript Review
  • Publication Process
  • Publication Recognition
  • English
Simultaneous submissions
  • Publication Process

Simultaneous submissions

  • 5 minute read
  • 11K views
Total
1
Shares
1
0
0
0
0

Table of Contents

  • What is a simultaneous submission?
  • Duplicate publication

A manuscript is the outcome of a tremendous personal effort: months of research, long nights of data collecting and management, countless hours of writing and reviewing, until you finally think it has reached a good-enough quality level to submit it for publication. After such an incredible endeavour, it would be only fair to see your paper published in no time at all. However, even the act of submitting has its rights and wrongs and is very often subdued to strict policies concerning the exclusivity of publication. In the rush of having a published paper, many researchers choose to approach several publishers with the same manuscript, in a short period of time, without waiting for acceptance or rejection letters. This is called a simultaneous submission.

The whole idea of simultaneous submission is still rather controversial in academia: is it really fair to ask authors to give their work away, for months in a row, until they finally obtain any kind of answer? Not to mention that many times a response never even arrives.

On the other hand, editors spend a lot of time and energy appraising immense quantities of submitted manuscripts. They search for novelty, scientific originality and fresh ideas in order to achieve – or maintain – high levels of acknowledgement among the scientific community. Furthermore, authors aren’t always truthful or aware of the etiquette concerning simultaneous submissions: in some situations, they don’t tell their potential publisher they have submitted their paper elsewhere – by signing a written statement that they haven’t – and, in other situations, they fail to inform that their manuscript has been accepted somewhere else.

All things considered, obliging authors to submit their work only to one venue at a time is a way for editors to guarantee publication exclusiveness and consequently captivate a more refined audience.

At the end of the day, you will find yourself facing a double-edged sword: on the one hand, the most renowned publications demand submission exclusivity; on the other hand, submitting to journals that are OK with simultaneous submissions improve your chances of a successful acceptance for publication.

Sooner or later, any scientist aiming to see his work published will have to make this choice. The good news is that there are things one can do to increase success in being accepted by publishers, even those with exclusivity policies – for example, a high-quality text, edited to perfection, is a decisive element to achieve that acceptance letter you are longing for. This is the right moment to invest in translation/text editing services: at Elsevier we guarantee successful publication or a total refund if your manuscript is turned down due to poor grammar.

What is a simultaneous submission?

Sending work to multiple venues at once is generally considered unethical because it breaches the author’s promise that his work is original and has never been openly seen/published before. There are, however, publishers that don’t have such a strict policy regarding simultaneous submissions. But… is this really the best practice for authors? Probably YES if they’re looking for higher acceptance rates but definitively NO for the author’s reputation. Here are some reasons why:

  1. Researcher or submitter?
    Submitting your paper countless times is just a sign you are a restless submitter but not necessarily interested in improving your work to reach the scientific level expected from a good publisher in your field of study.
  2. Waste of time
    Submitting for publication takes a lot of time. Forms have to be filled, publication policies need to be properly read and checked, and if you are repeating this whole process over and over again you are simply just taking time from important research that could get you far in the future. Similarly, editors are not willing to waste time reading manuscripts that won’t bring the novelty and exclusivity they look for. Even if you politely decline your publication acceptance because you are doing it with someone else, the odds are that the rejected editor will never read your work in the future.
  3. On the road to bad decisions
    When you send your paper to more than one venue, what will likely happen is that your work will be accepted by two or three less relevant publishers while being still under consideration by a much better acknowledged one or, even more exciting, by a venue that actually pays. This situation might be difficult to resolve: should you risk rejecting the less relevant publishers while you wait for the best venue to accept your submission, or should you rather take the first chance you get at being published?

Know more: Integrity and quality in research.

Duplicate publication

Also called redundant publication, duplicate publication is also a misconduct practiced by many authors whose priority seems to be publishing at any cost, disregarding aspects such as transparency and ethics in science. It consists in publishing a paper that is very similar to one previously published by the same author, with no acknowledgements concerning sources and without permission from the copyright holder. Normally, authors expect to hide the obvious similarities by adding a new title and modifying the abstract. The data set, conclusion and findings are, however, the same as the previously published paper. Unlike simultaneous submission, it can be many years until the redundant paper is published.

