Home Submitting a manuscript

Submitting a manuscript

The submission form, the abstract, and a submission that never arrived.
By Mahmoud Nassar
• 2 articles

Abstract requirements and word limits

Most sections require an abstract, and the form will not let you past that step without one. Where an abstract is required it is capped at 300 words, and the form shows a live count under the box as you type. Editorials and letters to the editor do not require an abstract at all. That is the whole rule. The rest of this article is what to do when it gets in your way. If your article type does not normally have an abstract Letters to the editor and editorials are not asked for one. Those sections have the abstract requirement switched off, so you can move straight past it. If you are in any other section and your piece genuinely does not carry an abstract, enter a short plain summary of what it says so you can continue, and note in your covering letter that the section does not normally carry one. Nobody will hold that against the submission. If you are at the 300-word limit Count the words before you paste. Word processors and the submission form do not always agree to the exact word, so if you are sitting on 300 exactly, trim a few words rather than testing it. Two things that often free up space without losing meaning: 1. Shorten or remove the section headings inside the abstract, if your section does not require a structured one. 2. Give each figure once, rather than in both the results and the conclusion. If your abstract genuinely cannot be told in 300 words, do not delete your findings to fit. Write to contact@asidejournals.com before you submit, tell us the journal and the section, and we will tell you what the section will accept. Ask before the day you plan to submit. The answer comes back by email and normally takes a working day. If the step will not accept what you typed Check these first: - The abstract box is empty, or contains only formatting pasted from another program. - The word count is above the limit for that section. - You changed the section after typing the abstract, and the new section has a different limit. If none of those is it, save what you have and leave the form. Nothing is lost. Your submission stays where you left it and you can come back to it. See I submitted but nothing happened for how to find it again.

Last updated on Sep 12, 2026

I submitted but nothing happened

The most common cause is a submission that was started and saved but never finished. The record exists and your files are in it, but until the last step is confirmed it does not reach an editor and it appears in no list on our side. You are not imagining it, and it is not lost. It is sitting at whichever step you stopped on. Check it yourself, in four steps 1. Sign in to {{journal}} with the account you used. 2. Go to Submissions. 3. Look for your title in the list. An unfinished submission shows an amber status reading Not yet submitted. 4. Open it. The form reopens at the step you stopped on, with everything you had already entered still in place. The steps, and what each one means | Step | You had got as far as | |---|---| | Start | Section, language and the submission checklist | | Details | Title and abstract, both required; keywords, which are optional | | Files | Uploading the manuscript | | Contributors | Adding co-authors, each with a competing-interests statement | | Review | The final confirmation screen, with everything filled in | Most unfinished submissions stop at Details, and usually for one reason: the abstract. It is required, and it is capped at 300 words. The form shows a live count under the box, and if it reads more than 300 the page will not move on. Keywords are asked for but are not required, and they never block you. See Abstract requirements and word limits. If you stopped at Review, everything was complete and only the final confirmation was missing. That step is the one that hands the manuscript to the journal. If you cannot see it in your list Two things to check before writing to us: - You may be signed in to a different ASIDE journal from the one you submitted to. The account is the same across journals, but each journal has its own list. - You may have registered twice with two email addresses. Check the other address. If it is still not there, write to contact@asidejournals.com with the journal, the title of the manuscript, and the email address on your account. We will look for the record and tell you what we find, including if there is nothing. If you would rather we finish it with you Say so. We can look at the record, tell you exactly which step it stopped on and what is missing from it, and go through the remaining fields with you. Nothing has to be re-uploaded. What happens once it is completed The submission goes to the journal, it becomes visible to the editorial office, and a status appears for it on your submission page. See Reading your status banner.

Last updated on Sep 12, 2026