Preferred Editing Service
Didn’t qualify for free publication? We’ll take it from here.
Cureus expects all submissions to adhere to our rigorous formatting and language requirements. Placing this responsibility on our authors allows roughly half of all authors to publish with zero editing fees. Articles with too many errors will require the purchase of our Preferred Editing service, which covers the substantial time, communication and editing needed on our end.
What is Cureus Preferred Editing?
To put it simply, our Preferred Editing service provides comprehensive formatting and language editing that would otherwise fall beyond the scope of our standard copy editing services.*
*Please refer to the FAQ section below for information on errors and corrections that are not included with Preferred Editing.
Preliminary Article Review
The preliminary review of your article (what we call Editor Check) occurs immediately after submission. In addition to determining if the article is scientifically credible and within the scope of the journal, we assess each article for errors in the following areas:
Author names and affiliations
Proper use of acronyms and initialisms
Spelling, grammar, syntax and punctuation errors
Text and article formatting
Media quality, formatting, labels and placement
Reference formatting and accuracy
How much does it cost?
Price is based on the following criteria:
Formatting and language errors
Article length
Author count
Reference count
The greater the amount of editing work required, the higher the price of Preferred Editing. Use our estimated price calculator to view Preferred Editing price ranges.
Common Questions
Will purchasing the Preferred Editing service guarantee publication?
Preliminary acceptance occurs when your article enters peer review, but comprehensive editorial review (and the assurance of publication) will not occur until the article is submitted for publication after peer review.
While the purchase of Preferred Editing doesn't guarantee publication, a partial refund will be issued if the article is rejected after peer review. (A $50 processing fee will be withheld.) No refund will be provided for articles rejected due to fraud or plagiarism or articles voluntarily withdrawn by the author.
Which articles require Preferred Editing?
All non-channel and non-competition review articles submitted to Cureus will be required to purchase our Preferred Editing service in order to proceed with peer review and publication. This is due to the considerable editorial expenses associated with processing and editing these articles, which typically contain more content and references than other articles. Preliminary acceptance occurs when your article enters peer review, but comprehensive editorial review (and the assurance of publication) will not occur until the article is submitted for publication after peer review.
In addition, articles that exceed the author or reference limits for a given article type will require the purchase of Preferred Editing regardless of how many errors are found during our preliminary review.
- Original articles: 10 authors and 30 references
- Case reports and technical reports: 5 authors and 20 references
- Editorials: 5 authors and 5 references
What can I do to ensure my article is published for free?
Please read the Instructions for Authors section of our Author Guide and pay close attention to rules regarding media and reference formatting. Subheader formatting, language punctuation, complete references - these things matter! If you take the time needed to read and meet our requirements, you should have no problem publishing for free.
How are the different error levels determined?
Articles with level 1 errors qualify for free publication, while articles in the remaining error levels will require our Preferred Editing service. We carefully assess each submitted article during editor check, assigning points for errors in the following categories: author name and affiliation accuracy/formatting, acronym/initialism definitions, spelling/grammar/language/syntax, text and media formatting, and reference formatting/accuracy. The total number of errors and estimated time required to fix them will determine an article’s assigned error level.
What corrections are not covered by Preferred Editing?
With only a few exceptions, we will fix all formatting and language issues. Our editors will correct all formatting and language errors with the following exceptions requiring your revision:
- Scientific content issues that can only be addressed by the authors
- Blurry, stretched, or otherwise illegible figures
- Tables with multiple values in the same cell
- References that are missing required information
Additionally, you may be asked to clarify or revise if our editors have any questions about the scientific content of your article.
Why can’t I fix the errors myself?
Cureus publishes roughly half of all accepted article submissions for free. In order to qualify for free publication, we expect you to do the heavy lifting and submit articles with few or no errors. Other journals may be more permissive, but they require you to surrender copyright or pay thousands of dollars in publication fees. Submit a well-formatted article and we will waive our Preferred Editing fee. It’s that simple.
