Describe your journal, press, or proceedings workflow. Makeform turns it into a manuscript submission form that gathers the manuscript file, title, abstract, author details, subject area, declarations, and the information editors need for an organized first screening.
Route new submissions to email, Slack, Google Sheets, and Zapier.
Sample prompts for the builder
Choose a complete prompt, adapt the details, or send it to the Makeform builder. Each example shows a practical intake structure, not a completed live form.
Prompt ready4 formats
Audience
Researchers submitting original articles to a journal
Format
Multi-section intake with manuscript and figure uploads
Prompt size
529 chars
Brief qualitySends to builder
Example form structure
Multi-section intake with manuscript and figure uploads
Prompt exampleEditable in builder
Manuscript title, article type, and subject area
Short answerFirst ask
2
Abstract and keywords
Long answer
3
Corresponding author and coauthors
Contact details
4
Manuscript, figures, and supplementary files
File upload
5
Declarations and submission confirmation
Checkboxes
Suggested routing tags
Suggested
New submission
Needs information
Editor screening
Ask for one corresponding author and collect every coauthor in a repeatable section; a single free-text author box creates avoidable cleanup before peer review.
Step 1
Identify
title, article type, abstract, and subject
Step 2
Attribute
corresponding author, coauthors, and affiliations
Step 3
Upload
manuscript, figures, tables, and supplements
Step 4
Route
receipt, screening queue, and editor notification
Why structured submission matters
A manuscript attachment alone is not an editorial record.
An email may contain a paper, but its subject line does not reliably provide the article type, abstract, complete author list, declarations, or files needed for screening. A structured manuscript submission form places that context beside every upload.
Files arrive with usable metadata
Keep the manuscript title, abstract, keywords, article type, and uploaded document in one submission instead of reconstructing metadata from a filename and email thread.
Authorship is captured deliberately
Separate the corresponding author from coauthors, request publication order and affiliations, and leave room for identifiers rather than hiding everyone in a cover letter.
Every submission enters a clear queue
Apply subject and article-type tags, notify the relevant editor, and send authors a consistent receipt so both sides know what was submitted and what happens next.
Adapt the intake
One submission pattern, four editorial settings.
Start with the workflow closest to your publication, then replace the sample choices, accepted files, declarations, and guidance with your own current editorial requirements.
Scholarly and research journals
Capture structured abstracts, subject classifications, author affiliations, funding information, reviewer suggestions, and separate supporting files for the initial editorial screen.
Literary magazines
Route by genre, collect a cover note and biography, request a clean manuscript, and ask about simultaneous submissions or previous publication without turning the form into an academic questionnaire.
Conference proceedings
Match final papers to proposal IDs and tracks, preserve author order, gather camera-ready and source files, and record whether requested revisions were addressed.
Books and special issues
Organize chapter or issue contributions with abstracts, contributor biographies, word counts, illustrations, permissions notes, and a message to the assigned editor.
Submission workflow
Build the route from author upload to editor screening.
A focused prompt can produce the intake structure quickly. The important work is then tailoring field labels, required rules, file guidance, and notifications to the publication's actual process.
Name the journal, press, or event; explain what authors submit; list accepted article or genre types; and specify the metadata, declarations, and files editors need before opening the manuscript.
02
Edit fields and conditional paths
Replace sample subject areas, make essential metadata required, and show relevant follow-ups only when needed—for example, figure uploads for illustrated work or proposal IDs for accepted conference papers.
03
Test author and file scenarios
Submit a single-author paper, a multi-author manuscript, and a record with supplements. Check field clarity, author order, accepted file guidance, confirmation text, and the experience on a phone and computer.
04
Publish and route the intake
Share or embed the form, notify the editorial inbox, tag records by article type or subject, and give the submitting author a receipt that summarizes the next editorial step without promising an outcome.
Form vs email vs static document
Choose an intake method that preserves editorial context.
The manuscript file is only one part of a submission. Editors also need consistent metadata, author contacts, declarations, and supporting materials that can be reviewed without searching across attachments and messages.
Approach
What the editor receives
Practical fit
ApproachSubmission by email
What the editor receivesA message and attachments whose naming, metadata, and author details vary with every sender.
Practical fitSimple for occasional invited work, but laborious to normalize across an open call.
ApproachDownloadable cover sheet
What the editor receivesA document authors complete manually, often alongside separate files and another delivery channel.
Practical fitUseful as a reference checklist, but it does not route or organize incoming records by itself.
Approach
Generated online submission form
What the editor receivesRequired metadata, author details, declarations, and uploads assembled as one structured response.
Practical fitA strong fit for recurring journal, proceedings, magazine, or edited-volume intake.
Field guide
What a manuscript submission form should include.
The right fields depend on the publication and submission stage. These six groups cover the handoff from an identifiable manuscript to an editorially usable record; edit every label and declaration to match your own published guidance.
Work identity
Make the manuscript identifiable before download.
Collect the title exactly as it should appear, the submission type, and a short reference such as an internal call or proposal ID when relevant. Structured identity fields make duplicate detection and later correspondence easier than relying on filenames.
Full manuscript or chapter title and optional short title.
Article type, genre, section, conference track, or special issue.
Proposal, invitation, revision, or prior submission identifier when applicable.
Summary & discovery
Give editors enough context for initial routing.
