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Guides/For authors/How pre-submission review works
For authors8 min read · Beginner · Updated Sep 2026

How pre-submission review works

Before you send a paper to a journal, a verified expert in your field reads it the way a referee would, and tells you, point by point, what is likely to be questioned, what is missing, and what already holds up.

From $300fee set by each reviewer
About 7 daystypical time to findings
Only youcan read the review

What it is, and why it helps

Journal peer review is slow and, when a paper is rejected, often happens more than once. Many rejections come down to issues a colleague in the field could have pointed out in an afternoon: a method that isn’t justified, a claim that goes further than the data, a missing comparison, a figure that is hard to read.

Pre-submission review gives you that colleague on demand. A researcher who works in your subject reads the full manuscript and writes a structured review addressed to you. You decide what to change, and you submit a stronger paper the first time.

It is most useful when
  • you are submitting to a journal outside your usual field or to a higher-tier venue
  • your co-authors are too close to the work to read it fresh
  • English is your second language and you want the argument checked along with the grammar
  • a previous submission was rejected and you want an outside view before resubmitting

How your reviewer is chosen

Four filters run automatically before anyone is offered your manuscript, and you see the result before you pay.

FieldOnly reviewers who work in your subject area. Expertise comes first, availability second.
LanguageThe review is written in the language you choose. You can read every word.
Independent of youFrom outside your institution, your ORCID connections and your email domain.
CapacityOnly reviewers within the monthly limit they set themselves, and up to date.

For each match you can see their fields and methods, the languages they review in, how many reviews they have completed, how often they deliver on time, and their usual turnaround.

What happens, step by step

  1. Describe your paperPaste the abstract, choose the field and the language of the review. The full manuscript comes later.
  2. See who matches, then payThe matching reviewers and their fees are shown. Payment is held until a reviewer accepts.
  3. Up to three reviewers are invitedEach sees only your abstract and field. The first to accept takes the review; the others lapse.
  4. The reviewer reads the full manuscriptOnce accepted, they receive the manuscript. The fee is fixed from this moment.
  5. You receive the findingsDelivered to your account, usually within a week. You can ask the reviewer one round of clarifying questions.

What you receive

The review is a list of findings, each tied to a specific passage of your manuscript, explaining the problem and what would address it. Every finding is graded, so you know where to start:

MAJORLikely to lead a referee to reject or ask for substantial revision.
MINORWorth fixing; unlikely to decide the outcome on its own.
NOTEA suggestion or a point of clarity.
Example findingIllustrative
MAJOR · Methods §3.2
"Thermal stress onset at +1°C above the local maximum monthly mean."
The threshold is given without the degree-heating-week context the cited source (Hughes et al., 2018) relies on. A referee is likely to ask for it; reporting DHW values for each site would address this.
Before you start, have ready
  • a final or near-final draft: a review of an early outline is less useful
  • the abstract, as you intend to submit it
  • the target journal, if you have one, so the reviewer can calibrate expectations

What it costs, and why that matters

Each reviewer sets their own fee, shown on their profile before you choose. Most reviews cost between $300 and $600, depending on field and length. The fee is frozen the moment a reviewer accepts.

Reviewers are paid the same for every completed review, whatever it concludes, so every verdict is independent.

Where it fits

CitePep is an independent review service; journals run their own refereeing. The review is commissioned by you, delivered to you, and shared with a journal only if you attach it. Editorial decisions stay with the journal. After it is delivered, the only public change is on the reviewer’s profile: their completed-review count and on-time rate.
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