Choose the right journal for my manuscript
Compares candidate journals on fit, audience, speed, cost, and acceptance odds, then gives a ranked submission sequence.
The prompt
Help me decide where to submit my manuscript.
Abstract: [PASTE]
Field and subfield: [DETAILS]
Candidate journals: [LIST, with anything I know about each: scope, impact, turnaround, APCs]
My priorities: [e.g. "speed for a job application", "prestige", "open access required by funder", "reach practitioners"]
Constraints: [budget for article fees, funder or institution open-access mandates, word limits, deadline]
Strength of the work, honestly: [sample size, novelty, any known weaknesses]
Steps:
1. Assess how well the paper fits each journal's scope and typical article type, and what an editor would likely see as its main weakness.
2. Compare journals on: fit, audience reached, likely review speed, open-access options and cost, format demands, and realistic desk-rejection risk.
3. Flag any warning signs of predatory publishing I should check (unclear peer review, aggressive solicitation, not indexed where claimed).
4. Recommend a submission order (first choice, fallback, safe option) with the reasoning.
Return a comparison table (Journal | Fit | Audience | Speed | Cost/OA | Risk | Notes), the ranked sequence, and what to change in the manuscript for the first choice.
Do not state impact factors, fees, or turnaround times as fact unless I supplied them; mark them [CHECK on journal site].
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Thinking & Decisions prompts
What to fill in
- PASTE
- DETAILS
- sample size, novelty, any known weaknesses
- CHECK on journal site
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
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