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InstructionsInstructions

The following instructions for the Biochemical Journal online submission site are organised in question-and-answer format. You can read through the questions in order, or click on any of these questions to jump directly to the answer. When you're ready to continue, go back to the home page.

Please note: these instructions do not replace the official Biochemical Journal Instructions to Authors. Please refer to these instructions for overall guidelines on submitting a paper.

Getting started

Entering a submission

Getting help

Do I need to do anything before I can begin submitting my manuscript?

If you have never submitted to the Biochemical Journal electronically before, you must first register for an account. To register, you will fill out a profile form telling us who you are and how to contact you if necessary. The information you supply here will also be filled in for you when you begin submitting a paper. You can change any of this information at any time in the future by clicking the "Update my registration information" link on the submission home page.

You will need to choose a username and password. Try to pick a password that you will not forget but that is not easy to guess. Combinations of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and punctuation marks are best (passwords are case-sensitive: capital letters must be entered as capitals, and so on). You can also change your password in the future, and if you ever forget your username and/or password, you can request a reminder via email by clicking on the link provided on the submission home page.

Finally, please be sure you enter an email address that you can use to handle Biochemical Journal business. All correspondence regarding your submissions will be sent to the address you enter, so use an email account that you check frequently, and take special care to enter the address correctly.

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How do I begin submitting a manuscript?

If you have registered, and you are ready to submit a paper, you can click on the "Start a new or revised submission" link on the home page to start the submission process. To submit your manuscript, you will fill out four screens of information, including submitting the file or files comprising your submission; the process is reasonably self-explanatory, and detailed help is provided along the way.

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What should I prepare ahead of time for a new submission?

Before you begin submitting, you should have the following items ready:
IMPORTANT: do not include the cover letter in the body of the manuscript!

  • your manuscript prepared as one or more files (see below for more information on the files);
  • your manuscript title, the number of words it contains and names, affiliations and email addresses of all authors on the manuscript;
  • the abstract and your cover letter, in plain, unformatted text, ready to be copy-and-pasted (or typed directly) into the submission page;
  • for revisions and resubmissions only: the BJ manuscript number assigned to the previously submitted version.

They should be entered in the online form using the spaces provided.

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How do I submit a revised manuscript?

Revised manuscripts are submitted exactly like new submissions, except that you will need to enter the BJ manuscript number that was assigned to the previous version. This number is of the form BJ2010/0001. If the previous version was also submitted electronically, the manuscript information is also filled in for you so you do not need to retype it (although you can make changes).

Please note that the submission must be resubmitted in full. Include all figures, even if they have not changed from the original submission.

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What kinds of file may I submit?

We strongly encourage submission of both text and graphics as a single Adobe Acrobat PDF file because you can review the electronic version of your manuscript for accuracy before online submission. Submitting your manuscript in PDF format will also expedite the review process because it is this version that is circulated on the Web for review. For more information on the Adobe Acrobat application go to Adobe's web site.

If you cannot create a PDF, please see below for instructions on submitting separate files.

If your paper is accepted, you will be asked to provide separate high-resolution, publication-quality graphics, also in TIFF or EPS format, for print and online publication. It is therefore best for the initial submission to create the graphics using applications that are capable of preparing acceptable TIFF or EPS formats.

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How do I create a PDF file?

To create a PDF file, you will need the commercial product Adobe Acrobat (not to be confused with the free Acrobat Reader product, which only allows you to read PDF files). The software can be purchased at most computer stores or directly from Adobe, and includes detailed instructions on producing PDFs.

5 easy steps for submitting a PDF:

  1. Prepare the text in Microsoft Word with single-line-spacing.
  2. Prepare graphics at publication quality resolution, using applications that are capable of generating TIFF or EPS files (these types of files will be necessary to submit later if your manuscript is accepted).
  3. Using Adobe Acrobat, save your manuscript text and graphics in a single file in PDF format. The cover letter should not be included in this PDF file. For more detailed information on how to generate a PDF file go to http://www.biochemj.org/bj/submitpdf.htm.
  4. Carefully review the manuscript text and figures in the PDF file using Adobe Acrobat. We recommend that you also review a printed copy of your PDF. Check file size (on average your PDF should be smaller than 1MB but should not exceed 2MB).
  5. Submit your manuscript online using this web site.

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What if I can't create a PDF?

If you cannot submit your manuscript as a PDF file, you may submit separate text and graphics files online. Our preferred format for text is Microsoft Word. If you are unable to provide this format please contact the Editorial Office (editorial@biochemj.org) for advice. You may format text however you need to but do not embed figures in the text.

We will accept only graphics provided in the following formats: TIFF, EPS, GIF, JPEG, BMP, Excel, PowerPoint and CorelDraw.

For graphics, we cannot accept graphics created by certain application programs such as Microsoft Office (Word, Access), Corel Perfect Office (WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, Presentations), Lotus SmartSuite (Freelance Graphics, 1-2-3, Approach, WordPro) and SigmaPlot. These programs are not intended for high resolution imaging necessary for publication. Also note that files should not be compressed: do not use WinZip, Stuffit, or any similar compression programs.

The Microsoft Word and graphics files you provide will be converted into a PDF file by the Biochemical Journal Editorial Office.

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Where should I put my response to a previous review of this manuscript?

When you are submitting a revised paper, respond to specific comments from previous reviews in the cover letter. Please note that this letter must be plain text, without any formatting.

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Can I submit supplemental data or a multi-media adjunct?

Currently we can accept movies (QT, MOV, AVI, SWF, MPEG), animated gif files or PDB structures as supplemental data online. These data will be reviewed as a part of the normal manuscript review process and will be judged by the same criteria. Only data that are uniquely suited to the online journal and which substantially contribute to the manuscript will be accepted.

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What happens after I complete a submission?

If you submitted a complete PDF file, the manuscript will go directly into our tracking system and be assigned to reviewers. From this point on, the review process continues as it always has.

If you submitted separate text and graphics files, the paper must be converted to PDF before the review process can begin. This conversion process is not straightforward and can produce unexpected results, so we ask authors to approve the PDF before the review process. You will receive an email alerting you when the PDF is ready for proofreading, along with instructions on how to access the PDF and how to approve or reject it.

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What are some common pitfalls I should avoid?

  • Proofread your manuscript for spelling and grammar before submitting it. If you find spelling or grammatical problems after the submission is complete, you will be required to resubmit your entire manuscript online. The Biochemical Journal cannot be responsible for making editorial corrections to submitted manuscripts, and any such changes that do get made will delay the processing of your manuscript considerably.
  • Make sure you have not included your cover letter in the manuscript files you submit. The cover letter should be pasted or typed into the space provided on the submission web page. It can be plain text only. (Do include the abstract in the files you submit, however.)
  • If you are submitting a revision or resubmisson of a previous manuscript, please be sure to enter the original manuscript number in the space provided. Omitting this number will cause significant delays.
  • Be sure to use only the supported file formats. Your submission will automatically be rejected if you use any other formats, and you will need to resubmit it.

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What should I do if I get stuck?

You will find detailed help links throughout the submission process, and you can use any of these links without stopping the submission. In case you are having more serious problems, you will also find a link on every page allowing you to send feedback directly to the Editorial Office staff. If you send a problem report from this page, we will make every effort to respond as soon as possible.

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