| Lithosphere Guidelines | |
| 1. | |
| 2. | Supplementary Material |
| 3. | Copyright and Costs |
| 4. | Style |
| 5. | Tables and Figures |
| 6. | Submit a Cover Image |
| 7. | Contact Information |
| 8. | Ethical Guidelines for Publication |
Lithosphere
Manuscript Submission
Submit your manuscript via the online submission and review system, Editorial Manager, at www.editorialmanager.com/lithosphere/. First-time users need to register for an account at this URL using their active e-mail addresses. The same Username and Password are used to log in as an author or as a reviewer. For help using the Editorial Manager system, select “Help” from the menu at the top of the screen at any time. All reviews, revisions, and proofs are handled electronically. If you are unable to access the site, please contact the Lithosphere editorial office at .
If you are resubmitting a manuscript, please note this in both your cover letter and in the "Comments" section during manuscript submission. Please include the original manuscript number if you have it.
Your manuscript will be considered officially submitted only after it has been approved through an initial technical check. If figures are illegible, your manuscript is too long, the merged file size is too large, or any required files are missing, your submission will be returned to you so that you can fix these problems.
Acceptance or rejection of a manuscript is based on the appraisal of the paper by two or more reviewers and an editor designated by GSA. Critical review determines the suitability and originality of the paper and the adequacy and conciseness of the presentation. Nearly all manuscripts are returned to the author with suggestions for revision, condensation, or final polish. If the revised manuscript and the author's cover letter show that the author has conscientiously considered the reviewers' suggestions, the manuscript may be accepted directly; however, some revised papers may be sent out for additional review.
| General Info | Tips and Suggestions | Review Process | Manuscript Preparation | Cover Letter | Manuscript Status | Withdrawing a Manuscript | Getting Started |
Tips and Suggestions for Using Editorial Manager
We have tried to identify aspects of the Editorial Manager manuscript submission system that may cause frustration or puzzlement. Here is what we have to date.
Scroll: If ever you don’t see what you are looking for, try scrolling down.
Navigation: Avoid using the “back” button. It is safer to use the “previous” buttons or to go to the Main Menu.
Roles: If you are sometimes using the system as an author and other times as a reviewer, use the pull-down menu near the top and center of the screen to choose the role you need to work in.
Authorship: Don’t add yourself as an author. You are automatically listed as an author when you start the submission process. Note: If you designate someone else as the corresponding author, only that person will be able to access the paper once it is submitted.
Must do: Once you have submitted your files, the system builds a PDF, which you MUST approve in order for your paper to proceed to peer review. You will be asked to go to “Submissions Waiting for Author’s Approval.” At this page, you will find a table. Click on the plus sign in the “Action” cell to see your action choices (View, Edit, Approve, Remove, or Send E-mail) if they are not visible.
View: If your PDF is O.K., you may approve it, and it will move on in the system.
Edit: If you need to make any changes, you do not need to go through every page of the submission process. If, for example, you need to add an author, you can click on the box on the left labeled “Add/edit/remove authors.” If you only need to add or change a file, you can click on the box on the left labeled “Attach files.” If you reach a page where you don’t need to make any changes, just click on the “next” button at the bottom of that page.
Upload text and figures as separate files. Also, we need your text file in its original word processing format (Word, Word Perfect, wpd, or rtf; Mac files O.K.).
File types: The system accepts a couple of file types that GSA cannot use. Please do not send LaTex or PowerPoint files.
You may find it helpful to gather the following information before starting your submission:
- Your co-authors’ names as they like them to appear in publications (first, middle names or initials, last) and their e-mail addresses
- Title and Abstract (you can cut and paste these from your manuscript file)
- Keywords (used to help editors choose reviewers)
- Manuscript files in Word, WordPerfect, text, or RTF format. (Please include your abstract and figure captions in the text file.) Do not use the ASCII text option if you have used Greek letters, special characters, superscripts, or subscripts in your paper.
- Table files in Excel or Word (use table function, tab separated format, or comma separated format).
- Figure/Image files in TIFF, GIF, JPEG, EPS, Postscript, PICT, or PDF. They should be in order and clearly labeled. Figures at this stage do not need to be publication quality, but it is a good idea to start with publication-quality figures and then save them in the formats allowed by this system.