The authors may think that it’s in their right to republish their own work again, probably with a few upgrades and by a more distinguished publisher but, in fact, duplicate publication violates many fundamental legal and ethical aspects:

  • Copyright permissions, since they are held by the publisher and not the author;
  • Distortion of empirical evidence, since data sets are counted twice, although they are the same;
  • Waste of editorial resources, taking up editorial space that other researchers could use;
  • Self-plagiarism.

Instead of adopting unethical strategies to publish a paper, avoid heavy frowns from your peers by focusing on enhancing and improving your manuscript. With Language Editing Plus Service by Elsevier, you can achieve excellence in written text. Our team of language experts will pay special attention to the logic and flow of contents, adjusting your document to meet your needs. Apart from professional text edition, we offer reference checking and a customized Cover Letter. All this, with unlimited rounds of language review and full support at every step of the way. Use the simulator below to check the price for your manuscript, using the total number of words in your document.

Type in wordcount for Plus
Total:
Follow this link if your manuscript is longer than 9,000 words.
Upload

Find more about Simultaneous submissions on Pinterest:

Total
1
Shares
Post 1
Tweet 0
Share 0
Send 0
Message 0
Previous Article
  • News

17 March 2021 – Elsevier’s Mini Program Launched on WeChat Brings Quality Editing Straight to your Smartphone

View Post
Next Article
Levels of evidence in research
  • Research Process

Levels of evidence in research

View Post
You May Also Like
Publishing Biomedical Research
View Post
  • Publication Process

Publishing Biomedical Research: What Rules Should You Follow?

What is a predatory Journal
View Post
  • Publication Process

Navigating the Complex Landscape of Predatory Journals

Manuscript Submission
View Post
  • Publication Process

From Pen to Press: Navigating the Manuscript Submission Process

Writing an Effective Cover Letter for Manuscript Resubmission
View Post
  • Publication Process

Writing an Effective Cover Letter for Manuscript Resubmission

Journal Acceptance Rates
View Post
  • Publication Process

Journal Acceptance Rates: Everything You Need to Know

Research Data Storage and Retention
View Post
  • Publication Process

Research Data Storage and Retention

How to Appeal a Journal Decision
View Post
  • Publication Process

How to Appeal a Journal Decision

How to Get an Article Published: Checklist
View Post
  • Publication Process

How to Get an Article Published: Checklist

  • Scholarly Sources What are They and Where can You Find Them

    Scholarly Sources: What are They and Where can You Find Them?

    • 3 minute read
    View Post
  • Competing interest statement in research articles

    Competing interest statement in research articles

    • 4 minute read
    View Post
  • The magic behind scientific illustration

    • 3 minute read
    View Post
  • The sentence not to start your paper with

    • 2 minute read
    View Post
  • National trends in word use

    • 2 minute read
    View Post
More Posts
  • Publishing Biomedical Research
    Publishing Biomedical Research: What Rules Should You Follow?
    • 2 minute read
  • Importance-of-Data-Collection
    When Data Speak, Listen: Importance of Data Collection and Analysis Methods
    • 3 minute read
  • What is a predatory Journal
    Navigating the Complex Landscape of Predatory Journals
    • 3 minute read
  • Manuscript Submission
    From Pen to Press: Navigating the Manuscript Submission Process
    • 3 minute read
  • choosing the Right Research Methodology
    Choosing the Right Research Methodology: A Guide for Researchers
    • 3 minute read
  • Analytical Method Validation
    Navigating the Reproducibility Crisis: A Guide to Analytical Method Validation
    • 3 minute read
Price Calculator
Type in wordcount for Standard
Total:
Follow this link if your manuscript is longer than 12,000 words.
Upload
Learn more about
  • Research Process
  • Manuscript Preparation
  • Manuscript Review
  • Publication Process
  • Publication Recognition
  • News
Elsevier Author Services – Articles
  • Language Editing Services
  • Translation Services
  • Author’s Webshop
Elsevier wordmark
Terms & Conditions

Cookies are used by this site. To decline or learn more, visit our Cookies page.

RELX Wordmark

Input your search keywords and press Enter.