An abstract, keywords, and subject classification help an editor understand scope without extracting text from the file. Use a structured abstract only where your journal requires headings; literary and trade publications may need a synopsis or brief description instead.
Abstract, synopsis, or work description with a clearly stated length.
Keywords and subject areas selected from the publication's own vocabulary.
Word count, page count, poem count, or expected final length.
Authors & affiliations
Separate correspondence from publication order.
Identify one corresponding author for editorial messages, then capture every contributor in the requested order. Names, email addresses, affiliations, locations, biographies, and identifiers serve different purposes, so avoid compressing them into one unstructured paragraph.
Corresponding author name, email, phone if needed, and preferred contact details.
Coauthor names in publication order with affiliations and optional ORCID identifiers.
Contributor biographies, pen names, or role statements when the publication uses them.
Files & versions
State exactly which files belong in the package.
Use separate upload prompts for the main manuscript, figures, tables, cover image, source document, and supplements when editors handle them differently. Place accepted format and naming guidance beside the relevant upload rather than burying it on another page.
Main manuscript upload with accepted file types and a clear size expectation.
Separate figures, tables, captions, data, appendices, or supplementary material.
Version label such as original, revised, or camera-ready, plus a response document if requested.
Editorial declarations
Ask only for confirmations your workflow actually uses.
Publications often need authors to answer questions about originality, simultaneous submission, prior publication, funding, conflicts, third-party material, or guideline review. Present each item plainly and let editors supply the exact wording their policy requires.
Originality, previous publication, and simultaneous submission questions.
Funding, conflict-of-interest, data availability, or third-party material disclosures as relevant.
Confirmation that the current author guidelines and file checklist were reviewed.
Routing & follow-up
Turn a completed form into an editorial handoff.
Use article type, genre, or subject area to label the response and notify the appropriate inbox. A useful confirmation tells authors what was received, how to reference it, and how corrections should be sent while avoiding promises about acceptance or decision timing.
Submission identifier or consistent subject line for future correspondence.
Notifications to the managing editor, section editor, or proceedings coordinator.
Author receipt with a summary, contact route, and accurate description of the next step.
Related tools
Build the surrounding editorial workflow.
Use adjacent forms for abstracts, author profiles, files, reviews, and broader content intake. Each link opens an existing Makeform tool with a live URL copied from the tool registry.
Practical answers for journal editors, publishers, conference organizers, and managing editors designing an author intake.
What is a manuscript submission form?
A manuscript submission form is an online intake authors complete when sending work to a journal, publisher, literary magazine, edited volume, or conference proceedings. It joins the manuscript file to structured information such as title, abstract, article type, keywords, author names, affiliations, declarations, and supporting uploads. That gives the editorial team one record to screen and route instead of piecing together an email, cover sheet, and several attachments.
What fields should a journal manuscript submission form include?
A practical core includes manuscript title, article type, abstract, keywords, subject area, corresponding author details, every coauthor in publication order, affiliations, the main manuscript upload, and confirmation that the author reviewed the journal's current guidelines. Add only what your process uses: figures, tables, supplements, funding information, conflicts, reviewer suggestions, previous submission IDs, or a revision response. Clearly distinguish required fields from optional editorial context.
Can authors upload a manuscript and separate supporting files?
Yes. Add a file upload for the main manuscript and distinct uploads for figures, tables, cover art, appendices, source files, data, or supplementary material. Separate prompts help editors understand each file's purpose. Put accepted formats, naming instructions, and any practical file guidance beside each upload, then test the form with the largest realistic submission package before sharing it with authors.
How should I collect information for multiple authors?
Start with a dedicated corresponding-author section because that person receives editorial messages. Then collect each coauthor's name, email if required, affiliation, location, identifier, and contributor role in the order your publication needs. A repeatable author group is cleaner than one long text box. Include a final review prompt so the submitter can check spelling, affiliations, and publication order before sending the manuscript.
Can the form route submissions to different editors?
Yes. Ask authors to choose an article type, genre, subject area, conference track, or special issue, then use that answer in your notification and organization workflow. A molecular biology paper can alert one editorial inbox while a methods paper alerts another. Keep a general route for uncertain classifications, and review the choices periodically so the form matches the publication's current sections and editor assignments.
Is this manuscript submission form generator free?
Yes. Makeform supports unlimited free forms and responses, so you can generate, edit, publish, and use the submission form without an invented response cap. The paid tier removes the Makeform badge. Before opening a call, test the fields, uploads, notifications, and confirmation message with a sample manuscript so authors receive accurate instructions from the first day.
Can I use the same form for revisions or camera-ready files?
You can, but the intake should clearly identify the stage. Ask for the existing submission or proposal ID, revision number, revised manuscript, and any response-to-reviewers document. Conditional questions can appear when the author selects revised or camera-ready. If original submissions and revisions need substantially different fields or reach different teams, separate forms may produce a clearer author experience and cleaner editorial queues.
What should the confirmation message tell authors?
Confirm that the response was received, repeat the manuscript title or submission identifier, list the editorial contact route, and describe the next screening step in plain language. Avoid promising acceptance or an exact decision date unless your team truly operates to that schedule. If authors need to correct metadata or withdraw a simultaneous submission, explain where they should send that update and what identifier to include.
Replace attachment hunting with a complete editorial intake.
Generate a manuscript submission form that keeps every file and author detail together.
Unlimited free forms and responsesStructured author and abstract fieldsManuscript and supporting uploads