[ see guidelines about publication-quality figures ] - Contact information (e-mail address and institution) of suggested peer reviewers (if any).
Note: Files over 20 MB may cause problems for editors and reviewers. If you have files over 20 MB, please contact the managing editor, , before submitting your files.
| General Info | Tips and Suggestions | Review Process | Manuscript Preparation | Cover Letter | Manuscript Status | Withdrawing a Manuscript | Getting Started |
Review Process
The manuscript submission and peer review process is broken down into the following 5 steps:
- The author submits a manuscript.
- The editor assigns reviewers to the manuscript.
- The reviewers review the manuscript.
- The editor makes the final decision.
- The editor's assistant contacts the author with the decision.
Please submit your figures in black and white unless you are willing to be responsible for the cost of publishing in color, should your manuscript be accepted. The cost for color is approximately $250 per figure. If your manuscript is accepted, you will be supplied with an exact cost quote. If you are willing to support this cost, please indicate this clearly in your cover letter or in the Manuscript Comment section.
| General Info | Tips and Suggestions | Review Process | Manuscript Preparation | Cover Letter | Manuscript Status | Withdrawing a Manuscript | Getting Started |
Manuscript Preparation
A cover letter, a manuscript file, and separate files for figures, tables, and any supplementary materials should be uploaded at www.editorialmanager.com/lithosphere/. The manuscript file should include: title, authors and affiliations, abstract, text, appendices, references cited, and figure captions. For manuscript files, use MS Word (.doc), WordPerfect (.wpd), Rich Text Format (.rtf), or Text (.txt).
Please make sure your paper is double spaced and that you have added line numbers.
| General Info | Tips and Suggestions | Review Process | Manuscript Preparation | Cover Letter | Manuscript Status | Withdrawing a Manuscript | Getting Started |
Cover Letter
- Please explain how your paper is innovative, provocative, timely, and of interest to a broad audience.
- Please state that the manuscript contains original, new results, data, ideas and/or interpretations not previously published or under consideration for publication elsewhere (including electronic media and databases).
- List any papers on related topics by any of the authors that have been published within the past year or that are in review or in press.
- For multi-author papers, the Lithosphere editors will assume that all the authors have been involved with the work and have approved the manuscript and agree to its submission. A statement on the respective roles of each author when more than five authors are listed is required. One author must be designated as the corresponding author in the submittal letter.
- The cost for color is approximately US$250 for each color figure over one. The first figure is free (if your manuscript is accepted, you will be supplied with an exact cost quote).
If you are willing to support this cost, please indicate this clearly in the cover letter. - Please identify any supplementary files you are including with your manuscript.
| General Info | Tips and Suggestions | Review Process | Manuscript Preparation | Cover Letter | Manuscript Status | Withdrawing a Manuscript | Getting Started |
Manuscript Status
After you approve your manuscript, you are finished with the submission process. You can access the status of your manuscript by:
- Logging into the system with your password.
- Clicking on the link "Submissions being Processed."
- The status of your paper will be displayed in a tabular view.
This procedure will display detailed tracking information about where your manuscript is in the submission/peer-review process.
| General Info | Tips and Suggestions | Review Process | Manuscript Preparation | Cover Letter | Manuscript Status | Withdrawing a Manuscript | Getting Started |
Withdrawing a Manuscript
If at any point you wish to withdraw your manuscript, contact the editor handling your manuscript and advise him or her of the specific manuscript number of the manuscript that you wish to withdraw. You will receive a letter acknowledging the withdrawal.
| General Info | Tips and Suggestions | Review Process | Manuscript Preparation | Cover Letter | Manuscript Status | Withdrawing a Manuscript | Getting Started |
Getting Started
The manuscript submission process starts by pressing the "Submit New Manuscript" link on your Editorial Manager "Home" page. Please make sure you have gathered all the required manuscript information and understand GSA's Editorial Policy BEFORE starting the submission process.
[ Please click here to continue. ]
Getting Help
If you need additional help, you can click on the help menu at the top of the screen.