Preferred Editing Service
Preferred
Editing Service
Cureus Preferred Editing is a low-cost editing option to ensure more authors have the opportunity to publish.
All submissions must adhere to our rigorous formatting and language requirements. Articles that need substantial revision require the purchase of our Preferred Editing services, which covers the substantial time, communication and editing needed to prepare these articles for publication.
Research papers that are already well-prepared upon submission will typically not require Preferred Editing. Roughly one-third of all authors have the privilege of publishing with zero editing fees!
What Is Cureus Preferred Editing?
To put it simply, our research paper editing services provide comprehensive formatting and language corrections for articles that would otherwise fall beyond the scope of our standard copy editing services.
For more information on our publishing requirements and Preferred Editing services, please refer to the FAQ section at the bottom of this page.
Preliminary Article Review
The preliminary review of your article occurs immediately after submission to determine if editing services are needed prior to publication. In addition to determining if the article is within the scope of the journal and contains scientifically credible medical research, 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
Only well-drafted, relevant, credible submissions with few or no errors will qualify for free publication in the Cureus Journal of Medical Science. Articles with too many errors will require the purchase of our Preferred Editing service. Review articles and articles that exceed our author or reference limits will also require this research paper editing service, regardless of the errors present. For more information on how pricing is determined, please see the FAQ section below.
How Much Does It Cost?
While the cost for Cureus Preferred Editing varies, the average price is $370.
Our editing service prices are capped at $1,300 per article (and reaching this amount would require a combination of more than 10,000 words, 20 authors, and 200 references).
Pricing is based on the following criteria:
Article length
Author count
Reference count
Formatting and language errors
Use our estimated price calculator to view Cureus Preferred Editing price ranges.
FAQs
Will purchasing Preferred Editing 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 voluntarily withdrawn by the author or rejected due to fraud or plagiarism.
Which articles require Preferred Editing?
All non-channel and non-competition review articles submitted to Cureus require Preferred Editing services in order to proceed with peer review and publication. This is due to the considerable editorial expenses associated with processing and editing these medical research papers, which typically contain more content and references than other articles.
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, your article will qualify for free publication.
How are the different error levels (i.e. pricing) determined?
During the Editor Check process, our editors assign points for each error they find. The number of points assigned depends upon the frequency and severity of the error. Articles that receive 5 or more points are no longer eligible for free publication. Research papers with level 1 errors (0-4 points) qualify for free publication, while articles in the remaining error levels (which correspond to increasing amounts of points, i.e. level 2 = 5-10 points) will require our Preferred Editing services.
We carefully assess each submitted article, 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 Cureus Preferred Editing?
Our editors will correct all formatting and language errors with only 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 either missing entirely or missing required information
- Duplicated references that require major reordering of references and corresponding in-text citations
Articles with extensive language or formatting issues may be declared ineligible for our medical research editing services. 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?
Other journals may be more permissive, but they require authors to surrender copyright or pay thousands of dollars in publication fees. Submit a carefully-formatted article and Cureus will waive the Preferred Editing fee. It’s that simple!
Do you offer fee waivers or discounts?
Cureus does not offer full fee waivers, as the average price of our Preferred Editing service is well below typical journal article processing charges (APC). We do offer a 40% discount to submitting authors located in the world’s lowest income countries as defined by the World Bank. We are unable to grant discount requests solely on the basis of the research topic explored (e.g. COVID-19) where there is no evidence of financial need.
However, if you are in financial need and unable to support the cost of Cureus Preferred Editing services for your research paper, we would be happy to assess your eligibility for discounts.
Discount requests should be sent to [email protected] after your article has been deferred for Preferred Editing. Please include your article title and reason for the discount request. Need-based discounts cannot be combined with honors discounts. We are unable to provide discounts after purchase. Author fees and discount eligibility also do not influence editorial decision making.
