For Authors: A Guide to Submission

 

Welcome to Verlumun and Penda Publishers! We are dedicated to ensuring a transparent and efficient publishing process. This page outlines our institutional policies; please ensure you adhere to both these general guidelines and the specific instructions of the journal you submit to.

1. Before You Submit

A. Choose Your Journal & Review Specific Guidelines

We host several journals, each with a distinct focus.

  1. Select Your Journal: Visit  Our Journals page to choose the journal whose Aims & Scope best match your manuscript's focus.
  2. Review Submission Guidelines: Every journal has unique formatting, referencing, and length requirements. You must consult and follow the specific Author Guidelines provided on that journal's individual OJS homepage.

B. Publisher Policies (Mandatory)

By submitting a manuscript to any journal under our banner, you agree to abide by these overarching ethical standards:

  • Publication Ethics: Review our principles on plagiarism, research integrity, author responsibilities, and conflicts of interest.
  • Copyright & Licensing: All articles are published under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA). Authors retain copyright.
  • Archiving: We have a zero-embargo policy for self-archiving your published work immediately. [Link to the relevant section of your Publication Ethics Statement]

2. Manuscript Preparation Requirements

Your manuscript must be ready to meet the standards required by our peer review process:

  • Originality Check: We screen all submissions for plagiarism, with a maximum acceptable similarity index of 20%.
  • Ethical Compliance: Research involving human or animal subjects must include a statement confirming IRB approval and informed consent.
  • Data Availability: We strongly encourage authors to transparently share data and supporting evidence (e.g., in a public repository) to allow for verification and replication.
  • Generative AI: The use of AI is not permitted to generate manuscripts; it should only be used to improve readability under strict human oversight. AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

Authorship and Funding

Ensure your submission accurately reflects all contributions:

  • Authorship: All listed authors must have made a significant scholarly contribution to the work. Non-author contributions should be acknowledged.
  • Conflicts of Interest (COI): You must declare all financial and non-financial COIs and all funding sources in a dedicated section of the manuscript.

3. Submission and Process

A. Submission Process

All manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the specific journal's dedicated OJS portal.

B. The Review Timeline

We utilize a double-blind peer review model.

  • Average Time to Publication: The average time from initial submission to final publication across our journals is approximately 8 weeks.

C. Article Processing Charges (APCs)

  • Fees: Our journals may levy an Article Processing Charge (APC) for accepted manuscripts. None of our journals can charge an APC that exceeds 2000 GBP or its equivalent.
  • Waiver Policy: We offer a limited waiver programme; please inquire about waivers from your journal of interest before submitting your manuscript.

4. Appeals and Complaints

If you believe you have received an unfair rejection decision, you have the right to appeal in writing to the journal's official email address within two weeks of receiving the decision, providing an evidence-based justification. All complaints regarding process or ethical concerns will be handled confidentially as outlined in our Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.