Publish with us
It costs nothing to submit a manuscript. The APC is only payable following acceptance of a paper after peer review. Full details on APC charges can be found below.
The editorial process involves 8 stages:
- Pre-submission enquiry. To see if your manuscript is suitable for Drugs in Context or if you have any questions about the journal, simply send an email to the editorial office with the Abstract or a draft of your manuscript
- Submit your manuscript: make sure you have followed our submissions checklist and submit your manuscript and required forms via Manuscript Manager: www.manuscriptmanager.net/dic
- We will check your manuscript and give you initial feedback
- Peer review and revision – all manuscripts are sent for peer review
- Acceptance for publication
- Payment of APC of US$2700 / £2000 / €2400 + VAT (where applicable). Case reports and Editorials qualify for a 50% APC discount. No additional charges apply. Fee waivers may be granted for high-quality articles from first authors/corresponding authors based in institutions in low-income and lower-middle-income countries; please email the editorial office prior to submission
- Technical/copyediting, layout and proofreading
- Publication
Peer Review and Ethics Guidelines
All articles undergo single-blind external peer review with comments from at least two peer reviewers. Our peer reviewers are asked to follow the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers and to provide their reports within 3 weeks.
Authors are required to prepare their manuscripts according to our policies and ethics guidelines.
Making changes to articles after publication
It is very important that authors carefully check final PDF proofs before publication as we cannot make minor corrections to published articles. Once an article is electronically published, corrections of critical errors may only be made via publication of a ‘Corrigendum’ or ‘Erratum’ article that would be published electronically (and on PubMed) and would link back and forth with the original article.
Publication charges
Standard track:
The standard Article Processing Charge (APC) is US$2500 / £2000 / €2250 + VAT (where applicable). This applies to Reviews, Original Research, Case Series and Meeting Reports. Case reports and Editorials qualify for a 50% APC discount. There are no additional charges. There is no charge for article submission; if a manuscript is rejected after peer review, no charges apply. Charges are reviewed annually. Fee waivers may be granted for high-quality articles from first authors/corresponding authors based in institutions in low-income and lower-middle-income countries; please email the editorial office prior to submission.
Fast track:
A manuscript can be prioritized through the handling and production steps to allow fast publication. Please note that the manuscript still receives normal peer review and checks (with the time that this requires), and we do not pay peer reviewers to do this work. An amended APC fee applies in the case of fast-track publication (Fast Track + APC = $4300 / £3500 / €4000 + VAT, where applicable) in view of the resources required to give the manuscript priority during the handling and production procedures. Please contact the Editorial Office if you wish to discuss this option. See timings below.
Speed of publication
Standard track:
- Initial peer review and first decision = aim for <4 weeks
- Author prepares and submits revision = 2–4 weeks
- Check/approve revision and make final decision = 1–2 weeks
- Production and online publication = 3–4 weeks
- Total = 9–14 weeks
Fast track:
- Initial peer review and first decision = aim for <4 weeks
- Author prepares and submits revision = 1–2 weeks
- Check/approve revision and make final decision = <3 days
- Production and online publication = 2–3 weeks
- Total = 6–9 weeks
Any delays are usually to make sure we have the right peer reviewers on board and for our Editorial team to make the right decisions. Our aim is to ensure that all articles receive high-quality peer review and that all accepted articles are of the highest standard and published without delay.
