Some publication structures in Digital Commons repositories invite authors to submit their content using the online submission form. Submission policies vary depending on the institution, library, or department that publishes the content. Once content is submitted, and pending administrator approval, the content is then posted to the publication by an administrator or journal editor.

This guide presents an author's view of the submission process. Click the image below to see a larger visual summary of the submission and revision steps.

For administrators and editors: You may freely distribute this guide and the visual summary as a supplement to your own instructions for authors. If you share this guide with authors, consider adding explanations for any custom fields or preferred practices for your repository or journal.

Prior to Submitting

Before you submit your work, check whether any specific instructions or submission deadlines have been provided for the particular series, journal, etc. This information may be available in the introductory text of the webpage or via a link to a separate page with guidelines for authors or a call for papers.

Many repositories and journals display contact information for administrators or editors. If contact information is present, you may direct questions about the submission process to the email addresses provided.

Submitting from an Author’s Perspective

1. From the webpage for the series or other publication, select the Submit Research link in the sidebar. Note: Submit Research may appear with a slightly different label depending on publication settings (e.g., Submit Article or Submit Presentation).
2. Log in with your email address and password if you are not already logged in. If you do not have an account yet, select Create new account. See Accounts and Authentication for more about logging in or updating your account details, if needed.
3. In journals, the Submission Instructions appear first. These instructions outline the information required for submission and any other pertinent guidelines.
4. The Submission Agreement appears next in journals. In all other publication types, the Submission Agreement is the only page you see before the submission form. Select the checkbox next to "Please check this if you agree to the above terms" to continue with the submission process.
5. Complete the submission form, which is the same form described in the administrator steps in Publishing to a Series.
   • Most file types are accepted in Digital Commons, except in image galleries, which accept only image files. See File Types and Options in Digital Commons for details.
   • If the Additional Files field is enabled in a publication structure, a checkbox appears on the submission form that allows you to include supplemental files with your submission (in journals, this option is on the submission confirmation screen).
6. Select the Submit button. A confirmation screen appears with your submission metadata and the options to view your account, revise, or make another submission.

An administrator or editor will review your submission and either post it or contact you.

We strongly recommend that you provide an email address with your submission. An email address is necessary for correspondence with the administrator and for you to be eligible for publication notification emails, periodic usage reports (including download activity), and more. In some publications, the email address is a required field.

Author Submission Management Tools

You can submit revisions, withdraw submissions, upload additional files (if enabled), and email the series administrator or journal editor from your My Account page. These options become inaccessible once a submission is published, rejected, withdrawn, or locked by the administrator (see Publishing to a Series for more on this feature).

To access your My Account page, go to the homepage of the repository and select the My Account link. Your submitted articles appear on the My Account page along with their current status.

Select the title of a submission to see its details page. You can access the PDF of your work from the details page.

You can also revise, withdraw, or manage additional files for your work on this page, and view the revision history. To email the editor or administrator of the publication, select the Email administrator link or, in journals, the Email editor link.

Once an item is published, the submission link on your My Account page goes to the public article page on the repository instead of the details page. Any further changes to a published work require an administrator or editor.