Accepted Manuscript Information for Authors

Some RSC journals now give authors the option to have the unedited and unformatted version of their article published shortly after acceptance as an Accepted Manuscript. This free service allows authors to make their results available to the community, in citable form, before publication of the edited article. Journals which offer this service will give authors the opportunity to opt in during the online submission process.

More information about Accepted Manuscripts can be found below.

What are Accepted Manuscripts?
Accepted Manuscripts are articles which have been published prior to technical editing, formatting and proof reading. All Accepted Manuscripts have been through the RSC Publishing peer review process and have been accepted for publication.

In what format does an Accepted Manuscript appear?
Accepted Manuscripts appear online as a PDF file. An Accepted Manuscript is published in the format in which it is received from the author. Any supplementary material will be available as a separate file(s).

How does an Accepted Manuscript appear in the online article listing?
Accepted Manuscripts are listed in the Advance Article tab on the RSC Publishing Platform. The authors' names in this listing will appear in the form and the order that they were entered into the journal's online submission system by the corresponding author. Once the Advance Article version is published, the names in the listing will appear as given in the manuscript.

What files need to be supplied before acceptance?
Information about the required file formats will be supplied to the author at the same time as they receive the referees' comments on their manuscript. Submission using the RSC's article template is encouraged but not required. Where text and image files are received separately they will be collated for publication by the Publishing Editor.

What happens to an article once it has been published as an Accepted Manuscript?
Once an article has been published as an Accepted Manuscript it will be edited and formatted by a professional team of editors. The proof will then be sent to the author for checking. The Accepted Manuscript will be replaced by the fully edited, formatted and proof-read Advance Article as soon as this is available.

Are Accepted Manuscripts the final scientific article of record?
No. The articles published as Accepted Manuscripts are not the final scientific version of record. The Advance Article version of the article represents the final scientific article of record.

How do I cite an Accepted Manuscript?
Accepted Manuscripts can be cited using the Digital Object Identifier (DOI®), which is printed in the left-hand margin of each page of the manuscript. The DOI for each manuscript will be retained once the fully edited Advance Article is published, so that any citations to the Accepted Manuscript will link to the final version.

Does an article have to be published as an Accepted Manuscript?
No. Authors have the opportunity to opt out of having their manuscript published as an Accepted Manuscript at submission. Therefore not all articles will be published as an Accepted Manuscript version.

When is the official publication date of a manuscript?
The official publication date of an article will be the date when the Accepted Manuscript version is published.

Can an Accepted Manuscript be published before the RSC's "Licence to Publish" is completed?
No. A completed "Licence to Publish" must be received before an article can be published.

For further information about Accepted Manuscripts please contact the appropriate journal Editorial Office.